Our June 2026 Food & Drink recap brings mostly positive news for local foodies, including a Colombian food truck’s new brick-and-mortar home, a Jamaican Public Market stall, a celebrity-founded "lifestyle brand," and an empanada spot that recently changed hands.
The first Planning Commission Study Session on Sutter’s proposed Emeryville Medical Center will be held tonight at the 6:30pm. Early concerns are centered on impacts to the Horton St Bike Blvd & estimates the project could generate roughly 20K daily trips.
July 16 Emeryville City Council Meeting Recap:
▪️ Planning Commission Appointments 👨⚖️
▪️ Juneteenth and Haitian Flag Day Proclamations 🇭🇹
▪️Advisory Committee Appointments and Transparency Debate 🔍
▪️ Rivian Noise Ordinance Waiver 🎧
Story 👇
Our latest Retail & Services Report includes a steady stream of openings & closures across Emeryville’s major shopping districts including a new western retailer, the return of a luxury brand the untimely loss of two fitness studios.
40-year Emeryville resident Jill Lessing, a pioneering lesbian feminist, counselor, artist, and disability rights advocate whose activism spanned decades, died June 6 at age 83. Friends and family remember a woman whose influence helped shape LGBTQ+ and disability rights movements.
Emeryville institution The Townhouse, which began as a Prohibition-era speakeasy and has operated in various forms for more than a century, is facing its final days unless a financier steps forward to help acquire the property.
On 5/19, council revisited a $31M loan to a nonprofit developer, debated a proposed tax measure for the Nov. ballot and considered action on rampant neighborhood mailbox thefts. 👇
https://evilleeye.com/news-commentary/may-19-2026-emeryville-city-council-meeting-recap-november-ballot-revenue-measure-mailbox-thefts-31-7m-affordable-housing-loan/
On 6/2, The City honored arts icon Sharon Wilchar for 40+ years of community advocacy, police union leaders issued dire warnings of what they described as a forthcoming staffing crisis, and a former planning commissioner pitched a commercial parking tax to help close the budget gap. 👇
https://evilleeye.com/news-commentary/june-2-2026-emeryville-city-council-meeting-recap-wilchar-honored-police-union-issues-staff-warning-congestion-management-tool-pitched/
A 30-year-old Emeryville man who was reported missing in early June has been identified as the person whose body was discovered at a San Leandro waste transfer facility.
Our latest food & drink updates for May includes several comings and goings at the Public Market, a newish burger joint on San Pablo Ave, the likely end of a thrice rebranded Peruvian spot and a cherished North Oakland pizza spot moving to Hayward.
On paper, Alameda County’s preliminary 2026 Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count provides local policymakers with a triumphant headline. Official data reveals a countywide total of 8,201 unhoused individuals—a 13% drop from 2024, marking the largest overall reduction since federal mandates began and bringing totals roughly back in line with pre-pandemic baselines.
Sutter Health held the first of several planned community and stakeholder meetings last night unveiling their latest plans for their medical campus which now include a 17-story, 325 bed hospital with a helipad.
Sutter Health has announced its first public community meeting for its proposed Emeryville Medical Center Project, marking the beginning of what is expected to be a lengthy public review process for one of the largest development proposals in the city’s recent history.
Dan Fontes, the visionary behind the Emeryville Mudflats’ "Lunar Lander" and Oakland’s iconic highway "Animurals," has passed at 68.
A pioneer of eco-conscious public art and a true guardian of local history.
ICYMI: A round-up of food & drink updates in the 94608 zip code over the past month plus.