December 30, 2011 Grand Lake Merchant News If you've somehow resisted an in-person visit to Monkey Forest Road, here's a link to a December 22 article in the Oakland Tribune and a second link to my own "before and after" photo. To tempt you even further, here's another photo of just one of a great many distinctive architectural features--the junction between two contrasting wall surfaces. Monkey Forest Road is the first in an ongoing series of openings that we're going to see over the next couple of months. After six months of major improvements to the interior and exterior, Easy Lounge is scheduled to formally re-open on January 3. I haven't been inside yet but I did take this photo of the exterior. Improvements include a new entry door, new paint and a new stucco facade to replace the wood siding that was beyond repair. In addition to the physical changes, Easy's owners are leaning towards a more sophisticated ambience. In addition, the ever-popular Farmers Market Cocktails will be offered seven days a week--not just Saturdays. I talked to Colin and he noted that Easy has always included fresh, locally sourced ingredients in their cocktails. He confided that the produce is a bit limited this time of year but they do have citrus, apples and pears readily available. In addition, ingredients for the more savory cocktails are almost always available. The Parlor at Caña launched a soft opening earlier this evening and tomorrow, for New Year's Eve, they will be offering a five-course, prix fixe menu with a complimentary glass of champagne and complimentary wine tastings. For more details, check out their website. FYI: until they iron out a technicality with the Beverage Control District, they will be serving only wine and bottled beer. When I walked by yesterday, I caught this photo of someone staining and varnishing the magnificent entry doors and tonight, took this photo of the completed interior. Will have to return later to take more photos of some of the details. When you visit, be sure to check out the hand-wrought wine rack in the rear. While waiting for Caña to open its door this evening, I wandered around taking photos including one of the Good Vibes billboard high on the roof adjacent to Heart and Dagger. At first glance, it appears to be breathlessly advertising the arrival of Good Vibrations around the corner but is actually tempting one to visit San Diego. The timing is exquisite as Good Vibrations is, in fact, hoping to open this Monday, January 2. Yesterday afternoon, I took this photo of the exterior as a painter gave a fresh coat of paint to the doors and window trim. By the way, the signage on the front windows is very classy and mostly etched in glass. Whether you supported or opposed their permit, I do hope you can chuckle with me as you read their logo enshrined in their display window: "Good Vibrations. Creating a buzz since 1977". While it might appear to the casual observer that construction has been ongoing at the former Adam's Burger for an eternity, it really hasn't and more importantly, the end is in finally in sight. I talked to Abe Ajlouny, the new owner of what's going to be called FlipSide earlier this week. He's hoping to open by the third week in January. But after peeking inside yesterday and seeing an open trench in the concrete, I suspect that might be optimistic. In any case, it sounds like it will be well worth the wait. Abe has a sister restaurant on Valencia in San Francisco called Urbun Burger that has very good reviews. FlipSide will have seating for about 36 patrons. Half-pound burgers will feature Niman Ranch beef while the turkey is supplied by Dietzel. Produce and other ingredients will be locally sourced including ice cream from Double Rainbow for use in their shakes. If you're hankering for a burrito from Chipotle in what used to be China Lake Express , the wait is going to be considerably longer. The recent news that they have filed an application for a Conditional Use Permit to serve alcohol is actually the first real confirmation that Chipotle would be the new tenant and construction has not yet commenced. Incidentally, if you have an opinion pro or con on their CUP permit, you can email City Planner, Aubrey Rose: arose@oaklandnet.com. Just for the record, I see little likelihood that their application will be rejected since the application for Wingstop was approved. Heart and Dagger Saloon was recently profiled in a nice article posted on the Oakland North website. Last month, I posted a couple of photos that I had taken of holiday window displays on Lakeshore and subsequently went back and took some more. My favorite from this latter batch is this photo taken through Namaste Yoga's front window. Last month, I also boasted that there were no vacancies on Lakeshore or Lake Park but maybe I jinxed them. The space vacated by Sleep and Beyond is still vacant and across the street, Hair Sessions Phase II at 3411 Lakeshore has relocated. On the other hand, I talked to Richard Odenheimer, the property manager for the latter and he said that there's been lots of interest with multiple offers likely in the offing. The volunteer workday on Grand Avenue on December 4 was quite successful. It was organized by Grand Avenue Chiropractor, Robert Townsend with a big assist from Eric Hughes and several other community volunteers. Trees up and down Grand were trimmed from the theater up to Mandana while tree wells, planters and the Walker Avenue parking were all spruced up. Two other Grand Avenue merchants participated: Jesse Jensen from Rebooty and Scott Yundt, husband of Awaken Chiropractic's Kenda Burke. As an aside, Kenda and Scott have just replaced over half of their front-yard parking strip with a raised planter bed. It's really a big contribution towards a more pedestrian-friendly avenue and we can only hope that the attorneys next door take the hint and do the same. As another aside, Lou Grantham, who has been a long-time Splash Pad volunteer, would have been out weeding but instead completed her survey of Grand Avenue merchants in preparation for an update to the current GABA Business Directory. One other note regarding Grand Avenue. Jesse Jensen and I have been talking to a very few Grand Avenue merchants about organizing a monthly arts and crafts fair on Grand. The basic objective would be two-fold. One, to provide an outlet for local artists but also to capitalize on the success of the Saturday farmers market by luring patrons out of the park and up the street where they'll discover a wealth of restaurants, shops and services of which they're currently unaware. If you'd like to get involved in the outreach and planning process, please stop by Rebooty or give Jesse a call at (415) 994-4230. Farmers Market The farmers market will be open as usual tomorrow, New Year's Eve, but will likely be a bit smaller than usual--partly due to the absence of the seasonal fruit growers but also due to those vendors who choose to stay home and enjoy a holiday weekend--a rare privilege for folks in the agricultural trade. Tomorrow will be Ahhh Massage's last day at the market as the Agricultural Institute of Marin's Board of Directors has opted to not renew the membership of several non-food vendors including Ahhh Massage, the newspaper vendors and the Acupuncture clinic. Ahhh Massage owner Ed Rockowitz is not a happy camper as detailed in a letter that I've uploaded to the Splash Pad website. Since the Splash Pad Farmers Market Advisory Committee has not yet discussed this specific issue, I phoned the group Chair, Jerry Barclay. He confirmed that typically, SPFMAC has left such decisions in the hands of the market management. In general terms, we've expressed a preference (all things being equal) for Oakland-based vendors; insisted that the market's first priority has to be on locally-sourced, sustainable food products; and that the non-food vendors (including artists and craftspeople) be limited to a reasonable number. For the record, over the past year, several other sellers have had their membership revoked without any negative feedback. This has occurred as a result of AIM's on-site inspections that ensure that vendors are actually selling what they claim to grow--or in the case of the seafood vendor, catch. In terms of Ahhh Massage, I, personally, am a bit ambivalent--less so, If I know that their space will be occupied by a new farm vendor that's a big plus to the market. For those of you who are going to miss your regular Saturday massage, take comfort in knowing that Ahhh is at Farmer Joe's on Fruitvale seven days a week and beginning this month, also at Whole Foods daily. Entertainment for January includes the following: January 7: MIKE KLAPHOLZ + DIEGO JAMEAU January 14: Big Dog + IKE COSSE January 21: FLOWTILLA + Asheba January 28: 5150 Band + Keenan Webster of Talking Wood Events Calendar January 16: Martin Luther King National Day of Service. There are dozens of volunteer projects scheduled locally. Here's a partial list. The closest project to this neighborhood is the one at Lakeview Gardens. Last year, they had several hundred volunteers organized into teams that accomplished an incredible amount. I don't have all the details, but these projects typically begin at 9:00 AM or a bit earlier. Odd and Ends Our proposal for a parklet on Lakeshore has been tentatively approved by the city pending some revisions to our original set of drawings. At this point, our biggest need is input from contractors, architects, engineers and skilled carpenters. To volunteer or receive additional background information, please email me at info@splashpad.org. Thanks to Jim Ratliff for calling my attention to a late-breaking story from the East Bay Express. The Parkway Cinema will be reincarnated in a former glass factory on 24th in the Uptown Arts District. Although the facade and location would not seem to be ideal, it's worth noting that Allen Michaan's original Rialto Theater on Gilman had the same humble beginnings. Until today, December has been unusually dry and almost balmy with less than two-tenths of an inch of precipitation--far below the 4.48 inch average. Most of you are probably enjoying the respite but farmers must be freaking out worrying about a shortage of irrigation supplies next year. As for me, I'm pissed! I've been using an ointment to treat Actinic Keratoses (the plague of red-heads from Southern California) that forces me to avoid prolonged sun exposure. Instead of looking out the window at sheets of rain falling as I'd expected, I'm mostly home-bound while seeing nothing but clear skies and temperatures in the 60's. Kudos to my Balfour Avenue neighbor, Lesley Podesta for a feature article in this month's Oakland Magazine about "Running for a Better Oakland"--the group she founded last year. If you're so inclined, they still do need additional volunteers. I'm hoping not to make obituaries a regular feature of this newsletter but I'm compelled to take this opportunity to pay tribute to two Oakland residents who both passed away in the last couple of weeks far too early. Architect Ron Bishop was a tireless advocate for bicycle transportation and for Oakland, in general, for some twenty years. He served as Chair of the Oakland Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Committee in the early 90's and helped organize this nation's first Bike to Work Day in 1994. I got to know Ron several years ago when I joined his Easy Riders Meet-up group. Ron's intention was to encourage beginning to intermediate riders to get out on two wheels (with an assist from public transportation) and explore the surrounding countryside. It was a perfect fit. I didn't have to wear Spandex and a typical ride consisted of equal parts riding, eating and resting. On my second or third outing, we took BART to SF and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge and up to Larkspur Landing for a ferry ride back to SF. I was blown away and decided then and there, that I would do more such rides and as often as practical. On the ferry ride back to the SF Ferry Terminal, I took this photo of Ron with the broad, infectious smile that accurately reflected his approach to life. For more details about Ron's life and passing, see this tribute from the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Sanjiv Handa, sole proprietor of the East Bay News Service and Oakland's most knowledgeable gadfly (a term which I use affectionately) died earlier this week at the age of 55. I first met Sanjiv in 2000 when I began attending council meetings whenever Splash Pad Park was on the agenda. At the time, he'd already been a fixture at Oakland City Hall for ten years. Most folks either hated him or loved him and unfortunately, some folks in City Hall fell into the former category. Tammerlin Drummond in her December 28 column in the Tribune writes that "Yet to others--city officials and residents alike--Handa was an annoying, grandstanding pest who wasted countless hours at public meetings with pointless speechifying." I never felt that way and I suspect that most community advocates who chafed at 1 or, at best, 2 minute time restrictions at council meetings welcomed his ability to muster the time to properly address issues. Yes, he was abrasive and at times, redundant but again and again, Sanjiv was the one person willing and able to stand up and point out (when necessary) that the Emperor had no clothes. There's no replacement waiting in the wings and I fear he will be greatly missed. If you'd like to comment on any of the above news, please do so on the Grand Lake Neighbors website If you have friends or neighbors who may be interested in receiving this newsletter, please forward this link: www.splashpad.org/mostrecent.html and invite them to subscribe by sending an email to info@splashpad.org. |
