'End of an era': Bakery housed in historic Black Panthers building abruptly closes its doors
It's All Good Bakery in Oakland has closed. The bakery operated out of a building that formerly housed the Black Panthers Party's first headquarters. (KTVU FOX 2)
OAKLAND, Calif. - A renowned bakery that for decades whipped up its desserts out of a historic building used by Oakland’s Black Panther Party has abruptly closed its doors.
It’s All Good Bakery located at 5622 Martin Luther King Junior Way in Oakland, began serving the community in 1996. Over the three decades in business, it drew droves of customers with popular desserts like its sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake, peach cobbler, and its signature Seven-Up cake, along with a test of history.
After helping to put desserts on people's tables this past holiday season and into the start of the new year, the bake shop announced it was time to hang up its aprons.
What we know:
On Sunday, the longtime North Oakland business shared on social media that it had whipped up its final batch and officially closed its doors, saying it was the "end of an era."
Owner and Oakland native Kim Cloud said the decision to close was based on rising costs of ingredients and labor. Another factor is his daughter, who helps run the bakery: she's expecting a child.
Cloud said the decision was bittersweet, and credits his managers, Kevin Lemott, Tevar Perry, and his late brother Ruben "Jerry" Richardson, for helping to keep the business running for so long.
"People say, ‘I love your desserts,’ ‘You did my wedding cake,’ ‘We buy all our pies and desserts from you for the holidays,'" Cloud said. "That's why it's bittersweet, because my customers weren't just a number, you know what I mean? I actually knew my customers. I watched their kids group up. So it's going to be kind of hard."
A taste of history
Cloud launched the business using family recipes that had been handed down generation to generation, starting with his grandmother.
He purchased the building a year after launching the bakery, and it was only later that he learned that he was in possession of "a piece of history," according to the business’s website, and the local tourism non-profit Visit Oakland.
The significance of this struck a chord with Cloud, as he and his siblings were recipients of a community welfare program offered by the seminal revolutionary group.
"When he was a child, the Black Panther Party sponsored the ‘Free Breakfast Program’ which he and his brothers and sisters participated," the company’s website said. "The Black Panther Party was known in Oakland to always give back to the community."
It's All Good Bakery is connected to the Black Panther Party in more ways than one. Fredrika Newton, the wife of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton, and the president of the Huey P. Newton foundation, is one of Cloud's customers, and said she hopes Cloud and the city of Oakland can find a way to preserve the site and its history.
"(Cloud has) been a fixture in this community and has always been a champion for the history of the Black Panther Party that was in his bakery, so we're sorry to see it closed," Newton said. "I loved his pound cake myself, back in the day. So yeah, there's a very important landmark, and he's been a friend to the Party, as you can see by the installation in his bakery."
"Just about every one of our sites have been preserved, and we're working with the city to preserve and recognize even more, particularly in the Temescal area, where (It's All Good) has been," Newton said.
Serving the community
After learning about his connection to the revolutionary organization, Cloud set out to incorporate the Panthers' community-minded model into his business.
"He wanted to be a presence in the Oakland community and give back. By hiring employees that lived in the neighborhood or that couldn’t get jobs at other places, he wanted to provide an opportunity for positive change," It's All Good's website states. "(Cloud) wanted to use the bakery to change people’s lives."
In a 2022 interview with KTVU's Dave Clark, Cloud shared about the moment he learned that his shop had ties to the Black Panther.
It happened in the early days of the business. Cloud said he was working when a customer pointed out another visitor to the shop, who happened to be Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale.
Cloud went over and introduced himself, and it was during that conversation that Seale revealed to him that he and Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton first operated their Black power movement out of the same site of the bakery.
"It was like finding my Black hero all over again," Cloud shared, "You know, I'm proud of Oakland."
Popular dessert destination
With the allure of the site's historical significance and a slice of nostalgia served with its family-recipe-derived desserts, the shop became a destination for both locals and out-of-towners, as well as having some prominent figures on its list of guests.
"People from all around the world have visited the bakery to sample its wonderful desserts, from the mayor of San Francisco, to Patti LaBelle to Maze to news anchor Pam Moore," the bakery's website states. "This is how we know that we have something special and that our desserts really are all good!"
What they're saying:
There are multiple Yelp posts about how this Oakland institution was a community treasure, and folks from near and far have shared about their visits.
"Best peach cobbler and sweet potato pie I've had in my life. I come here every chance I get, it's spectacular," Yelp user Ed H. from Tucson, Arizona, posted.
Closer to home, Yelper Gabrielle T. of Oakland shared how her mother made it a point to stop by the bakery and described how the visit evoked a feeling of days gone by.
"To see how happy it made her reminded me of all the times we'd visited growing up and all of the times folks showed up at holidays or functions or birthdays with cakes or pies or banana pudding from their shelves," Gabriella T. wrote, adding, "It's All Good is an Oakland institution as seeped in rich flavor as it is in rich history, and you can find both behind their doors."
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Not all the reviews were five-star stellar. Some of the recent posts from last month complained about the high prices and expressed disappointment about the quality not being what it used to be.
"It's All Good Bakery definitely has lost their touch not to mention their prices has doubled," Yelper G.F. from Berkeley posted.
Housing development proposal
KTVU previously reported that the property owner had plans to demolish part of the site and rebuild a five-story mixed-use complex that included 20 apartment units.
As part of that plan, the bakery below was to remain.
Still, the redevelopment plan sparked debate and concern that the integrity of the historic site would be threatened even if the former Black Panthers headquarters was kept intact.
Housing vs. history
In a city and region where a shortage of housing is a constant issue, the proposed development sparked debate over housing versus preserving history.
In Cloud's interview with Dave Clark, his response was that the Panthers operated its headquarters out of that site for only a year.
"Since I've owned the place, it's had three owners. So it's not even the same that it was back then. It's already half-changed," Cloud said. "So what are you preserving?"
He continued to say that he's worked to honor and pay tribute to the Black Panthers at the bakery site and said that he "donated" a wall to the organization, a wall dedicated to sharing the Panthers' history.
He also said as part of the plans, the bakery would remain, but would temporarily relocate during construction.
"When we come back to the new location, the bakery will still be downstairs, and then we have four stories over the top," Cloud had explained.
During that 2022 interview, he also noted that he hoped the project would get underway within a year's time, "if everything goes according to plan."
What we don't know:
It's unclear now how the closure of It's All Good affects the redevelopment project.
Dig deeper:
In an email, Oakland Public Information Officer Jean Walsh told KTVU that the city review is "still in process and nothing has been approved at this time."
Love and gratitude
In the bake shop's post over the weekend announcing its closure, the business spoke of the love it put into every dessert it sold and shared a message of gratitude toward the community it had served for some 30 years.
"We’ve poured our hearts into every batch, but it’s time for us to take a break," It’s All Good's post reads. "We couldn’t have done this without our incredible customers. Thank you for the love and support."
Kim Cloud of the It's All Good Bakery
Kim Cloud is the owner of It’s All Good Bakery. Since 1996, Kim and his family have created tasty treats using the finest ingredients and recipes handed down from his grandmother and mother. But, before it was a bakery, the building has a historic connection in Oakland’s black community and the Black Panthers.