Gourmet Ghetto, Business district in North Berkeley, California

The Gourmet Ghetto is the North Shattuck business district of Berkeley's North Berkeley neighborhood, a stretch of Shattuck Avenue around Walnut and Vine streets. It grew around Peet's Coffee, opened at that corner in 1966, the Cheese Board Collective founded in 1967, and Chez Panisse, which opened in 1971 in an Arts and Crafts-style house on Shattuck Avenue. The city and local business association now call the area North Shattuck.

The district's food history began on April 1, 1966, when Dutch-born Alfred Peet opened the first Peet's Coffee at Walnut and Vine, selling freshly roasted whole beans. The Cheese Board followed a few doors down in 1967, and Chez Panisse opened in 1971 in an Arts and Crafts-style house on Shattuck Avenue. The nickname arrived in the late 1970s from comedian Darryl Henriques.

The neighborhood earned its identity as the birthplace of a cooking movement that champions local, seasonal ingredients from nearby farms. Walking through the streets today, you see this philosophy at work in how restaurants source and prepare their food.

The neighborhood is best explored on foot, with most places within a short walk along Shattuck Avenue. Parking can be difficult to find, so public transportation or biking are more practical ways to arrive.

The Cheese Board Collective, founded in 1967 by Elizabeth and Sahag Avedisian and sold to its six employees in 1971, introduced the sourdough baguette to the United States in 1975. The employee-owned shop on Shattuck Avenue still bakes bread and sells cheese, and its workers share ownership of the business.