| | Published March 17th, 2021
| Local Kitchens and Sparkles & Joy: two unique takeout and delivery dining options for Lamorinda
| | | By Vera Kochan |  | | Local Kitchens' staff gets ready for the lunch rush. Photo Vera Kochan |
Do you miss driving into San Francisco for dinner at one of your favorite eateries? Problem solved, Lamorinda. Local Kitchens at 3455 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette considers itself a "restaurant" with food offerings from popular dining spots all under one roof - a condensed food court, if you will.
With so many folks currently working from home yet craving the dining-out experience the company's CEO Jon Goldsmith said, "We partner with great SF restaurants to help them expand to new cities and thrive in pandemic times. Our goal is to help families access more convenient and high quality food options. Guests can come into the store and take out or order ahead on DoorDash." There are even ordering kiosks in-store for those last minute decisions.
The newly opened Lafayette location offers menu items from Senor Sisig (Filipino street food), Proposition Chicken (chicken sandwiches, salads and entrees), MIXT (gourmet salads), Wise Sons (deli-style breakfast, brunch and lunch options), Curry Up Now (Indian street food), Glaze (teriyaki grill), and Humphry Slocomb (ice cream). Family members have the opportunity to order a different variety of choices according to their individual cravings.
A concurrently opened location in San Jose is just the beginning. Local Kitchens hopes to eventually expand throughout the Bay Area and beyond. "Our restaurant idea started last summer because of COVID," explained Goldsmith. "We felt our idea would make things better for restaurants and for customers. We felt that this was the perfect time to help San Francisco restaurants to get into new cities like the Lamorinda area." Local Kitchens also hopes to attract eateries from Oakland and the East Bay under its banner. "We're all about making it as convenient as possible."
Each restaurant's specialty items, such as bagels, breads, or sauces come directly from the source. All menu items are prepared at Local Kitchens, using each restaurant's recipes, by a small army of cooks. Students from Acalanes and Campolindo high schools package the orders while DoorDash makes the deliveries.
"I'm excited about bringing this food to the East Bay," stated Goldsmith. "It's been a lifeline for these restaurants to offer their food to a whole new base."
Sparkles & Joy is a Lafayette-based, delivery-only, dining option specializing in international cuisine. The weekly Thursday night delivery box subscriptions are currently available to Lamorinda residents.
Owner Semira Moslem first thought up the idea 10 years ago. After a career working for Google, she decided to combine two of her loves: travel and food. Moslem's passion came to fruition in August 2020. "I'm of Persian descent and food is a big part of the culture," she explained. "I've always loved food and find it fascinating to learn about people and their cultures. COVID helped to bring this about."
Moslem and her family moved to Lafayette in 2018, after living in San Francisco for eight years. The name Sparkles & Joy is a reflection of her family's love for each other. "My husband once told me, `You really bring sparkle into my life.' And, our kids bring so much joy to ours."
All Moslem's chefs prepare food from their native cultures: Thailand, South America, the Middle East, Indonesia, Senegal, the United States' Cajun South, India, Japan, Nigeria and more. "Diversity is most important. It allows you to experience food that you've never had before." She and her husband decide what culture is represented in each weekly delivery of appetizer, entree and dessert. The subscriptions are based on per/person sizes and are delivered each Thursday between 4 to 6:30 p.m. The food is delivered cold, but reheat instructions are included.
Acquiring chefs for her unique business venture was not easy. "I was hustling in the beginning trying to get people to join as chefs." Since she's been open, customer feedback has been very positive. Moslem hopes to one day open a brick and mortar location that will allow for takeout orders.
"During these unprecedented times," says Moslem's website, "I hope to bring our community closer together through food."
For more information visit www.sparklesandjoy.com; email semira@sparklesandjoy.com or call (925) 385-8317.
Local Kitchens is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. For more information visit www.localkitchens.co. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA