‘Oakland at its finest’: Oakland Afro Caribbean restaurant to close after 10 years – SF Gate

Outdoor dining at Miss Ollie's, located at 901 Washington St., Oakland.

Miss Ollies, a lively Afro Caribbean restaurant thats been a mainstay of Old Oakland for the past decade, is closing at the end of this month, KQED reported.

The news has been a long time coming back in December 2020, chef-owner Sarah Kirnon announced that Miss Ollies would be closing and transforming into a new nonprofit project called Sanctuary, according to Eater. The venture would host outdoor events with food, art and music to provide a platform for Oaklands Black creators.

As KQED reported, Kirnon ended up negotiating another year for the restaurant at its 901 Washington St. location. But now, Miss Ollies time has finally come to an end.

Or maybe not quite. Kirnon told KQED that she hopes to eventually reopen Miss Ollies somewhere else in Oakland as a takeout window and catering company. And her nonprofit, Sanctuary, is definitely still happening.

So for loyal patrons, its not goodbye but see you later for their favorite skillet fried chicken and buttermilk waffles, braised oxtails and jerk shrimp salad.

It was Oakland at its finest, Kirnon reminisced to KQED. Black and brown, people of color, queer folks, elders we were cross-generational. And Ive seen kids go off to college. Weve done funerals. We were a neighborhood restaurant.

Miss Ollies is not the first restaurant in the Old Oakland neighborhood to close over the course of the pandemic in March 2021, popular Mexican cafe Cosecha left the historical Swans Market. B-Dama and Rosamunde Sausage Grill also closed their Swans Market locations in the past two years.

Madeline Wells is a reporter for SFGATE covering food and drink in the Bay Area. She grew up in the Seattle area and received her B.A. in English and Media Studies from UC Berkeley. Prior to SFGATE, she was an associate editor at East Bay Express and freelance writer covering the Bay Area music scene. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com

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'Oakland at its finest': Oakland Afro Caribbean restaurant to close after 10 years - SF Gate