Flacos

Although there is excitement in the air after students returned to Berkeley in August, many of the city’s small business owners are frustrated with the many challenges still left to face.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Flacos, a vegan Mexican restaurant in Berkeley, has felt the effects of COVID-19 but remains resilient.

After nine years in Berkeley, Saturn Cafe — a vegetarian and vegan comfort food restaurant serving burgers, milkshakes, nachos and pies — closed in July due to a shortage of staff.

We all lose out on rich culture and on unique city experiences when experts in these niche businesses in our local community go out of business.

On Thursday evening the Zoning Adjustments Board convened to discuss a potential development project near the intersection of Adeline and Ashby. The project would involve the demolition of Flacos, a popular vegan Mexican restaurant.

Berkeley — city of hippies, protesters and counter-culturalists — is also a site of pilgrimage for foodies as the cradle of the American slow-food movement. Here, even the eats are quintessentially Berkeley: That cup of coffee, too, was designed to resist oppressive hegemons and change the world.