My name is Christopher Waters and I own the Nomad Cafe. We have been open for business since May 19, 2003.

I always had fantasies about creating a "community center," something that would help build community, here on this corner, in my own neighborhood, where I felt it was sorely needed. I eventually left a lucrative 15-year career in the Hollywood film industry to begin this undertaking. Though I never imagined the process would include becoming a restaurateur, I'm proud to say the "community center" developed beyond my expectations in the form of the Nomad Cafe.

On December 4, 2004, at a Community Advisory Meeting on the subject of sustainability, Oakland City Council Member Jane Brunner honored me and the Nomad Cafe with a "Community Hero" award for the honor we had received from the State of California, and for our "single-handed transformation of the north Shattuck corridor" into a desirable community crossroads.

Our proactive recycling and composting programs divert twelve tons of waste per year from local landfills and have earned us recognition as one of 2004's top ten among over 1,400 businesses through the State of California's Waste Reduction Awards Program. California Senator Don Perata, California State Assembly Member Wilma Chan, State Assembly Member Loni Hancock, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Oakland City Council Member Jane Brunner were invited to participate in the award ceremony at the Nomad Cafe on January 11, 2005 where Mayor Brown proclaimed January 11 "Nomad Cafe Day" in Oakland.

I am honored by the recognition Nomad Cafe has received from the California Integrated Waste Management Board for our waste reduction accomplishments, and by Don Perata, Wilma Chan, Loni Hancock, Keith Carson, Jerry Brown, and Jane Brunner for our efforts to transform the north Shattuck corridor into a greener, friendlier, more sustainable, more thriving, more desirable destination. If we couldn't do it the way we did it, I wouldn't have wanted to do it at all. That's the way we need to get everybody else thinking. It's the Genesis effect. We're literally planting seeds for the future.