Business
If winemaking is an art, consider The Punchdown Oakland’s newest gallery. The uptown bar, which opened its doors at 2212 Broadway in December, offers wine connoisseurs and neophytes alike a polished, unpretentious space to sip, nibble and chat. But be warned: there’s no Yellowtail on tap at The Punchdown—the bar only carries natural, sustainably produced wines.
Long loved by East Bay residents, North Oakland’s mega-drugstore will close this summer due to plans to demolish and redevelop the shopping center where it is located. For decades this one-stop-shop has been a neighborhood institution, but now the store’s landlord has declined to renew its lease, slating it to close by the end of June.
Oakland city leaders and residents celebrate the opening of Kinsell Commons, a Habitat for Humanity and Oakland Housing Authority mixed-income housing project in East Oakland.
Straddling the border of Oakland and Emeryville, a portion of 40th Street thick with retail stores is welcoming a new neighbor this week. Target, the nation’s second largest discount retailer after Wal-Mart, will officially open the doors of its newest store this Sunday.
Hiroko Kurihara is building the 25th Street Collective step by step—recruiting other entrepreneurs to share the space with her brand, making improvements to the interior, and fundraising on the collective’s web site. The collective will allow businesses to share space, resources, employees and feedback from fellow artisans.
Dozens gathered in Oakland on Tuesday to show solidarity with protesters in Wisconsin who are protesting plans to limit public unions’ ability to bargain for health and pension benefits for their members. Their signs bore messages challenging Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to respect workers rights and calling for California Governor Jerry Brown not to cut public workers’ benefits.
At PayLess Self Storage auctions in Richmond, the winner takes all: the good, the bad and the worthless.
The Oakland Heritage Alliance continues its battle to save one of the area’s historic structures.
If the week’s sudden turn to winter has you hankering for some comfort food, you’re in luck. Homeroom, Oakland’s newest restaurant, specializes in everyone’s favorite comfort food: macaroni and cheese. After a scrape with McDonalds, and a couple years of planning, building and recipe-testing, Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade opened the doors to cheesy goodness on Tuesday.