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Gather ^[5] is a restaurant located at the heart of the sustainable food movement in Berkeley, California. Designed by Nicole Sillapere of Sillapere Design ^[6], the beautiful eco restaurant is housed in the greenest building in Berkeley, The David Brower Center ^[7]. The chefs serve up local seasonal fare from some Bay Area favorite farms like River Dog ^[8] and Devils Gulch ^[9] paired with biodynamic wines from Verdad ^[10] and other eco wineries — places that are proving that responsible farming can heal the land. The restaurant itself is made of beautifully re-purposed materials like seat benches made from leather belts and banquet tables made from old high school bleachers.

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Gather is one of the most recent additions to the DBC ^[7], and they fully embrace the ethic of their neighboring world changers like SAGE ^[12], The Earth Island Institute ^[13] and The Center for Ecoliteracy ^[14].

In their words: “Always Possible. When we hear people use the words “whenever possible” which are used quite often in regard to organic, seasonal and/or sustainable food, we have a slightly different take on things. Truth is – it’s always possible. If an ingredient can’t be found, we use something else. It’s that simple.”

Sit down at a table made from an old water tank and look around at the cabinetry in the open kitchen that used to be a pickle barrel. Have a meal at the bar lit by old Ketel One Vodka bottles in the comfort of the ultra-efficient HVAC system and check out the ‘source book’ to find out what town your sandwich grew up in; it’s worth it.

Gather is dear to this writer’s heart — it was opened by the folks behind Back To Earth Catering ^[15], a former employer of mine and the first job I’ve had that I really felt good about from an environmental standpoint. Both of these organizations are virtually zero waste and fully committed to excellent food from only the most responsible sources.

+ Gather ^[5]

+ Sillapere Design ^[6]