Bay Area

Development of Marriott Hotel Tower in Downtown Oakland Forces Closure of Uncle Wille’s BBQ, Owners Say

The family-owned business, Uncle Willie’s Original BBQ and Fish, located at 614 14th St. in downtown Oakland, has served local clientele for decades but has been forced to close by the “arrogant abuse” of the Oakland Marriott Hotel and co-developer Lew Wolff, who have been building an 18-story tower next to the restaurant, say family members.

Published

2 years ago

July 10, 2023

Oakland Post

The 18-story development by the Marriott and developer Lew Wolff dwarfs Uncle Willie’s BBQ and Fish, as well as the street view of Uncle Willie’s BBQ and Fish on 14th Street in downtown Oakland. Post file photo.

By Post Staff

The project, which began building several years ago, will provide 276 new guest rooms across from the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building at 1431 Jefferson St.
Family members have now filed a lawsuit against Wolff and the Marriott, saying that during construction of the building, debris, including dangerous objects and dust, have fallen from the building project into the restaurant’s courtyard eating area, forcing Uncle Willie’s to close.

Originally, family members had supported the development. “We were looking forward to (the development), but they didn’t really give us any consideration,” said a family member. “We were assured that during this development, our business and our property wouldn’t be impacted. That just wasn’t the reality.”
Uncle Willie’s was located in the city’s Black Arts Movement Business District, which was created by the city in 2016 to support and encourage small Black businesses in the downtown area, but the city never implemented the resolution.

Uncle Willie, a Parish, Texas, native, moved to Oakland in 1970 after serving in Air Force during the Vietnam War. He passed his seasoning, smoking meats and homemade BBQ sauce-making skills to his son Craig Jones and nephew Nichalas Breland, who make ribs, brisket, chicken, and homemade beef links.
“My dad, when he was transitioning, his last few words to me were, ‘Protect and keep what we have,’ and that’s what I’m trying do,” said Craig Jones in an interview with NBC Bay Area.
In a Youtube video, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh8sN1KEELk), family members tell how they lost their ‘legacy.’

According to news reports, Wolff is chairman & CEO of Wolff Urban Development, LLC, a real estate acquisition, investment, development, and management firm. Since 1994, Wolff has served as chairman of Maritz, Wolff & Co., a privately held hotel investment group that owns and manages assets for top-tier luxury hotels, with over $1.0 billion of assets under management.

Since 1968, Wolff has developed over 4,000,000 square feet of urban real estate, including hotels, office space, retail, town homes, and commercial parking properties.
By the Oakland Post’s deadline, the newspaper had not received a reply for a request for a comment from Wolff or Marriott.

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Activism

Asm. Corey Jackson Proposes Safe Parking for Homeless College Students Sleeping in Cars

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), is the author of AB 90, which would require community colleges and California State University campuses to create overnight parking programs where students can sleep safely in their vehicles. With one in four community college students in California experiencing homelessness in the past year, Jackson says the state must act urgently.

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Corey Jackson. File photo.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

As California’s housing crisis continues to impact students, new legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 90, promises to allow college students without stable housing to sleep in their cars on campus, offering a stark but practical solution aimed at immediate relief.

“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” he said at a recent hearing.

The bill passed its first committee vote and is gaining attention as housing affordability remains a top concern across the state. California rents are more than 30% above the national average, and long waitlists for student housing have left thousands in limbo. CSU reported more than 4,000 students on its housing waitlist last year.

Supporters stress that the bill is not a long-term solution, but a humane step toward helping students who have no other place to go. A successful pilot program at Long Beach City College has already shown that safe, supervised overnight parking can work, giving students access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, and a secure environment.

However, the CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns. Critics also worry about safety and oversight. But Jackson and student advocates argue the crisis demands bold action.

“If we know students are already sleeping in their cars, why not help them do it safely?” said Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

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Activism

Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

9 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

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Activism

Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

9 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.