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Happy Monday neighbors!

We are THRILLED to bring you our inspiring conversation with Amanda Flores, Senior Director of Operations at the Flour + Water Hospitality Group, and founder of the Bay Area Restaurant Collective.

I first met Amanda when I worked at Flour + Water in the lead up to opening DD, and was immediately drawn to her warmth, passion, and compassionate leadership style.

We dove into her strategies for building community, the importance of leading with values, and how her work with the Collective promotes a more collaborative future for the hospitality industry (needless to say, we covered A LOT of ground).

We'll be taking a little break from the podcast next week, and will be ROARING back for Season 2 of the Forever Neighbor podcast in June (stay tuned for exciting updates). We couldn't dream of a better guest to close out our first season, and wish Amanda a happy (belated) birthday!

Links to the episode in our bio. Love you all!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Hey neighbors!

It's a pleasure to bring you my chat with Prince Boucher, Mission resident and founder of Mission Athletic Club - a tennis community that hosts FREE OF CHARGE social tennis games throughout San Francisco. Prince is such a passionate guy who is genuinely interested in bringing people together, and his work is so inspiring to me and countless others! I wasn't even a tennis fan before this conversation, but Prince's enthusiasm is so infectious, I've already signed up for a volley!

There's a little catch: you may have heard about a proposal floating around for the city to start charging an hourly fee for use of our public tennis and pickleball courts - a move that would dramatically cut court usage and make the work of the Mission Athletic Club financially unsustainable.

If you're interested signing a petition against this proposal, click here, and for more info, see the Mission Local piece here.

Thanks again to Prince and the community of volunteers at Mission Athletic Club for making movement and wellness more accessible and fun!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Hey gang!

We have been pushing so hard over the last few months, both at the store and with this podcast, and there are some EXCITING changes on the way!

Make sure to stick around until the end of this episode for a cool podcast related announcement too! :)

Love you so much,

Ramzi + the DD Team

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Happy Monday neighbors,

I'm so stoked to finally have our friend and neighbor Nabeel Silmi on the podcast this week! Nabeel is the owner and founder of Grand Coffee, a neighborhood institution with roots in the Mission dating back to 2010. Since opening their first location, Nabeel and partners have expanded into a second, larger cafe space on Mission Street, plus a roastery in the East Bay.

I've witnessed many local brands scale and lose that "by the neighborhood, for the neighborhood" feel, but what Nabeel and the team have built feels timeless and accessible to everyone.

I'm so inspired by Nabeel's leadership - as a small business owner, political activist and neighbor - and congratulate him and his team on 15 years coming up this July.

Thanks again for listening and see you soon!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Hey neighbors - hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!

I'm thrilled to bring you my conversation with Mohit Kohli, managing director of Fault Radio and cofounder of the newly opened Studio Aurora on 14th & Valencia.

Fault Radio is the ultimate cultural multi-hyphenate: online radio station. music archive, SF non-profit, and in person platform for up-and-coming local artists. Their mission is to provide their community with the tools and support needed to hone their craft, expand their networks, and elevate their presence in the Bay Area and beyond.

I met Mo in person for the first time this weekend, but have been a huge fan of what he and Dario have built over at Studio Aurora. Like most creatives in the city, Mo's journey has been circuitous - riddled with bureaucratic challenges - but his passion and drive have allowed him to bounce back and keep organically growing his platform.

Check out Fault Radio's website for upcoming events and details on how to support/donate!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Happy Monday neighbors!

I am so excited to share my conversation with Anand Upender, founder + operator of one of my favorite creative projects in the Bay Area, York Street Cafe!

We recently hosted York Street at DD, and I was blown away by Anand's creative vitality, attention to detail, and commitment to building community. Every York Street activation is an opportunity to try something new and meet new people - two of my favorite activities in San Francisco. :)

This was such a fun recording for so many reasons: Anand talked through the origins of his love for food + beverage, the opening and closing of his Vacant-to-Vibrant brick and mortar location, and shares what he's looking for in a new brick and mortar space.

Sidenote: make sure to listen to the 40 minute mark, when Anand and I start sharing some of creative prompts - leading to some new sandwich + drink ideas (my first time capturing the creative process on the podcast)!

Many thanks to Anand for his transparency + vulnerability. We'll be hosting another event with York Street in a few weeks so stay tuned!

See you soon!

Ramzi

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Happy Monday neighbors!

So excited to share my conversation with Lisa Rowland: Dolores Heights resident, community member, mother, performer, improviser, teacher, and AMAZING HUMAN BEING!

Lisa is involved in so many endeavors: from her work as Artistic Director and mainstage performer at BATS Improv, to her founding of the Improv Playhouse of San Francisco and Awkward Dinner Party, to her decade plus run as a touring improviser and teacher across the globe.

I could talk to Lisa all day, and am so inspired by her unabashed love for people + community. Check out her website for more info on her amazing work, or if you're interested in catching one of her shows!

Many thanks to Lisa, her partner Dave, and her daughter Ramona for their endless support of the shop and our neighborhood!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Happy Monday neighbors!

I am so stoked to be sharing my conversation with the one and only Janelle Nelissen: SF resident, community member, day one Forever Neighbor supporter, and owner/operator of The Sage Creatives: a branding and digital marketing agency whose purpose is to support small businesses in bringing their visions to life.

Janelle and I connected via this very Instagram page, and I knew from our first interaction that she would make an amazing interview subject. You can hear the passion and dedication in her voice, and her insights had me reflecting on what I could do to better support small businesses in our little city.

Thanks as always for listening, and for believing in this project. ❤️

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.