{"id":259200,"date":"2026-04-09T11:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/259200\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:22:10","slug":"a-new-oakland-restaurant-is-boldly-focused-on-just-one-ingredient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/259200\/","title":{"rendered":"A new Oakland restaurant is boldly focused on just one ingredient"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Jake Stolz first moved to Oakland<\/a> in 2021, mushrooms were not on his radar. He\u2019d moved across the country from Pittsburgh to work in the cannabis industry<\/a>. But when he saw a friend at work growing their own mushrooms, his life took a different turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cMagically, mushrooms just kind of popped into my life,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five years later, Stolz is celebrating the grand opening of Fungi Foods, his new Uptown Oakland restaurant dedicated to the humble, endlessly versatile mushroom. In the playful space, rainbow mushroom vases filled with wildflowers decorate the tables, and neon mushroom lights hang on the walls. Diners chomp into crispy fried maitake sandwiches and fried oyster mushroom-topped mashed potato bowls, all while golden afternoon light bathes the brick walls.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

The classic Cajun sandwich with fries at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"The<\/p>\n

The dining area at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

Stolz started Fungi Farms, the mushroom farming leg of his business, out of his Alameda apartment in 2022. A grow tent took over his bedroom, and he began selling his mushrooms in the break room at work. His coworkers\u2019 enthusiasm for them gave him a spore of inspiration: \u201cOh my gosh, I\u2019m going to grow mushrooms and cook it into mushroom food and sell it at music festivals,\u201d he recalled saying.<\/p>\n

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He kept his full-time cannabis job while spending his evenings learning about, growing and harvesting mushrooms, as well as selling his goods at farmers markets in Oakland and Alameda during his weekends. When an opportunity at a farmers market came up that cut into his day job hours, he decided to quit: It was time to go all in on mushrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Fungi Farms expanded, Stolz outgrew his bedroom. He moved the operation into a vacant barn on a private property in Orinda, which he remodeled into grow rooms and a lab. Then, it was time to start working on the next part of his dream: cooking mushroom-centric food. Stolz had a background working in restaurants as a server and bartender, but he had never worked in a kitchen before. He\u2019d also never cooked vegan food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mushroom<\/p>\n

Mushroom decor hangs on the walls at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"The<\/p>\n

The Caesar salad with romaine lettuce, house caesar, toasted breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and oyster mushroom \u201canchovies\u201d at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

At first, he planned to launch Fungi Foods with a chef friend as his business partner\u00a0\u2014 but the chef backed out at the last minute. Stolz called it a blessing in disguise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat day that I got that message, I was at the farm,\u201d Stolz said. \u201cI had a helper there with me that day, and I looked at him and I said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ve got to go. I\u2019ve got to go learn how to cook.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

With the help of YouTube and a lot of trial and error, Stolz jump-started his \u201cchef era,\u201d as he called it. He knew he wanted to make vegan food because he \u201cwanted to include everybody,\u201d he said. But at the same time, he was aware of the stigma that the term \u201cvegan\u201d can carry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew with it being mushrooms and it being plant-based that I needed to do some things that felt familiar, so that people wouldn\u2019t be totally scared away,\u201d Stolz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Lasagna, with mushroom ragu, and creamy b\u00e9chamel lasagna served with toasted garlic bread at Fungi Foods in Oakland, California on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"Mushroom<\/p>\n

Mushroom decor and card games are placed out on dining tables at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

He drew inspiration from his past as a \u201cfast food junkie,\u201d back before he went vegan. One of his favorite meals used to be the KFC Famous Bowl, a bowl of mashed potatoes topped with fried chicken and gravy. He set about making his own plant-based version: the KFV Bowl, or Kentucky Fried Vegan Bowl. A base of creamy mashed potatoes is topped with fried oyster mushrooms, Cajun-seasoned corn, mushroom gravy and Cajun ranch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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From there, the rest of the comfort food menu came naturally: cornbread, mushroom chili, BBQ mushroom-loaded mac and cheese, and mushroom sandwiches. Everything is $18 or less and bursting with flavor, bearing no suggestion of the dull health food stereotype often associated with vegan food. A standout is the classic Cajun sandwich ($16): a towering pile of crispy fried maitake mushrooms doused in creamy Cajun ranch and accented with a sweet-spicy-tangy tangle of candied jalapenos, dill pickles and slaw on a pillowy brioche bun, coupled with a side of hand-cut fries.<\/p>\n

In April 2024, Stolz debuted Fungi Foods at Pleasant Hill\u2019s Rodgers Ranch Heritage Center. He started selling his mushroom cuisine at farmers markets and pop-ups across the Bay Area, eventually landing coveted spots at the Berkeley Bowl and the Grand Lake Farmers Market in Oakland. The latter was especially successful, with\u00a0Oaklanders taking a particular liking to his mushroom-based food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat market really just sparked so much energy in me,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were so well received.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Owner<\/p>\n

Owner Jake Stolz poses with a dish at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"The<\/p>\n

The KFV (Kentucky Fried Vegan) with fried oyster mushrooms, cajun ranch, mashed potatoes and cornbread at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

Last July, his dream of selling mushroom food at a music festival even came true when he vended at the Northern Nights Music Festival in Mendocino County. And, as of late March, he\u2019s softly opened Fungi Foods\u2019 brick-and-mortar on Oakland\u2019s 25th Street between Telegraph Avenue and Broadway. The grand opening is on April 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The restaurant is inside a commissary kitchen called Platform 43 that Fungi Foods shares with other businesses\u00a0\u2014 currently, just one other eatery that operates in the mornings called Town Biscuits. It has a full dining room in front, which Stolz has decked out in mushroom-centric decor (although sharing the space means they have to take it all down at the end of each service).<\/p>\n

He hopes diners will sit down and stay a while, and he\u2019s even placed card games at each table to encourage connection. New additions to the menu include a mushroom lasagna and Caesar salad with mushroom \u201canchovies,\u201d with most dishes made from the oyster, lion\u2019s mane, chestnut and shiitake mushrooms that he and his crew grow themselves. Customers can also buy bags of mushroom jerky to take home or their very own mushroom grow kit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mushroom<\/p>\n

Mushroom grow kits are available for purchase at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"The<\/p>\n

The Cajun BBQ, mushroom-loaded mac and cheese at Fungi Foods in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

Stolz\u00a0recognizes that it\u2019s not the easiest time to open a plant-based restaurant. Last week, 31-year-old Oakland vegan restaurant Millennium announced its impending closure<\/a>, and the Bay Area-founded vegetarian fast food chain Amy\u2019s Kitchen recently closed<\/a> its final restaurant at San Francisco International Airport. The tide has turned against veganism in the broader culture: Eleven Madison Park famously added meat back to its menu last year after going vegan for four years, and in a local echo, vegan burger restaurant Malibu\u2019s Burgers in Oakland recently expanded its menu offerings to include meat to combat \u201cslowed business, rising costs, and a broader decline in interest in vegan dining,\u201d it wrote in a\u00a0January announcement<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Stolz sees two major challenges to running a plant-based restaurant: one, that vegan ingredients are often more expensive, and two, appealing to non-vegans (most regular restaurants now offer vegan options, so why bother taking a group of people with mixed diets to a dedicated vegan spot?). Fungi Foods combats high ingredient costs by growing most of the core ingredients itself, and it appeals to non-vegans with both its branding \u2014 avoiding the word \u201cvegan\u201d when possible \u2014 and food offerings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know somebody who\u2019s not a vegan and they go and eat regular beef burgers, the likelihood of them going to a vegan burger spot is pretty slim,\u201d Stolz said. \u201cBut if they were to, say, see an oyster mushroom sandwich, I think they’d be more inclined to try that than they would a \u2018vegan\u2019 burger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The exterior of Fungi Foods on 25th Street in Oakland, Calif., on April 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

Stolz is a devoted advocate of the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet. But ultimately, he\u2019s just really passionate about mushrooms and wants other people to love them as much as he does. They\u2019ve become somewhat of a lucky charm for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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As we wrapped up our phone interview, Stolz noticed a sole mushroom sprouting out of the flower bed next to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a mushroom right next to me,\u201d he said, his voice filling with excitement. \u201cThat\u2019s a good sign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fungi Foods<\/a>, 434 25th St., Oakland. Open Thursday through Sunday, 5-8:30\u00a0p.m., closed Monday through Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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