Meski ‘only the beginning’ for Draymond Green, partners in Bay Area restaurant scene — Andscape

“I love going there after games,” Green told Andscape. “It’s great… I have a bunch of pride in it. I know better than to involve myself in the weeds of the business that you’re not in daily. It’s undermining Guma, chef Nelson [German] and Brandon [Davis], our general manager. It’s undermining their expertise. I give critiques as a customer. ‘I see X, Y and Z.’ But it’s our spot and I approach it that way.

“If you meet the owner and chef and they’re excited to be there and they want to take a picture, what do you think chef and owner are going to do? Take a picture. What makes me any different? If someone asks, I will take the picture and sign the autograph because we appreciate the support and it’s a very tough business.”

Unfortunately for Green, he may have much more time to visit Meski soon.

The Warriors are down 3-1 to the Timberwolves in their best-of-seven series. Curry is out with a hamstring strain and told Andscape that he doesn’t expect to play in Game 5 in Minneapolis tonight. The injury-plagued Warriors must win three straight games to survive the series.

Green has optimism that the Warriors can win tonight.

“We’ve just got to win a game,” Green said. “Win one game, take it from there. I think that’s our mindset — do all that we can, figure out a way to win one. You win one, everything changes. So, that will be our mindset going into Game 5.”

Meski, in essence, is a tribute in name to Fassil’s mother. It is also the sister restaurant of Fassil’s family restaurant, originally called Ethiopia Restaurant, in nearby Berkeley.

Meskerem “Meski” Tsegaye came to America from Ethiopia to attend the University of Toledo. It was there that she met an Ethiopian student named Fassil Fenikile. They dated, married, moved to Los Angeles and then eventually moved to the Bay Area. The couple, however, divorced in the Bay Area when Guma Fassil was 7 years old.

In 1993, Tsegaye opened her Ethiopian restaurant with affordable prices in Berkeley. She moved into a home behind it and eventually bought both properties. Her dream was to ultimately turn the restaurant over to her son as a successful business investment.

“She kept it straight to the point on what kind of food it is. The restaurant was named Ethiopia. So, of course it’s Ethiopian,” Fassil said.

Fassil literally grew up at the restaurant.

Fassil recalls regularly seeing then-Warriors forward Jason Caffey, and the Oakland Raiders’ cheerleaders, the Raiderettes, at the restaurant. His mother had him doing everything from waiting tables to taking orders from age 7, to as a teenager eventually managing the entire staff. While Fassil ended up attending college at the University of California at Davis, he earned a masterclass in how to run a restaurant from his mother.

“I was 5 years old when we started the restaurant,” Fassil said. “I still remember the day we opened it. It was one of my earliest memories. I spent more time here than anywhere else on this planet, every single day. …After I finished my homework, I would help out, buss some tables. As I got older, I would start serving at 8, 9, 10 years old. The tips are great. The ladies would pinch my cheeks and said, ‘You’re so cute.’ I got a lot of tips.

“This was back when we had all the teams in Oakland, a lot of them would come. That started my love for the Warriors back in the day because Jason Caffey used to come and give me tickets.”

Fassil became well-known at UC Davis for throwing great parties. He later became a regular in the club and lounge scene in San Francisco when he was around 22. A manager at the Infusion Lounge in San Francisco was impressed when he noticed the entourage of people Fassil regularly brought with him. So, he offered Fassil a part-time job making several hundred dollars a night for bringing people in while offering bottle service to entertain. It eventually led to a club promotor job that he worked often after spending time at Ethiopia Restaurant.

“They were like, ‘You’re selling more tables and bringing in more people than people that were paying. Why don’t you come in on Thursdays, we’ll give you a couple hundred bucks and a free bottle and promote for us?’ I’m 22 years old, I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, I’m spending money. I would much rather get paid,’ ” Fassil said.

Fassil is a huge basketball fan from grassroots hoops to the NBA. Back in 2012, Fassil was throwing parties at a club in San Francisco called Nobe when he noticed Green, then a Warriors rookie, standing outside in line. Fassil immediately invited Green in to sit at his table and a friendship was naturally born.

Green continued to spend time at Fassil’s clubs and lounges for years, enjoying the nightlife for free. He even went to eat at Ethiopia Restaurant and attended birthday parties. Fassil said what began as a “transactional relationship” grew into a friendship.

“I went up to him, ‘Yo Draymond, my name’s Guma. This is my party. Do you want to come in?’ He’s like, ‘Hell yeah,’ ” Fassil said.

Said Green: “Our friendship has grown over the last 13 years. Guma used to do a lot of parties. We had a bunch of mutual friends. And our relationship continued to grow to the point where it became a personal relationship.”

In 2019, however, Fassil’s life changed dramatically after his mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. Fassil was immediately put in charge of the restaurant and it was far from easy to manage it all.

His mom, however, got her wish of her son eventually owning the business. He changed the name of the restaurant to Meski’s Kitchen & Garden in honor of his mother. There is a painting of his mother cooking in the main dining room that was actually painted in Ethiopia.

“When my mom passed and I took over the restaurant, I learned there’s a whole other side to this business that I wasn’t privy to,” Fassil said. “Things she was taking care of, and she never really — thank God — burdened me with all that kind of stuff.

“And I learned there was no manual or pamphlet that she left me. I just had to figure it out. So, pressure makes diamonds. I felt like I thrived in that situation.”

Fassil said he and Green once had a conversation about the lack of supper clubs in the Bay Area like there were in New York City, Los Angeles or Miami, late night restaurants with great food, craft drinks and deejays. An inspired Fassil started writing down ideas for a potential place in 2020 that he dreamed of opening in the East Bay Area. Once he devised a detailed business plan, he asked Green for a business meeting early in 2024.

Fassil had previously never tried to engage Green on any business endeavors. But Green accepted Fassil’s offer to meet in the private room at Boudin Restaurant in San Francisco to talk about his idea for an upscale restaurant with Ethiopian fusion food. Knowing Green’s straight-forward approach, Fassil was understandably nervous entering the meeting. About 40 minutes in, however, Green greenlit the project as an investor and showed confidence in his friend.

“I let the vision, the concept, the information and the numbers do the talking,” Fassil said. “My relationship with him got my foot in the door. But he would not have invested in this if he didn’t believe in the product and the concept, and obviously me, too. So, I sold him on everything. He fell in love with the concept and the idea, and he felt comfortable with my background. He saw me thrive in nightlife and he knows my relationships and he saw me build this restaurant. …

“And then he stopped me out of nowhere and then he was like, ‘I’m just letting you know right now, you can finish your presentation. But I’m good. I’m in. This is so dope. I love this concept. I feel comfortable that you can execute this with your background and your resources.’ ”

Part of the reason why Green was so quick to join forces with Fassil was from watching how he ran his mother’s restaurant.

“I watched how he ran his parties and Meski in Berkeley after being thrust into the situation after his mom passed and just taking it head on,” Green said. “I’ve watched him make improvements to the restaurants. We’d be out with friends doing something and he’d say, ‘I have to go to the restaurant, but I’ll meet y’all at 10 p.m.’

“I always respected how he went about his business. It was a foundation for our business.”

Fassil was initially fixated on a property in downtown Oakland, but it didn’t come into fruition. Green challenged him to be open-minded while considering restaurant properties in Oakland and San Francisco. They considered several properties in downtown Oakland as well as near Chase Center in San Francisco, but ultimately, they both fell in love with a property on the corner of Larkin and Post Street in San Francisco that didn’t need much work or upgrades. The location was where the swanky Lower Nob Hill meets the challenged Tenderloin with homelessness and drug use issues.

Green loves the location of the property and its potential under new San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie. Lurie and California assembly member Matt Haney were on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 4 for Meski.

“I’ve been watching the changes that have been made in this city since Mayor Lurie took over in different neighborhoods that may be challenged,” said Green, who lives in San Francisco. “But you are seeing cops roll through now. You see streets being cleaned up. I’m a big fan of the City of San Francisco. We could’ve went to a nice area. …

“If we can bring people to that neighborhood and help rejuvenate that neighborhood, it’s ultimately great for the city. You have parts that are incredible and parts that are down. Why not go to one of the parts that are down and bring people and business to that neighborhood? Ultimately, it helps all of us that are residents of this city. For us, we felt that we built up the cache, love and support of this city to go to a location like that and be safe.”

Another challenge was finding a chef to lead the restaurant. Thanks to a chance late-night meeting in Oakland, Green and Fassil landed on renowned chef German after meeting him two weeks before signing the lease.

Fassil joined Green and his wife, Hazel, at a comedy show featuring Martin Lawrence on Dec. 7 at Oakland Arena, where the Warriors used to play before moving to San Francisco in 2019. Afterward, the three ventured into downtown Oakland in hopes of some late-night bites and libations. They found a lounge called Sobre Mesa, owned by German and his wife, May.

German, a contestant on Season 18 of the Bravo television show “Top Chef,” is an Oakland community leader and is one of the Bay Area’s most popular chefs. Fassil told German that Green and his wife were in a private car outside but wanted to come in to eat and drink. After being skeptical at first, German obliged and re-opened the kitchen to cook for the Warriors star.

“In my head, I wasn’t sure if it was for real,” German said. “And Guma told me it was for real. So, I told my staff to open up the kitchen.

“Green came on in and I was like, ‘Oh man, this is definitely real.’ I cooked for them. I was showing pictures of my kid after just getting back to work after being on [maternity] leave. We just vibed and had a good time. And I gave them their space, too. I sent some drinks, some extra bites and they said it was fire. It was a good night to have them in there.”

Said Green: “He showed us a great time, made us a great meal and came over and just shared his journey. This dude opened a restaurant four days before [the coronavirus pandemic shutdown] and it was pumping. He knows something.”

Green and German took a picture together at the end of the night. Fassil and Green also told German about their budding restaurant. German immediately offered to be a consultant or help in any fashion needed. After enjoying Sobre Mesa’s food, drink and vibe, Fassil said Hazel Green suggested they hire German as the head chef of their new restaurant.

A few days later, German spoke with Fassil about the restaurant project. Eventually, German accepted the offer to be the head chef and a partner. With this new venture, German now had his third restaurant with the other two in Oakland (Sobre Mesa and Alamar).

“The story behind the restaurant inspired me to be a part of it with Meski being Guma’s mom’s nickname,” German said. “She built a lot of community and meant a lot to a lot of people. It hit me because I miss my mom. When we can have a tribute to our parents and people that give us life, it means the world.

“To partner with Draymond Green, Guma and with partners with energy who want to do more in this industry was great for me. I was at the point where I wondered if I was doing too much with the two restaurants and the baby. I’m busy, hardly have any time, but I knew this was the right choice because I knew I’d have partners where I really don’t have to do everything.”

Landing German as the lead chef also gave Green a “boost of confidence” that the restaurant would ultimately be outstanding.

“Guma told me he had a six-hour meeting with chef Nelson and said he was on board,” Green said. “I said, ‘Really? Wow!’ I had already done my diligence on his background, what he has been doing and the ‘Top Chef’ stuff. And when that happened, I felt that we got our guy. And when we got chef Nelson, it gave me the ultimate confidence that this is going to be great.”

While “Draymond’s” might have had a nice ring to it, to Fassil what sounded most beautiful was naming the restaurant after his mother.

“I made a promise to my mom when she was sick that I was going to keep her name, keep her legacy and people will not forget her,” Fassil said. “And I knew that this was a huge opportunity to put Ethiopian culture on a platform. And I couldn’t think of any other name.”

Despite being opened just two months, Meski is one of the hottest restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area for several reasons.

The unique menu inspired by German includes Ethiopian and Dominican food like Meski Yetsom Platter, Pollo Guisado Sambusas and Steak Tibs Pintxos, and a unique combination like the Habichuela Misir Wat (Dominican red kidney beans mixed with spicy Ethiopian lentil). There are Ethiopian, Brazilian and West Coast beers, Ethiopian- and Dominican-inspired cocktails, coconut café con leche and Ethiopian honey wine. The vibe also includes soulful deejay music.

“I love the food,” Green said. “We set out to have really good food, really good drinks and a really good vibe. Oftentimes, you get one of three, two of three. It’s hard to get all of three. And I think we’ve gotten pretty close to three of three. We’re still improving. We’re still working out the kinks. We haven’t been open for two full months.”

Said German: “We’re doing something cool and innovative. This is only the beginning.”

Celebrities such as Warriors guard Buddy Hield, Dallas Mavericks forward Klay Thompson, former Warriors center Festus Ezeli, actor-comedian Marlon Wayans, rapper Bow Wow, singers Trey Songz and Ray J, sports agent Rich Paul, music executive Steve Stout and lawyer Maya Harris (former Vice President Kamala Harris’ sister) have visited Meski. Former Warriors guard Ian Clark is also an investor. Fassil is also dreaming about franchising the restaurant in big American markets.

As long as the Warriors are in the playoffs, Fassil would much rather see Green on his television than sitting in his usual seat downstairs at the restaurant.

“It means so much to be associated with somebody who has done so much for the Bay Area just with the energy and positivity that he has with the Warriors,” German said. “He’s an enforcer for us. It’s super dope to see him outside of the court. He’s super humble, smart, educated and knows his stuff.”

Before Meski, there hasn’t been an upscale restaurant owned by an African American in San Francisco since 1300 on Fillmore closed in 2017. Renowned chef David Lawrence, an England native of Jamaican descent, served upscale soul food on white table clothes for 10 years in a restaurant that had live music and was frequented by celebrities.

Meski is African, African American and Dominican owned, which offers special meaning to Green and his partners with hopes of being supported by all.

“It’s not a place that’s only for Blacks and Latins,” Green said. “It’s a place built by Blacks and Latins for everybody. We want everyone to feel safe and at home like it’s their place because that is why we built it.”