Understory, a worker-owned collective on Eighth Street, closed its Oakland location at the end of June. The owners have yet to announce a reopening date elsewhere, but their progressive approach to running a kitchen and dining room lives on. Three new concepts opened in the space on Sept. 7. Café con Cariño, That Hausa Vegan and ASÚKAR are all part of Oakland Bloom’s restaurant incubator, Open Test Kitchen (OTK). Oakland Bloom’s mission sets out to “advance economic equity in the food industry.” In particular, OTK supports participants who are “poor and working class immigrant, refugee and PoC chefs” by combining commercial food training with the opportunity to earn an income. Claudia Luz Suárez, cofounder of Café con Cariño with Javiera Torres, plays a dual role as Oakland Bloom’s program director. After completing the OTK incubator program a couple of years ago, Suárez also decided to apply for a full-time staff position. “I enjoyed the program and … feel like I know how I can make it better, and that was why I applied,” she said. “It’s hard to teach people how to launch a business—there are so many sectors you can focus on.” Helping a business owner hone in on and tell their own story is an important part of the program. “How we use our voice can propel us into reclaiming our cultures—that was my approach,” she said. Suárez describes Café con Cariño as her “passion project on the side.” Drinking coffee is not only a part of her daily routine but a necessity. She’s consumed it since she was 2 years old. “It’s part of our culture. Growing up, you just wake up one day and drink coffee,” she said. Starting Café con Cariño reminded her of that shared familial experience, but she and Torres also understood that people who drink coffee at cafés are coming together to share a communal space. “On top of that, our experience working in specialty coffee shops, it can be really intense and sometimes white-male dominated,” Suárez said. She didn’t feel represented by the menus or by the spaces themselves. OTK represents a different model. “There’s a shared risk as a team. We’re all sharing the responsibility of holding the space,” she said. “When people come in [to the café], we really want folks to connect with the offerings on our menu.” Seeing Salvadorans seeking out the horchata salvadoreña and Chileans coming in for empanadas and cola de mono latte, a Chilean holiday drink, makes her happy. Sitalbanat Muktari started her culinary career by making her signature donuts for a pop-up through Oakland Bloom at Understory. To qualify for the program, applicants are invited to prepare a tasting menu of three or four items that give a sense of the chef’s flavor profiles. She brought donuts, cakes and a savory dish—suya mushrooms, which she still serves on her menu. “Suya is a Nigerian beef-kebab dish, but I make it with mushrooms,” she said. “I use oyster mushrooms and a peanut-based spice that’s made in the north of Nigeria.” Then she adds a pepper mix that has ginger, garlic, bird’s-eye chili for heat and scented spices. Since her initial culinary efforts, Muktari has made That Hausa Vegan into an “Arewa food experience and experiment in the diaspora,” she said. Rather than claiming the title of a full-time chef, a toque is just one of many hats she wears as a “vegan food artist.” “I love the process of making food and thinking of a menu, of how to pair flavors and how to plate—all of that,” Muktari said. “That’s something I really enjoy doing. However, I have a lot of hobbies and passions that I’m also diving into.” She continued: “Food brings people together. Right now, I’m exploring the option of creating food classes based on a theme.” Whether they’re about politics, climate change or personal origin stories, Muktari wants to engage in these larger conversations. Her newfound vision of hospitality is a safe haven where people can nourish themselves in mind, body and soul. Open Test Kitchen, 528 Eighth St., Oakland. Café con Cariño; open Wed-Fri 9am to 2pm and Sat 11am to 3pm; @cafeconcarino_oak. ASÚKAR; open Wed 5-9pm and Sat 11am to 3pm; @palestinian_cuban_fusion. That Hausa Vegan; open Thu-Fri 5-9pm and Sun 11am to 3pm; @thathausavegan.