Local Bakery Owner to be “Virtual Guest” of Congresswoman Barbara Lee for President Biden’s State of the Union Address
OAKLAND, CA — Local baker Matt Kreutz, CEO of Firebrand Artisan Breads, will be the “virtual guest” of Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) at President Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1.
Firebrand is a mission-based bakery that focuses on hiring employees who are formerly incarcerated or unsheltered. Kreutz founded the company in 2007, and it now employs 85 people at its café in Uptown Oakland and a production facility in Alameda. Firebrand received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan that allowed it to keep its doors open and avoid mass layoffs during the pandemic.
In March 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which included a $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program. The fund helped 15,956 California restaurants stay open – with an average award of $357,461 per restaurant. In California’s 13th Congressional District, 590 businesses in Oakland, San Leandro, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, and Piedmont received more than $212 million from the RRF alone.
“This year I am honored to invite local bakery owner Matt Kreutz to be my virtual guest at President Biden’s State of the Union address,” Congresswoman Lee said. “Matt has built a socially conscious business that is focused on making opportunities available for the unhoused, formerly incarcerated people, and others who may have a difficult time being hired. The company has become a fixture here in the East Bay. Not only were they able to stay open during the pandemic, but they continued to grow and create jobs with help from a PPP loan. Thank you Matt for sharing your story and for working to enrich this community.”
“Independent restaurants and eateries are the beating hearts of our communities, and they are continuing to struggle during this pandemic,” Congresswoman Lee said. “In my district, almost 600 individual businesses received more than $212 million from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund alone. This help has been critical to keeping businesses alive and maintaining jobs in our community during this difficult time, and I am still fighting along with my Democratic colleagues for more investment to help small business make it through the pandemic and thrive.”
The State of the Union address on March 1 won’t have in-person guests, so individual members will invite “virtual guests” to share their stories about using federal assistance to make it through the pandemic.
To schedule an interview with Congresswoman Lee and Mr. Kreutz, please contact alex.katz@mail.house.gov.
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Congresswoman Lee is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. She serves as Co-Chair of the Steering & Policy Committee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Health Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. She also serves as Chair of the Majority Leader’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity. As a member of the House Democratic Leadership, she is the highest ranking Black woman in the U.S. Congress.