Posts from — October 2008

The Trib’s Night Owl, Angela Woodall, reveals details and dates of Ozumo‘s venture in the DTO, on the smoking-hot corner of Broadway and Grand. Ozumo and Pican, who signed leases months ago but did not begin work until recently, will share the intersection with Luka’s, the Franklin Square Wine Bar, newly-glam Vo’s, and next year, Bakesale Betty.

The original Uptown investment that sparked the district’s revitalization, The Uptown Apartments, celebrated the first residents and the broader community by opening a new Oakland park last night. The park, built and maintained by Forest City but operating as a city park, will soon be home to Remember Them, a colossal bronze monument a friend called “Mt. Rushmore for liberals.” Check out the park before it’s overwhelmed by “art.”

The Trib also writes about the Fox Theater, which has received tens of millions in donations and is now going to reopen as a fully-restore, full-scale theater, a far cry from “The Ruins” plan developer Phil Tagami floated to get the city interested in its restoration, which promised a usable building on the cheap. The School for the Arts is planning to move in at the end of November, so the building will appear occupied and revitalized at that point.

All the talk about the city’s budget over the last week explains why many neighborhoods are working to provide their own services and not rely on the city. Before the recess, the City Council approved several new Business Improvement Districts, including three downtown, two of these in Uptown (Uptown, which includes the Lake Merritt office district, and Koreatown, which includes part of Uptown and several blocks to the North). The Uptown bid is currently looking to hire security guards for the district. Much of the controversy before Tuesday’s vote focused on cuts to the Cultural Arts and Marketing Department, and the Oakland Convention and Visitor’s Bureau was mostly defunded. Next week, the OCVB will propose a hotel BID (PDF) to fund its activities in the future.

In other downtown news, the Barbary Lane retirement home in the historic Lake Merritt Hotel opened for long-term residents. I’m not sure whether the restaurant overlooking the Lake will be again open to the public.

Jack London Square, and its eponymous neighborhood, is quickly becoming a culinary destination. Mono and Miss Pearl’s Jam House had already proven the waterfront, once home to TGI Friday’s and The Old Spaghetti Factory, has become a viable place for upscale and edgy cuisine. Renowned (among my foodie friends at least) chef Daniel Patterson, of Coi and the former Elizabeth Daniel, has signed a lease to create a “neighborhood place” called Bracina.

The OakBook recently profiled Meg Ray of Miette, a dainty and TV-ready confectionary in SF’s charming Hayes Valley neighborhood, who will bring her contemporary yet vintage aesthetic to the under-construction Jack London Market building (nee Harvest Hall, which is much catchier). These high-profile tenants certainly confirm the marketing pull of Jack London Square II, an office and culinary complex meant to compete with City Center. But the waterfront and its new buildings is far from the only emerging culinary hotspot in the DTO.

The artist-owners of Soizic at the waterfront end of the Broadway completed Mua, their renovation of the gorgeous Oakland Auto Parts building along the edge of Auto Row, which is fast becoming colonized as an extension of Uptown. Not to be outdone, the owners of Dona Tomas leased a space just up Telegraph from their sleek Flora bistro, where they promise to serve their first burrito. With Forest City’s Uptown project, which almost single-handedly transformed lower Telegraph from a wasteland to an urban center, announcing great progress on leasing their 664 units, businesses see the area as a good investment.

Though the edges of the DTO are up and coming, the older center of town isn’t slouching. As previous noted, Tamarindo Antojeria and The Trappist are expanding into their next-door storefronts, relieving the crowds that crush these tiny but renowned spots. Despite this, Old Oakland continues to struggle to attract retail, with one closed retailer unfortunately converted to soon-to-be-illegal office space, and EBALDC’s Swan’s Market complex losing tenants. Across Broadway in old City Center, El Senor Burrito, a popular joint on San Pablo, is coming to 13th St in the restored Mash Building. In a time when terrible economic news is splashed on the front page of every newspaper, business expansion in the DTO is a welcome relief.

This week, Old Oakland celebrates the new and the old by closing a block of Washington Street Thursday and Friday evenings. I like to tell people it’s a pedestrian-oriented event, since the street is closed to cars and there’s not much bike parking. The neighborhood is Oakland’s Transcontinental Railroad-era downtown along Broadway and Washington from 7th to 10th.

Last Thursday Night Live party

This summer, The New Old Oakland merchants’ group and Oakland Events have closed a block of Washington every other Thursday. A band and DJs, a beer garden, and the usual establishments combine to draw old and new friends from across the city.

This Thursday brings the series of outdoor parties to an end with a performance by Julio Bravo’s ten-piece salsa band. Skyy Vodka sponsors the “beer” garden from 6p to 9p, and all of Old Oakland’s excellent restaurants and cafes will be open as well.

Thursday Night Live Finale

Featuring Julio Bravo’s Salsa Band

Washington St between 8th and 9th

6p – 9p, Thursday Oct 16

Pacific Coast Brewery Anniversary

As brand-new businesses celebrate their success, Old Oakland’s venerable establishments have no problem finding an excuse for another block party. This Friday the Pacific Coast Brewery celebrates its 20th year selling craft beers and simple California-style pub food (the addition of a deep-fryer a few years ago was a nice addition, too). Bands, a special anniversary beer, and 1988 prices are on tap on Washington this weekend!

Pacific Coast Brewing Company

20th Anniversary Block Party

Washington St between 9th and 10th

5p – 10p Friday Oct 17

Also, celebrate at 906 Washington on Saturday Oct 18

When checking out the old and the new in Old Oakland, have a look down 8th Street to see what will be new in a few months: the Trappist and Tamarindo are both expanding in their Victorian block. As reported earlier, popular Belgian beer temple The Trappist is taking the next storefront, currently unused (but hosting a lovely window display). In new news, critically-acclaimed Mexico City-style restaurant Tamarindo will take over the former New World Vegetarian restaurant, more than doubling its capacity.

After three years of always-increasing crowds, not everyone has yet experienced First Fridays in the Uptown area of Oakland. What was once concentrated in the emergent gallery neighborhood around 23rd and Telegraph is now a citywide event or at least downtown-wide night of events, making it difficult to see everything. But with so many options, there’s no excuse to wait another month before checking out what is possible Oakland’s most happening night. Here’s what’s going on in the DTO tonight, First Friday October 3rd.

Art Murmur and Illuminated Corridor in Uptown

The original First Friday art event was conceived at Mama Buzz by a group that included the Rock Paper Scissors Collective and OakBook writer Theo Konrad Auer, and includes the half-dozen galleries right around Telegraph and 23rd Street, one block of which is closed for the evening. The event has now spread past ever-popular Luka’s, with nearby galleries like Industrielle, Mercury 20 and Creative Growth attracting the art-lookers.

This Friday inaugurates two more events in Uptown. The Uptown nightclub on Telegraph below 20th begins a series of no-cover First Friday concerts with popular club band Death Of A Party, while the Illuminated Corridor will present visual and light art along the walls of Kahn’s Alley (the stub of 15th Street between Broadway and City Hall).

Old Oakland Events

Though nowhere near Uptown, Old Oakland’s artsy merchants and happening clubs make a lively First Friday scene, especially now that the Thursday Night Live concerts have finished their seasonal run. Cutting-edge design gallery FIVEten Studio has a party for artist Julia Goodman, and though I don’t know other specific events, last month there was a temporary gallery in a vacant retail space while neighboring Verse had a fashion show. Look for more action in that style on 9th between Broadway and Washington. If all fails, Air, Levende, B Restaurant and Jesso’s are all open for libations at the corner of 9th and Washington.

Wall Street might be all doom and gloom, but Washington Street has more than its share of good news. As big businesses in big cities seize up, local businesses in the DTO announce ambitious plans for expansion.

601 City Center started construction with a groundbreaking party this week, to which the neighbors were rudely disinvited. But starting construction brings completing construction closer!

The very successful Trappist Belgian beer salon is expanding their gorgeous but cramped bar in Old Oakland. Also in the Old O, Levende Lounge’s partners are looking to open another bar nearby, and an art gallery has taken up temporary residence (just on First Fridays) between arty furniture gallery FiveTen Studio and Verse, seller of psychedelic sneakers.

Life is returning to the alley that was once 13th Street between Jefferson and MLK. The large condo project is under construction once again, and a café has returned to the City Cup space across from the Federal Building. The owner of City Cup plans to build a bar and grill next door to open early next year, eventually to be open on the weekends once the condos are complete.

An automated, multilingual low-cost pharmacy opens to great fanfare in Chinatown.

Have I told you guys yet that Bakesale Betty leased the old Broadway Grand sales office on Franklin Square across from Luka’s? They totally did. According to Mr. Betty, the new location will allow an expanded selection of baked goods and more space for customers in the original Temescal locale.