It’s Good Friday in Oakland, and the aroma of 5 Star BBQ’s smoke bomb reaches from King Drive to Shattuck Avenue. Billowing towards the Oakland Hills down the 55th Street corridor—from three blocks away, the smell of sweet smolder evokes memories of backyard barbecue family affairs soundtracked by Sly Stone and Tony! Toni! Toné!
Dressed in Boston Patriots-themed, olive-colored urban fatigues, Pastor Price R. Collington Sr., affectionately known as Pastor Price, moves and turns the cask racks of meats and fishes on his grill with tenderness and mindfulness. With tongs clasped, he interrogates the racks of food assembled in front of him for readiness. A tap to the center of an octopus tendril to measure temperature, a quick flip of the jerk chicken as it reaches the gray area between char and burn.
Next to the Grand Gas station sits the Easy-Up. The dining tables are out, and smooth jazz flows. Pastor Price greets customers as he prepares their plates. His son, Price R. Collington Jr., a retired police officer who goes by Officer Price, serves as his sous chef and constant companion in this endeavor. Pastor Price is a slim, athletic man with a warm, inviting smile. In his late adulthood, he still maintains the kind of physique that could wrestle a demon.
“Jesus never lost a case, not even yours,” Price says, pointing his finger between cleaver chops sectioning chicken legs. In his fatigues, spouting mini sermons and affirmations, he’s Oakland’s action hero of kindness.
Price shares his testimony between squirts of his homemade barbecue sauce, a delightful blend of Texas and Memphis flavors. He expresses gratitude, saying, “God has been incredibly generous, and we feel compelled to repay Him.”
Price, a member of the Baptist Minister’s Union, is also the pastor of Community Baptist Church Oakland at 995 44th St. in Oakland, helmed by Pastor Allen Barnes. And while Community Baptist is his church home, with his potent mix of street evangelism and culinary fortitude, Price’s smoke-filled 5-Star corner revivals challenge Oakland, a city in dire need of a deeper connection with itself and a stronger belief in its identity, to recognize that in the heart of the city, this homegrown barbecue establishment serves as a sacred ministry.
It’s a Saturday afternoon in April, and Officer Price sets two red-cloth-covered dining tables. Hand sanitizer and a prop bottle of Fox Book Chardonnay placed on the tables create an upscale, hi-low atmosphere. The pastor, clad in an apron depicting the Masonic square and compass, grills vegetables.
“Okra is good for you,” he proclaims. “I’m a connoisseur. You can’t be an athlete growing up in New York City without eating vegetables regularly.” Today, he’s also conquered smoking Northern Pacific geoduck, a saltwater favorite and the largest burrowing clam in the world, reaching up to a meter in length. The special today is a combo plate of the two.
“We make food that caters to all demographics,” Pastor Price says.
Officer Price, who also owns Anubis Global, a security services firm that caters to private clients, shares some insights into the popular menu items at 5 Star. The Hotlink, served on brioche, and the Full Clip, a plate loaded with rib tips, chicken, beans and other 5 Star BBQ delights, are among the bestsellers.
The Full Clip is a mound of food served on white bread with house sauce. Officer Price notes that the Extended Clip is the preferred choice for couples. It offers everything the Full Clip has, but each person also gets their own Hotlink sandwich.
“Y’all take Venmo?” asks George Marshall as he walks up. Officer Price nods and beckons him closer. Originally from New Mexico and fresh off an L.A. road trip, Marshall was almost home and pondering what he was going to pick up for dinner when 5 Star’s smoke grabbed his wheel and spun the car around.
After driving all day, Marshall says he “was so glad when I saw them out here.” A resident of the North Oakland community adjacent to 5 Star’s tent for the past two-and-a-half years, he orders a Full Clip and seems especially excited to sample the pork rib.
On the first Tuesday of May, the pastor’s tent is raised and smooth jazz fills the air—after 5 Star closed for a few days the week prior. Pastor Price, clad in his leather Masonic apron, has Jesus close to his ear today, as evidenced by a small dangling gold cross earring. The spiritual leader confesses to taking time for rest and reflection.
“I’m a pastor, I’m over 60 and last week we had some people die,” he says. “Sometimes you have to take some time off. We lost one of the mothers of the church.”
As always, the change in schedule was communicated via 5 Star’s Instagram page. Normally vibrating somewhere around high nine on a 10-point energy scale, at 6:30pm on his longest day of the week the pastor’s energy level is buzzing around a seven. He and Officer Price spent the morning physically training themselves and others at the Planet Fitness in Fruitvale. It’s evident that the joy of sharing his talents and abundance sustains him throughout the day.
Patiently waiting for her food, Sunshine Simpson, with her flowing, bright-blue hair, matching blue-and-white nails, and calf-high brown boots, has been a friend of Pastor Price’s for over 10 years. She’s been eating his food almost as long, long before the tent appeared on 55th Street.
When asked about her favorite item on the menu, Simpson playfully asks, “Is there a favorite? The food is good, and I’ll keep coming back. There’s no favorite!” She smiles genuinely and holds out her hands for Price to present her with the trifold plate soaked in sauce. “We got the Midas touch,” Price sings with delight.
Natashia Smith, an apartment manager, was driving down 55th Street on her way home to Richmond when she noticed 5 Star’s audacious cloud of flavor wafting through the air. Intrigued, she thought, “Maybe I need to turn [the car] around,” and did so—right into the lot of the Grand Gas Station. Officer Price, offering curb-side service, approached her window and verbally provided her with a detailed menu.
“Don’t worry, it’s not spicy,” the pastor says of the jerk chicken. Smith, a die-hard barbecue enthusiast, has even traveled to Louisiana Heaven in Sacramento to satisfy her cravings. Today, she’s giving 5 Star a chance. In between cleaver chops, Pastor Price expresses his gratitude for her patronage and repeats his ever-present mantra: “The Best in the Bay; 5 Star on 55th and MLK!”
Smith, inhaling deeply, says, “I’m going to have to sneak this in the house and hide it from my kids.”
Pastor Price says, “5 Star has been smoking out the corner of King for going on three years, and we have no plans of stopping”—even though at times they’ve had to flash their permit to inquiring officials. But these days their Instagram shows them feeding and pictured with multiple members of law enforcement. “God’s got his hand in this, and he does everything but fail. Believe this.”
5 Star BBQ, 817 55th St., Oakland. Open Tue, Thu-Sat 2-8pm, closed Sun, Mon, Wed. 341.758.4334. Instagram @5star_bbq.
