Oakland’s The Damel has closed, but empanadas will make a comeback

The Damel, a favorite in the East Bay for Afro-Brazilian cuisine, officially closed its door in downtown Oakland earlier this month. But it’s not the end for distinguished chef Oumar Diouf.

What Now SF was the first to report that a new restaurant, BigE Burgers, was taking over the 1,500-square-foot space at 1312 Broadway, where Diouf had been slinging the dishes of his native Senegal, as well as Argentinian empanadas, since 2019.

But phoning in from Dakar, where he is currently traveling, Diouf told The Mercury News that while The Damel location has closed, he is currently negotiating new leases in locations like Fruitvale and Uptown Oakland to open a space focused on catering, which is where his career began. At some point, he may offer a smaller menu, too, perhaps focused on those popular empanadas, he says.

Diouf blames the impact of COVID, inflation and downtown’s high rent for the closure.

“The landlord was not flexible,” says Diouf, who has rented out his Point Richmond location to a catering company. “And he knew other people would be interested in the space.”

Down the road, Diouf hopes to break into the consumer packaged goods arena, which is where many restaurants, including Reem’s California and Augie’s Montreal Deli, have gained traction. The latter shuttered its Berkeley brick and mortar recently but has been offering its deli sandwiches at San Jose’s SAP Center since December.