What’s New Around East Oakland

The Buzz And What’s New Around East Oakland:

• Through August 9th, every 2nd and 4th Thursday is Night Market at Fruitvale Village in the Fruitvale District on 34th and International Boulevard.
• Every 3rd Saturday is Laurel Makers Market in the Laurel District from 12-4:30 p.m. at Communite Table on 4171 MacArthur Boulevard.
• If you haven’t been to the Fruitvale Station Shopping Center located on Ninth Street and Fruitvale Avenue lately, Office Depot has closed and was replaced by a new Ross Stores that opened on March 10th.

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  A new Walgreens recently opened in the Heartlands; It’s a Grind Coffee House and a Metro PCS will be opening soon in Seminary Point on Foothill Boulevard.  There are a few suites still available so who knows what else we’ll get!

• Get That Fork Out of Here barbecue restaurant bar is relocating from off of 74th and MacArthur to across the street from the Eastmont Town Center on 74th and Bancroft.
• Caviar, a new burger and barbecue joint has an opening soon sign on 35th and MacArthur Boulevard in the Laurel District.
• Nipaki Creative Space in the Laurel District had a grand opening on May 31st – “offering workshops, party space and an art area for kids,” according to the board advertisement
• Restore Oakland is expecting to open in Spring 2019 in the Fruitvale District across the street from Fruitvale Village.  According to their website, “Ella Baker Center and ROC United are working in partnership with Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, Community Works West, Causa Justa/Just Cause, Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), La Cocina, the Restaurant Opportunities Center of the Bay (ROC–The Bay) and many other local organizations.”  According to the sign posted outside of the building, it will include a “tenant’s rights clinic, a restaurant providing hands-on training for living wage jobs, space for restorative justice meetings, a food business incubator, and non-profit offices, public meeting rooms, and co-working spaces.”
• Stompers are all around Oakland, including two  in the Laurel District/Gateway in front of Pete’s Kettle Corn and near Goodwill on MacArthur Boulevard , one in front of Brookfield Library and Martin Luther King Libraries, another in Brookfield Village near the airport, two in the Oakland Coliseum, at Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland hills, Paws and Claws in the Dimond District, in front of Kelly-Moore Paints in the Fruitvale District, as well as one in the Fruitvale Plaza, and at the Oakland Zoo.  According to Jessica Yadegaran, Bay Area News Group, “The Oakland Athletics are celebrating 50 years in their hometown by mounting these massive statues of their mascot, Stomper the elephant…”, https://tinyurl.com/y8fumfru,   Here’s a map with a full listing that includes areas outside of East Oakland.
• McDonald’s at the Eastmont Township Center was remodeled a few months ago.  It now has kiosks that one may use to order food instead of standing in line.  It also offers the menus in braille and picture form.
• All Bay Area KFCs have been remodeled on the inside and outside with a more modern look.
• AC Transit’s BRT Project update:  The San Leandro station is near completion, as posted on Twitter.  The project is due for completion by the end of next year, according to an employee who didn’t want her name printed.   Also, fares went up on Sunday, July 1st.
• Brothers Furniture Store, Avraham Restaurant Supplies, and Perry’s Furniture’s, off International Boulevard and 73rd Avenue are going out of business.  Perry’s, in less than 30 days and they are accepting offers on merchandise, according to the large building sign.
• Octapharma, a blood bank , will be opening soon in the Eastmont Town Center.  Construction appears to be completed but their equipment hasn’t arrived yet.
• Gazzali’s now has a reward card and offers delivery.
• Charlene’s Community Clothes Closet on International Boulevard is temporarily closed again.
• On Calavera and MacArthur Boulevard down the street from Mills College in Upper Laurel, SAHA Satellite Housing is building an affordable housing apartment complex, says a construction worker of Ray’s Electric; the road construction is for the building of new handicap ramps, lights, and etcetera.  According to the SAHA website, once the 28 apartments are completed in the fall, they’ll be operated in partnership with Building Futures, which will provide housing referrals for survivors of domestic violence or family violence, and support services.

  

• Four buildings are under construction in The Laurel, a brand new one, no word about what it will be yet, though I’ve inquired. Body Mechanix is opening up a juice shop a few doors down from its gym; a nailery  is opening next to it in the 3400 block of MacArthur Boulevard; and the Laurel Office Center.  Laurel Smile Dentistry just completed reconstruction, mostly new landscaping.T
• Ang Hong Bo 7 Vietnamese Restaurant has a grand opening sign and is located on Eighth and International Boulevard.
• Metro PCS is hiring on 37th and International and there’s a new one on Ninth and International, across the street from the new 7Eleven.
• The center in Clinton Park on International Boulevard  is offering free citizenship classes this month.
• The name sign for Carter Community Coffee Shop, near 76th and International Boulevard, has been placed up,  taken down and put back up again- but no sign when it will actually be open.
• Roots Community Healthcare is opening a new site at the Foothill and MacArthur Boulevard intersection.
• Big Momma’s Soul Food Kitchen is temporarily closed while under construction.
• Queen’s Cajun Seafood on 2211 International Boulevard opened a month or so ago.
• The FREE meals for kids and teens Summer Food Service Program runs from June – August.  According to the Alameda County Social Services Agency’s website, to find the nearest location throughout California:     Go to

https://www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks

Type in an address, and this online mapping tool will show the nearest free summer lunch sites for children.

Or call the National Hunger Hotline:  1-800-5HUNGRY (1-800-548-6479 for English and Spanish)
The hotline operates M-F, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. EST (6 a.m. – 3 p.m. PST). The hotline refers people in need of emergency food assistance to food pantries, government programs, and model grassroots organizations that work to improve access to healthy, nutritious food.

You can also send a text message: Text your zip code to 1-800-548-647

Or email nhc@whyhunger.org with your household’s city, state, and zip code.”  https://tinyurl.com/ycuzru7n

• Oakland Voices’ Sights and Sounds video that includes community members answering the question, “Where Is East Oakland Now?” and “What Does East Oakland Means To You?”, is in the works to be made into a documentary within a few months.

If you know of anything else new in East Oakland, feel free to place the information in the comments section.  [slideshow_deploy id=’14672′]

Author Profile

Tonya Shipp

Tonya Shipp is a mother of two and avid supporter of education and development. For the past ten years, she has been freelancing and working through staffing agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area. She obtained an associate’s degree in the social sciences from Laney College and is one class shy of receiving a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She also served eight years in the Army Reserves before being honorably discharged. She volunteers regularly at the events and offices of nonprofits. Having experienced extensive periods of homelessness, unemployment and being without dental coverage is a strong advocate for the poor.