Oakland’s Face and Body Day Spa, Bardo Lounge and Supper Club, Aisle 5 on Grand, and the Grand Lake Theater are some of the great places to go out and about!
Oakland Lake Merritt, Adams Point, Lakeshore: There’s a lot going on within this area of our city that spans an area that goes from Highland Avenue downhill to Broadway and Telegraph Avenue. What’s cool is you can search for what’s happening and happened from whereever you are in the World via social media. That’s what’s happening, here.
A search for #Oakland on Instagram reveals a lot of interesting photos, but few more so than this one, the featured image with the parked Ford Mustang in it. The place is immediately recognizable to the tiny (relative to the Oakland and World population) number of people who live near Santa Clara and is at 460 Santa Clara Ave.
That’s just up the hill that is on Santa Clara from the Grand Lake Theater and the building is the home of a number of personal care businesses including Face and Body Day Spa.
The Face and Body Day Spa is said to be the last black-female-owned establishment of its type in Oakland. The hours are from 10 AM to 6 PM, and you can find out more at the website here: www.fabdayspa.com.
One thing: if you’re going to 460 Santa Clara Ave, don’t park in the yellow zone as this patron did! That’s a sure fire ticket to a tow by Oakland’s parking zombies. That specific area needs parking to serve it, and it’s a long time coming. It’s a ticket trap. The best place to park (well, the only place to park) is on Grand Avenue, just down hill.
If you’re not into getting your nails done, there places to eat, drink, and talk. The newest of them is called the Bardo Lounge and Supper Club over at 3343 Lakeshore Avenue. This place, located right next to the Starbucks on Lakeshore, same side of the street, has quickly gained a following.
The Bardo Lounge and Supper Club is a kind of throw back style place, intended (it seems) to reflect a kind of jazz culture of a past that should have never went away. On Instagram maemanns said “Love the atmosphere here, noise level is high, drinks were strong and tasty, food was delicious, a little on the salty side. dessert was interesting, might need to be adventurous to try.”
If you’re not into a jazz supper club, there’s The Alley at 3325 Grand Avenue, and where genius piano player Rod Dibble held court until his passing a year ago. Here’s one of a number of videos at Zennie62 on YouTube featuring Mr. Dibble…
There’s also Aisle 5 across the street and at 3320 Grand Avenue. Aisle 5 Oakland is a sports bar that’s quite welcoming to patrons and fills a giant sports bar less void in Oakland. I met my friend, Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Board Member Chris Dobbins there a few months ago:
And then, there’s the Grand Lake Theater, where its owner Allan Michaan is now really its owner and is playing Aquaman, Mary Poppins Returns, and Green Book, as this is written. Allan has not only presented some of the best movies of our time, but helped local Oaklanders make movies, too. Here’s Mr. Michaan talking about East Side Sushi in 2015:
So, go and get out and about in Oakland, Adams Point, and Lake Merritt!
Stay tuned.