Our Team

CEO/FOUNDER - LUKE OPPENHEIM

Is a hotdog a sandwich? Please give your reasoning below.
A hot dog is absolutely not a sandwich. It’s like saying potato chips are the same as fries.

SOUS CHEF - SAM ADAMS

What is your go-to guilty pleasure?
My go-to guilty pleasure would have to be sweets. I love desserts like no other. On the weekends, I look forward to a full stack (3) of buttermilk pan cakes. Mostly my own, scratch-made and always with beaten egg whites, but if I choose to not want to make a mess - then I'll grab some from Bett's Ocean View Diner in Berkley. They're the BEST!

NICOLETTE MANESCALCHI - EXECUTIVE CHEF

What’s the first concert you attended?
Celine Dion was my first concert

INVENTORY SPECIALIST - JAMES VEIZADES

What’s the first concert you attended?
My first concert was Warped Tour 2014 where I saw bands such as Bowling for Soup, Yellowcard, As It Is, and more

ASSISTANT STORE MANAGER - MOLLY MCCAUGHEY

What’s the first concert you attended?
First concert I attended when I was 15 was Infearandfaith, Dance Gavin dance, and A Skylit Drive in orangevale at the boardwalk.

CONTROLLER - SCOTT STERN

Scott, raised in Southern Florida and a University of Florida alum, found himself settling in the Bay Area after he and his girlfriend drove across the country from coast to coast. Scott worked for Amazon and the Real Food Company before joining Luke's Local as a Controller. Working for a grocery company, it's no surprise that Scott his time outside of work eating at places all around the Bay. He's also a handy guy interested in technology: specifically buying, fixing, and selling scooters and other electronics.

CENTRAL PRODUCE BUYER - TROY DELANEY

What’s the first concert you attended?
First Concert: The Who's Tommy. Not a concert technically, but this rock musical expanded my mind as a very young person and turned me on to the idea of live music as art and rock as theater.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCE BUYER - TOBEN

What was the last book you read?
The last book I read in full was The Silmarillion, by JRR Tolkien, but I read a good bit so the answer may go out of date fairly quickly.

CTO - TOMÁS GUTIÉRREZ

What’s the first concert you attended?
hrmmm…. don’t remember. I think it was Shakira, in Colombia, before she was famous?

BUYING & MERCHANDISING MANAGER - PAUL TRIPP

Is a hotdog a sandwich? Please give your reasoning below.
Call it what you want to. I’ll enjoy mine while you waste your time arguing your point.

COO - KAYLEIGH KAHN

What’s the first concert you attended?
Taking Back Sunday / Jimmy Eat World

STORE MANAGER - SHAY PEREZ

Shay, born in the Philippines, settled into the Bay Area, specifically the East Bay, at a very young age. Prior to working in grocery stores, Shay studied nursing and worked in nursing care facilities. She is friendly and very approachable, you can usually see her chatting up customers whom she is always on a first name basis with. Shay joined Luke's Local as a Front End Supervisor, and soon took on the role of Floor Supervisor before being promoted to Cole Valley Store Manager! When Shay isn't at the store, she enjoys spending her days off with her boyfriend, two pups, and tight knit family.

LEAD DEVELOPER - RUDI ULLON

What was the last book you read? Last book: Surely you're joking. Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman, currently but not finished (so it doesn't count as the last one), Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer.

CFO - PETE HELLWIG

Pete is passionate about the intersection of personal health, food systems and climate change. He loves working with Luke's Local because of its emphasis on supporting local suppliers and providing its customers with food that nourishes the mind, body and soul.

ALCOHOL AND DAIRY BUYER - EVAN MCLEAN

What band/musician best represents your personality and why?
Depends on my personality that day but I've been really in to Pete Seeger/Woody Guthrie/Billy Bragg recently

CENTRAL GROCERY BUYER - JASON PANELLI

What’s the first concert you attended?
First concert…Van Halen

LEAD COOK - PATRICIA RODRIGUEZ

Patricia, a San Francisco resident for 20 years, has 3 sons and a boyfriend. She's worked at many restaurants as a line cook for about 13 years, as well as a teacher's assistant in classrooms of 3 to 5-year-olds - though her real passion is cooking. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her family in the park, running, and going to Zumba classes. She also loves to watch her son play soccer every Saturday, and she loves cooking for her family every evening. She's very proud to be a part of Luke's Local; she learns more about cooking every day from everyone on the team. For Patricia, it's really important to cook with love and patience so that the food is delicious.

STORE MANAGER - VINCE VIZCAINO

What was the last book you read?
The last book I read was Dune

STORE MANAGER - JEREMY SUIZO

GROCERY STOCKER - OBED TINOCO

Obed Tinoco

CASHIER - MARCOS DURAN

Marcos Duran

DELIVERY DRIVER - EMMA HUGHES

Emma Hughes

ASSOCIATE BUTCHER - CARLOS

Carlos is proudly hails from Yucatan, Mexico and loves his Mayan heritage. He moved stateside to California years ago for bigger opportunities. Carlos enjoys his time off and loves cruising the hills of SF on his longboard, tending to his bonsai garden and hanging out with his parakeets.

DELI SHIFT LEAD - SAMY

Samy

DELI/BUTCHER CLERK - DONOVAN PERRY

Donovan made his way from Colorado to escape the midwest and study physics. Prior to joining the team at Luke's, he worked at a few other grocery markets. Donovan is a dreamer and always looks forward to his next step in life. After spending time in San Francisco, his next destination city is New York where he'll spend some time there before he pursues his real dream of moving out of the country. Fun fact about Donovan, he lives in the Jimi Hendrix house!

SAME DAY DELIVERY DRIVER - RONY YOC DIAZ

Rony came to San Francisco from Guatemala with his family. Before coming to Luke's Local, Rony worked mostly in bars and restaurants in the kitchen cooking up delicious cuisines. On his days off, Rony likes to stay active outdoors. When the sun is out and the heat is high, he likes to go for a swim in Lake Merritt.

CASHIER/SAME DAY PACKER - ALEXIS GARRETT

What’s the first concert you attended?
The first concert I went to was at a state fair. It was my favorite band, AJR

RUBI SOLIS - BARISTA/DELI TEAM MEMBER

Rubi is from Yucatan, Mexico and her passion for making coffee brought her to Luke's Local. She enjoys bike rides at sunset and eating her favorite Indian foods.

JAZMIN LOZANO - DELI SHIFT LEAD

Hi my name is Jazmin! San Francisco has been my home for most of my life. I came to Luke's through a great friend and I so happen to live along Golden Gate Park at the time so walking to work on a sunny day was definitely a highlight of the start of my work day! If I'm not at Luke's I'm probably in class/studying or running around the city with my friends! :)

ISRRAEL JULCA - BUTCHER CLERK

Isrrael Julca

AP CLERK/RECEIVER - JEREMY KAYE

What’s your favorite sport? Volleyball is my favorite sport! There's nothing more satisfying than fast spike fly at you, and passing it perfectly to your setter.