Grand Avenue Merchant News
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – February 2024
by Ken Katz I went knocking on Grand Avenue shop doors on January 21, accompanied by Susi Vogler, a new member of the Splash Pad News team, not knowing that we were in for far more surprises than we could have ever anticipated. Atop that list was Smitty’s Cocktails which closed at the start of
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – January 2024
by Ken Katz The big story on Grand this month is unfortunately bad news. Sister is closing on January 27, citing a decline in revenue due in large part to an uptick in crime, particularly car break-ins — an ongoing problem shared by a number of area businesses. Here’s what Sister posted on their Facebook
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – December 2023
by Ken Katz The Sanctuary at 3344 Grand celebrated their Grand Opening on November 13. Owners Stephanie and Etecia Burrell describe their shop as an “apothecary, apparel and home decor boutique,” but a visit to their website (which I highly recommend) tells a much larger story that includes classes and workshops, a community gathering space,
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – November 2023
by Ken Katz If you shopped the Farmers Market on Saturday, you likely saw the Grand Avenue Business Association (GABA) booth with a gorgeous chalkboard poster as its centerpiece. Kudos to Lorenzo Galvan, an employee at Ikaros, for stepping up to the plate at the last minute and hitting a home run. Thirteen Grand Avenue
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – October 2023
by Ken Katz We’re thrilled to report that Panorama Framing has scheduled an upcoming art exhibit curated by former owner, Patrick Cheatham. Titled Beavering Away, it will feature the artwork of two Oakland-based artists, KG Greenstein (mosaics and wireworks) and Nancy Mizuno Elliott (works on paper, stickers). The show will run through the end of the
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – September 2023
by Ken Katz The Barbary launched a soft-opening a week ago in the space vacated by The Libertine. On Monday evening, we stopped by to introduce ourselves to the owners, Narges Gardizi and her sister, Nala Gardizi. Between them, they have two decades of experience as bartenders at Trader Vic’s. The revamped interior is gorgeous
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – August 2023
by Ken Katz There were two big events on Grand Avenue this month beginning with an Art Walk on July 20 that was organized primarily by Tracey Williams from Urban University with a big assist from Jason Canepa from Radbird who designed the poster. Originally, seven shops were scheduled to participate: Megadeluxe, 8am Style, Radbird,
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – July 2023
by Ken Katz Last October’s Art Walk on Grand Avenue was a big success and this year’s rendition on July 20 promises to top it. The guided tour will start at Megadeluxe at 6:00pm followed by 8am Style. Next up will be Radbird, Alyce on Grand, Urban Furniture and Boutique, Brother and Sisters Flower Shop,
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – June 2023
by Ken Katz The future of the Grand Avenue business district is continuing to look brighter than ever with folks starting to turn out for special events in pre-pandemic numbers. To cite one example, last Tuesday I popped into the Alley to order their Special Steak Dinner––pricier than it used to be, but still a
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – May 2023
by Ken Katz In last month’s article about vacant storefronts in the Grand Lake District, we noted that the Grand Avenue Business Association (GABA) was doing relatively well with only six vacancies. This month, we’re delighted to report that three of those spaces have since been leased, beginning with Brite Cleaners at 3349 Grand. According
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – April 2023
by Ken Katz Last year, Radbird served as the official stylist for a “Portrait Slam” sponsored by Tamron lenses at the Oakland Aviation Museum and they are even more excited this year to be invited for an encore at a cyberpunk inspired slam on Saturday, May 20 on the USS Hornet in Alameda. Up to
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – March 2023
by Ken Katz The Grand Opening of ReLove on February 18 was simply GRAND! I arrived a couple of hours after the doors opened and managed to get inside but just barely. A line of customers waiting to pay for their purchases extended up the stairway and beyond. Three hundred people (mostly their San Francisco
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – February 2023
by Ken Katz The Noir City Film Festival, which ended on the 29th, was a huge success at the Grand Lake box office, but it also directly benefited at least two Grand Avenue businesses. Attendees attired in period dress ventured up the block to snap up copies of Dark City and books in the film
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – January 2023
by Ken Katz If you were passing the Grand Lake Theatre during daylight hours early in December, you may have been a bit perplexed by the marquee, which listed nothing but movies that were hot stuff back in 1987. On the other hand, if you were anywhere in the commercial district on the evening of
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – December 2022
by Ken Katz The current hot topic on Grand Avenue is a proposal by the Ohana Cannabis Company to open a dispensary at 3838 Grand, next door to One Medical. A city administrative hearing on Ohana’s application took place on October 24. Despite limited meeting notifications, fifteen individuals spoke in opposition and two in support.
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – November 2022
by Ken Katz What we’ve been referring to previously as Stars/Dollars/Hearts formally opened at 3221 Grand this past weekend but with a new moniker: Two Two. They feature a broad array of highly creative merchandise ranging from high couture fashions to gourmet chocolates—all produced by up-and-coming designers. This is how owner CC Doan describes their
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – October 2022
by Ken Katz If you currently do a Google search for Cycle Sports, a notification pops up saying that it’s temporarily closed and now owned by Trek Bicycles. Yesterday afternoon, when we happened upon the closed sign surrounded outside by multiple display fixtures, wood pallets and piles of cardboard, we were initially dismayed to learn
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – September 2022
by Ken Katz We’re thrilled to report that the Knimble space on Grand Avenue has just been leased. The new tenant, ReLove, already has a very successful location on Polk Street in San Francisco which their website describes as… A re-sale boutique offering a curated mix of vintage, designer, and independent labels. We hand select
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – August 2022
by Ken Katz This past Thursday, an Art Walk on Grand Avenue involved six locally-owned local businesses: Radbird, Megadeluxe, Alyce on Grand, Urban Furniture & Boutique, Brother & Sisters Flower Shop, and Sister Restaurant. The initial stimulus for the event came from Tracey Williams, the Founder and Executive Director of Urban University, who was one
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – July 2022
by Ken Katz In the face of a pandemic that’s dragged on for more than two years, it would have been reasonable to expect us seeing boarded-up shops throughout the Grand Lake District. To the contrary, over the past couple of months, we’ve reported on at least half a dozen newly opened businesses on Grand.
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – June 2022
by Ken Katz In the April edition of the Merchant News, we mentioned that when the office building at 3645 Grand was sold, everyone was advised that it would be repurposed for residential housing but that’s not what eventually happened. A couple of weeks ago, at an Open House for prospective tenants we found out
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – May 2022
by Ken Katz Mother’s Day without flowers would be like Christmas without trees or Hanukkah without latkes. That being the case, rejoice over the fact that Grand Lake residents have easy access to three flower shops on the same block — each with its own unique charms: Lee’s Discount Florist, Brother and Sister Flower Shop
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – April 2022
by Ken Katz The three-story commercial building at 3645 Grand, which was constructed in 1964, was sold in 2018. Shortly thereafter, the new owners emptied the building with the expectation that it would be turned into condos. After two years of heavy construction that included new HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and a lot of other high-end
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – March 2022
by Ken Katz Radbird Fashion and Consignment, which just celebrated the 5th Anniversary of their location in Berkeley next to the Claremont Hotel, quietly opened its second location at 3223 Grand a couple of weeks ago. The owner, Lori Tiedemann, chose Grand Avenue for a number of reasons. One being that the new shop is
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – February 2022
by Ken Katz If you’re already missing the Grand Avenue Knimble, you can ease withdrawal symptoms by popping into the Urban Furniture shop across the street to visit the mannequins that director Tracey Weaver adopted. More importantly, if you’re worried about empty storefronts on Grand, you can take comfort in knowing that several vacancies are
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – January 2022
by Ken Katz The best Grand Avenue news this month came in the form an article in The Oaklandside by C. J. Hirschfield announcing that the annual City Noir Film Festival was moving from San Francisco to the Grand Lake Theatre. Produced, programmed, and hosted by “Noir Czar” Eddie Muller, this year’s festival, titled “They
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – December 2021
by Ken Katz We don’t typically spend a lot of time in beauty supply stores or barber shops, but a Friday afternoon visit to Grand Avenue turned out to be a treasure trove of information and photo opportunities. Mimi Moon, the owner of J & J Beauty Supplies, says she’s been in business at 3242
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – November 2021
by Ken Katz In the May 2021 Grand Avenue Business report we happily reported that “the reopening of Knimble earlier this week was the very best news on the retail front.” Six months later, we are regrettably reporting that the big news on the retail front this month is their upcoming closure in January 2022.
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – October 2021
by Ken Katz Tomorrow will be a memorable day on Grand Avenue. For starters, Michael’s Chocolates (owned and operated by Michael Benner) is hosting a soft opening beginning at noon in the space recently vacated by Michael Mischer. He will continue serving Almare Gelato, and chocolates of course–though Michael B. was quick to note that
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – September 2021
by Ken Katz Maestro? A drumroll please.We have several exciting developments to report, beginning with… Bake Sum quietly opened a couple of weeks ago, albeit with very limited hours on Fridays and Saturdays only until they are fully staffed and trained. The interior is very well done and our hats are off for anybody that
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