Post by TheShadow on Aug 6, 2007 5:14:01 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com
New bars and eateries revitalize area's nightlife
By Angela Woodall, STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND — From railroad transfer point to hip historic hangout, Oakland's original downtown has been rehabbed after sliding for decades into a haven for prostitutes and drug users.
Today, some of the finest collections of Victorian commercial architecture on the West Coast have been turned into restaurants, galleries and shops — blending the city's past with today's pocketbook.
A new wave of chic little hangouts has begun rolling through Old Oakland's nexus, 9th Street between Broadway and Washington.
But Old Oakland goes back to 1970, when two brothers decided the unusual but ramshackle Victorians between 8th and 10th streets could be a cash cow.
Turning the vision into reality took years, while the City Council, the brothers and the proprietors of the businesses that would be pushed out battled over displacement, over-financing and minority involvement.
Anchors of the first wave that finally got going in the late 1980s — the Pacific Brewing Co. (1988) and, later, Le Cheval — are still going strong.
Others didn't make it when the Old Oakland energy started to sputter.
It was looking pretty bad by the early 2000s, despite the hopping Farmers Market, Cafe 817 and G.B. Ratto's International Market — all of which closed by sundown.
Nearby restaurants didn't stay open much later.
It was like natural selection for entertainment spots. The weak gave way, to be replaced by a new species of eateries and bars. Overall, 20 businesses have opened in the area in recent years, said Oakland's marketing manager, Samee Roberts.
Creating a night life to attract a younger crowd was the key to surviving since 2000, said Ken Ham, owner of the Grand Oaks Grill and Bar on Washington Street at the lower end of Old Oakland's borders (7th to 10th streets between Broadway and Jefferson).
Catering to the lunch crowd from the nearby shops and offices puts money in the till. But it's booze that turns a real profit.
Ham said he created a late-night bar scene that has set the tone to the new species of hot spots like the Levende East, which opened a few weeks ago.
Oaklanders went wild over the tony lounge on Washington and 9th. The place, in contrast to several generations of cafes and restaurants, has been busy weeknights and swamped during the weekend since it opened June 12.
Co-owner Kiri Eschelle said Old Oakland was the No. 1 choice. They were just waiting (for three years) for the right spot, she added.
The competition from Levende doesn't bother the folks across the street at B restaurant, which opened about 18 months ago, making it one of the pioneers in this wave of gentrification. (The owners of the Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana have played a huge part in kick-starting the revitalization.) B's business popped when Levende opened, said a bartender as he served up a martini, clean and the way it was ordered: Bombay Sapphire and two olives. No questions asked.
Business is booming enough to go around from the looks of the crowd (many customers work in the area) spilling out of Levende's onto Washington Street. Nearly all the places serve lunch and some serve Sunday brunch. When Levende is full, the overflow floats into B's, the bartender said.
Others just prefer B's, which was empty for a year before the current owners scooped it up and started offering such goodies as sweet meats and a crazy concoction of a cocktail called a Don Riley.
It's a favorite spot of Willie Paul, an architect for Kaiser Permanente who stays at the Marriott hotel around the corner when his work brings him to Oakland.
Places like B's takes the sting out of dining alone night after night when he has to travel. Sitting at the deeply used, polished bar, he can strike up a conversation with others — oftentimes with fellow architects.
An architecture firm sits directly across the street in the Arlington Building (the old Arlington Hotel), above the decidedly happening Air Lounge. Nearby Jesso's Seafood Restaurant has adapted, although it is the least trendy of the new generation. The Washington Inn, in contrast, is pretty much dead despite the live jazz ensembles that play in the lobby.
Jesso's has old-school Oakland written all over it, said one regular patron of Oakland establishments as a San Francisco Giants's game played on two TVs and a live band played an bluesy version of the Police's hit "Spirits in the Material World."
Patrons were forsaking an Oakland A's game for the highly anticipated chance of seeing the Giants' Barry Bonds break the home-run record ("He's so close. I wish he would just get it over with," one man sitting at the bar said).
The reason for the patron's assessment of Jesso's was not only the hush-puppies, okra and fried fish that make up the very hearty menu. It was that the most prominent poster hanging on the walls: Cliff Branch, an underrated wide receiver who played for the Raiders during the team's heyday.
"Unless you're old-school Oakland he isn't your piece de resistance," he said.
The area, once the commercial core of the city, has always been filled with a combination of retail, entertainment and offices.
Victorian hotels went on the upper floors and closely clustered shops were squeezed in tight, one next to the other — the better to lure the passerby into opening up the wallet.
They just weren't always very classy after the commerce moved north to downtown. And some of the less desirable businesses — pawnshops and butchers — were around at the turn of the century. It's Old Oakland with a twist. The slogan for the latest wave of development is "New Old Oakland."
The fringes of Old Oakland still look mangy, especially at night. The CityTeam homeless shelter has held on through it all, against the forecast years ago that it would be pushed out as the area went hip.
Now city officials want to lure residents to the area. That's the impetus behind building a slew (567 to be exact) of housing units on the borders of the area. More residents (1,000 as a result of the new units) equals more business is the basic idea.
Meanwhile, Ham is toying with the idea of turning his place into a sports bar, instead of a bar and grill.
"Creating night life brings people in. More people make it feel safer," he said. "The area is coming along."