Check out this month’s Grand Lake Farmer’s Market vendor spotlights highlighting Aricham Artisan market, Flatbread Queen, Oak-Dar Ethiopian Coffee, EmmyLou Farr Homegrown Designs, and Kube Non-Dairy Ice Cream. We’ll give you the scoop on what these merchants have up their sleeves at present.

Hicham Al Masnawi

Aricham Artisan

“We specialize in Moroccan cuisine, sweet and savory. We are famous for our Moroccan bread. We have some pita with oregano, Za’atar, roasted cauliflower, roasted garlic hummus, Sambaba, and preserved lemon. The superstar of this booth is the Moroccan Harissa. It’s really great for your cuisine. If you don’t have one of these in your kitchen, I would say close your kitchen.”

*Aricham Artisan is based in Berkeley, CA, and has been in the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market for almost four years.

Farhad Noory

Flatbread Queen

“We are very famous for spinach filled flatbread and also the spicy potato flatbread. We have yogurt dip and sweet jalapeno dip, and basil pesto dip. My favorite is the spicy potato with basil, tomato and spicy hummus. It is really, really good. Our products, sold under the Bolani brand, are delicious and all-natural, all handmade with no preservatives, additives, or chemicals.”

*Flatbread Queen is based out of Concord, CA and has been in the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market for 20 years.

Dagmawit Tesfaye Bekele

Oak-Dar

“I have Ethiopian Coffee. All Ethiopian, 100% from different regions with all different flavors. And then I have tea spice, with no caffeine, just like the way we make it at home. There are different types of coffee; they’re all good, but it depends on the flavors you like. I have three flavors right now: Harrar, Jafan, and Sidama. And we have condiments like ginger and butter. When you go to different regions in Ethiopia you will have different styles of coffee. If you go north they use ginger; if you go south they use butter.”

*Oak-Dar has been in the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market since 2011 and is based right here in Oakland.

Emmy Nathan Farr

EmmyLou Farr:

I live in Nevada, but I have a studio in San Rafael where I make my art. This (clothing design) is kind of a subset of tie die, ice dye. Instead of mixing the powdered dyes with water, you use ice. You lay down the fabric, and you spiral it or scrunch it up. You layer the ice on top of that, and then it melts down and creates the interesting patterns you see. I think this style of clothes dyeing appeals to people who like traditional tie-dye and those who don’t. I like to do a lot of things that are gender neutral. I don’t do a ton of super pink or super blue. Everybody loves rainbows.

*Emmy Lou Farr is based in San Rafael and has been in the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market since 2020.

Kai Nortey

Kubé Natural Desserts

“Kubé is a new genre of non-dairy, artisanal, organic, premium, full-fat coconut ice cream. We use real mama earth fruits, seeds, and roots. We’re using real organic ginger and real peppermint essential oil. We’re doing things the way Mama Earth designed for us: to have real foods that do not cause cancer. This is promoting good health and joy, dignity, and equity, back to people, animals, and soil. I’m excited about our pineapple ginger. It is real pineapple that is blended with a beautiful coconut cream. We crack mature coconuts and we cold press that into beautiful cream. No one is doing that. We have something truly unique and just beautiful to offer the people.”

*Kubé has been in the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market for two years and is based in West Oakland.

The Art Walk/Farmers’ Market Connection

Three artists with Farmers Market connections are going to be in the October art walk.

• Helen Krayenhoff, whose calendar art has graced our Calendar pages each month and who is part of Kassenhoff Growers (which used to be a fixture at the Market selling tomato starts), will showcase her art in front of The Barbary.
• Karen LeGault paints mostly florals and has been showing and selling her work at the Farmers Market for years.
• Mahader Tesfai, the Market Manager, designs apparel and also paints. Karen and Mahader will be set up near 8 AM Fashion on Santa Clara and Grand. 

Madhavi Athanikar has lived in the Grand Lake neighborhood for three years and recently left her job in fashion and retail management to look for her next adventure.