The Parkway’s last hurrah
on March 23, 2009
By Casey Miner and Tasneem Paghdiwala Raja/Oakland North
For twelve years, Oakland’s Parkway Speakeasy Theater was a community mainstay: a place to grab a beer, park yourself on a couch, watch a cheap movie and catch up with friends.
But like many other small businesses, the Parkway has had a hard time weathering the recession. Last Wednesday, owners Kyle and Catherine Fischer announced that a combination of money troubles and landlord issues meant the theater had to close.
Within 24 hours of the announcement, thousands of people joined a Facebook group dedicated to saving the theater. Tickets to the final weekend shows sold out hours in advance. And on Sunday night, with a line of well-wishers stretching around the block, the Parkway opened its doors for the last time.
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Oakland North is an online news service produced by students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and covering Oakland, California. Our goals are to improve local coverage, innovate with digital media, and listen to you–about the issues that concern you and the reporting you’d like to see in your community. Please send news tips to: oaklandnorthstaff@gmail.com.
The Parkway was an Oakland institution and it’ll be missed. I hope the owners will be able to keep the Cerrito Speakeasy open.
Nice! Camilo from Carne Cruda here. Latest news is that the Parkway will probably re-open, and we will play the opening night!