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Gourmet Ghetto
The Gourmet Ghetto is a neighborhood food district in North Berkeley, centered on Solano Avenue and Shattuck Avenue, known for independent restaurants and food businesses since the 1970s.
The Gourmet Ghetto is a historic cluster of restaurants and food shops in North Berkeley, centered around Solano Avenue and Shattuck Avenue, that emerged in the 1970s. The district began when Berkeley residents opened small, independent restaurants focused on fresh seasonal ingredients and diverse cuisines at a time when such establishments were rare in suburban areas. The neighborhood includes some of the Bay Area's longest-established independent restaurants, wine shops, bakeries and specialty food purveyors.
The name 'Gourmet Ghetto' was coined to describe the concentration of food-focused businesses in a modest neighborhood storefront area. Over the decades it has become a destination for people from across the Bay Area who seek independently owned restaurants and artisanal food producers. The district reflects Berkeley's character as a city committed to food quality, sustainability, and community-owned businesses. Many of the restaurants and shops have been operating for forty years or more, creating gathering places where neighbors meet, celebrate, and build community.
For Berkeley families and workers, the Gourmet Ghetto represents the kind of neighborhood-scale businesses and gathering places that define the city's quality of life: small owner-operated shops, community connections, reliable places to celebrate milestones and share meals with people who matter. Those community ties and the life built around them are exactly what a family income is meant to protect. Life insurance sized to your household needs ensures that the people who depend on you can preserve those connections and that quality of life.