End of the Mama Buzz era, new cafe Telegraph to open soon

By Wendi Jonassen | January 23, 2012 |
Mama Buzz, Telegraph

While Oakland’s Uptown residents search for a place to pretend to do work while chain-smoking and listening to obscure punk, John Mardikian is busy scrubbing, painting, fixing plumbing, and doing general repairs on the space where Mama Buzz—and before that, Papa Buzz—had been in some form or another for over a decade.

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Skateboard shop moves out of old Hooper’s building

By Jessie Schiewe | September 22, 2011 |
Sam Worth, the owner of Hooper Vintage Skateboards and Chocolates, said that after a few months it was too difficult to pay the rent for the 21,000 square foot building that formerly housed a chocolate shop.

In early 2011,Worth signed a lease to rent the long-vacant Hooper’s Chocolate Shop on Telegraph Avenue in North Oakland. It had everything he was looking for: a great location, tons of space, and a unique interior. But despite his best efforts, the store was plagued with financial difficulties.

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