Ramzi Budayr opened Dolores Deluxe, a historic neighborhood market featuring fresh bread, organic produce, homemade baked goods, prepared food, and wine in San Francisco’s Mission District in 2022. Prior to that, Ramzi held several hospitality leadership positions, including general manager of the NoMad Hotel in Los Angeles and head maître d’ at Eleven Madison Park in New York.
On an episode of Forever Neighbor, Ramzi interviewed Emma Thomas-Sand and Justin Esposito, partners in the mobile oyster and wine collaboration Lo-Fi Oyster Co. Here, he walks us through what he learned from the conversation, including how brick-and-mortar businesses can partner with pop-ups, stimulating growth and customers’ taste buds.
If someone has never been to a Lo-Fi pop-up, how would you describe what makes it special?
Ramzi Budayri: On a personal note, it’s so cool to see Lo-Fi take off, because Emma helped me open Dolores Deluxe and that’s where she piloted the first oyster pop-up. Emma has a background in food, wine, and events, while her partner, Justin, works in the music industry. Together they created Lo-Fi at the intersection of fresh oysters and jazz — a classic pairing with blue-collar roots. They have incredible vision and passion, and their events are so much more than a food pop-up. They’re really an excuse to throw a concert and bring local musicians and lo-fi jazz to spaces around San Francisco and even as far away as New York. There’s an artistic element too — Emma and Justin hire local artists for their flyers and sometimes feature a visual art installation on site.
What makes Lo-Fi pop-ups special is that they’re filling a need for lovers of food, music, and art who want gatherings that feel more accessible. And the events are constantly changing, because they’re tailored around each location. No two events are the same. Other pop-ups are not as layered or multifaceted as Lo-Fi’s, because Emma and Justin add an extra level of quality and complexity that isn’t easy to pull off. Emma also selects a thoughtful wine pairing for each event. And the music is so good that some people come just for that — they don’t even buy the oysters.
Lo-Fi doesn’t have a fixed location, yet they create a strong sense of space and connection. What do you think brick-and-mortar businesses can learn from that?
Ramzi Budayr: There’s a lot to be learned from Lo-Fi for small business owners in particular, like the importance of really thinking through all the layers of the guest experience. As a business owner, you’re leading your community’s identity but also growing along with it. That’s what’s cool about Lo-Fi. Their artwork has evolved, and the music series continues to evolve. This year, they’ll be hosting straight-up concerts with big-name musicians, and the oysters and wine will be sort of on the side. The lesson here is to have a lot of different things that you care about in your space, and set them up in such a way that you can dial certain elements up or down, depending on the need. That’s really the key to Lo-Fi’s success.
Is there something you’ve learned from Lo-Fi’s approach that you’d consider bringing into your own business?
Ramzi Budayr: Creatively, they can be very flexible and nimble and still be successful. Emma and Justin were able to establish credibility with their customers by using Square for transactions, and the email capture feature enabled them to let their customers know where they would be next. Impermanence is part of the pleasure of pop-ups and attracts the kind of people that are OK with change and spontaneity.
But for me, if one of my classic sandwiches is not available at the store, people get really upset. I want to start pushing back a little and have a fluid dynamic. I’d like to have more of a conversational approach like Lo-Fi. It’s a way for your community to have more input and ownership over the end product.
Should more brick-and-mortar businesses partner with pop-ups?
Ramzi Budayr: Yes, this is super important to highlight! Pop-ups are a really important part of living and breathing the food and beverage community in the Bay Area. It’s so valuable for brick-and-mortar spaces to platform pop-ups. I personally am not going to shuck oysters — it’s just not going to happen. But the fact that Lo-Fi is willing to do it in my space, which isn’t really set up for it, is such a value-add to my community. That’s one of the reasons why pop-ups have grown and you see very creative things coming out of them. The barrier to entry and financial exposure is so much lower, and pop-ups allow all of our communities to experience really cool things.
How did your conversation reshape your understanding of what it means to belong to a neighborhood or a community, even without a permanent address?
Ramzi Budayr: Lo-Fi’s community is their customers, the venues, the musicians Justin brings in from his network, and even the oyster suppliers. Their approach makes me think about how I can get disparate communities interacting with one another more intentionally.
What’s really cool about Lo-Fi is that the guests are kind of forced to interact because they’re all contributing to an experience that they want to be at for an hour or two. Over the course of that event they’re going to meet new people and talk to them. On the other hand, my store has a much quicker turnaround because I don’t have seating. So I’m thinking, “how do I do this, either within my four walls or outside of my four walls?” Because building community is something I really value, too. I get to work with all these amazing people, so how can I get them together? That’s part of the reason why I started my podcast, Forever Neighbor. Building community is something I really value, too. I get to work with all these amazing people. I often think, how can I get them together?
