After Tribune Tower shooting, Oakland restaurant owner seeks safer location
OAKLAND — In the aftermath of a shooting Friday night, Cleashaun Hill took to Instagram to show footage of the bullet holes, shattered plates and blood spatter inside his downtown restaurant, Pierre Pierre.
Hill opened the Black-owned, southern-style fine dining eatery on the ground floor of the Tribune Tower two years ago. His goal, he said, was to help change a perception that Oakland’s downtown was troubled.
But after Friday’s shooting, which injured a woman and a man, he’s considering moving to a part of the city where he and his staff can be safe, he said.
“This hurts,” Hill wrote on the post, which as of Tuesday had over 90,000 likes. “I genuinely wanted to do something meaningful for us — for our people. We deserve to have something that’s ours. But the response I got makes me feel like giving up.”
The gunfire erupted at around 8:16 p.m. — while patrons were eating dinner — and police investigators say they found bullet casings inside the restaurant at 13th and Franklin streets, leading them to believe the shooting took place inside. A Richmond man and a woman from Oakland were each wounded, taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Hill has organized a GoFundMe fundraiser to relocate Pierre Pierre, rebuild the restaurant space that was damaged in the shooting and enhance security at the future location. He added that money from the fundraiser would also go to support staff during the transition.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the fundraiser has raised more than $37,000, with a goal of $50,000.
“Pierre Pierre was created as more than a restaurant — it was a safe space. A sanctuary for Black excellence. A place where our people could gather, celebrate, dine, and dream in peace. In a city where gentrification, violence, and systemic inequities often silence us, Pierre Pierre stood as a voice,” Hill wrote in the GoFundMe post. “Pierre Pierre was built to be a symbol — of resilience, culture, excellence, and pride. This tragedy has shaken us, but it has not broken us.”
But the shooting has hurt Hill’s aspirations for the business’s future in downtown Oakland, he said.
“This act of violence didn’t just cause physical damage – it destroyed a part of our future. Now, we are fighting to recover, rebuild and relocate to a safer environment where our guests and staff can feel protected and free,” Hill wrote. “The more I give, the more it’s broken.”
No arrests have been announced. Authorities say the events leading up to the shooting are still a mystery because cameras inside the restaurant were not recording at the time. They are still seeking witnesses to provide more information about the shooting.
Reporter Harry Harris contributed to this article.