Meet the Yellow Pages – in person

By Jake Menez Staff Writer

BRENTWOOD Brentwood residents will have the opportunity to meet local business owners – and possibly get a job at the same time – on Tuesday, May 9 during the fourth annual East Bay Business Expo.

The free event is put on by the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce and co-sponsored by the City of Brentwood from 4-7:30 p.m. at the Brentwood Community Center at 35 Oak St. Residents can get to know some of the local businesses and attend a job fair as well, according to John Lawrence, the event chairperson.

More than 50 vendors have signed up for the expo – up from 47 last year–and many of them are hiring for both full-time and part-time work, Lawrence said. The vendors cover a wide range of services, from home improvement to financial services.

“Post-pandemic, what we hear at the chamber and throughout East Contra Costa County, is one of the biggest challenges businesses have is hiring and adding local talent to their teams,” Denise Duran, president of the Brentwood

Chamber of Commerce. “The EBBE and Job Fair provides front row visibility to introduce quality candidates with business owners for on-the-spot recruitment!

We’re excited to welcome local Chambers as we work together to promote the positive impact in daily life when commerce and community collaborate.”

For those not seeking jobs, there are still other incentives to attend, including food and drink samples from local wineries such as Bloomfield, and local businesses such as the new StarBread Bakery and Kristy’s Confections. There will be several raffle prizes, and each attendee will be given one free ticket for their chance to win a large TV, tablet and other electronics, according to Duran.

“As my dad always says, ‘you can’t win if you don’t play,’” she said. “We’re warmly welcoming East County residents to join in the fun!”

Duran and Lawrence characterized the business expo as a valuable resource for businesses and residents to make faceto-face connections. “We had a fantastic event last year,” Lawrence said. “This year is going to be that much better.”

More information can be found at https://www.brentwoodchamber.com/2023expo