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Crosscurrents

The Berkeley shop that brings Algeria to the Bay

KALW | By Hana Baba
Published June 22, 2026 at 6:00 AM PDT
Sid Ahmed Hemaz, the shopkeeper and butcher at South Berkeley Meat and Produce, stands in front of the meat counter, wearing a red apron.
Hana Baba
Sid Ahmed Hemaz, shopkeeper and butcher at South Berkeley Meat and Produce.

This story aired in the Monday, June 22 episode of Crosscurrents.

Click the button above to listen!

Ahead of the Jordan-Algeria World Cup match, Host Hana Baba headed over to a favorite community store—South Berkeley Meat and Produce.
The Algerian team swag fills the shop.

Hana Baba
Algerian National Football team items

People visit from all over the state to shop for nostalgic items from Algeria. It’s got a large butcher counter with all kinds of halal meat cuts, including a staple Algerian sausage called Merguez.

An Algerian lamb sausage called Merguez, in a metal tub at the meat counter at South Berkeley Meat and Produce.
Hana Baba
Merguez.
Crosscurrents
Hana Baba
Hana Baba is host of Crosscurrents, KALW's weeknight newsmagazine that broadcasts on KALW Public Radio in the San Francisco Bay Area.
See stories by Hana Baba