After nearly eight years of planning to expand, The Cheese Board Collective has recently pushed construction into “full speed” for the addition of a corner store location to their Berkeley operations, said Vanessa Vichit-Vadakan, worker and owner of the collective.
In order to maintain operations during the construction period, the collective will be serving the public out of a shipping container located on Shattuck Avenue near the original location, according to the Cheese Board Collective’s website.
The new system is set to begin Jan. 20 — after the collective’s winter break concludes and the bakery reopens — its website also said. It hopes to have its new location up and running mid-to-late 2026, while warning patrons of the possibility of new or altered hours and offerings in the interim.
“It’s an important part of the community, and we are very focused on moving it forward,” Vichit-Vadakan said.
The shipping container intends to sell products and popular items such as their Parbake Pizzas —partially baked pies to be finished at home. Meanwhile, the collective’s pizzeria will serve as an overflow space, according to Vichit-Vadakan.
Vichit-Vadakan noted that it could be difficult to move the products at the same volume as before because of the limited space in the shipping container. But even with challenges, she says the collective is still excited.
“We feel very fortunate that the city of Berkeley has worked with us to get that shipping container there and we’re also really excited to move into the new space as soon as we can,” Vichit-Vadakan added.
She noted that in 2018, the collective took over the lease of the produce market on the corner of Vine Street and Shattuck Avenue, but construction and expansion plans were halted due to the pandemic.
However, when the owners decided to sell the building in 2023, the collective jumped at the opportunity to own the location.
“We were very excited to be able to buy the building, and were determined to because we were really concerned that ownership by anybody else could mean a rent hike that we wouldn’t survive,” Vichit-Vadakan said.
The Cheese Board Collective upholds a cooperative business model that participates in capitalism while protecting workers, Vichit-Vadakan shared. Most of the workers are also owners who share in decision-making.
When deciding to purchase the new corner location, Vichit-Vadakan described the decision as one of the biggest choices they have made but also one of the easiest. Highlighting the nature of a cooperative business model, she said the decision created a lot of respectful debates and conversations among the co-workers.
“(The collective serves) not just as a place for the community to come, but as a place for people to be able to work and push this collective model forward,” Vichit-Vadakan said.