Skip to main content

Bloggers Moan Lack of Retail In Oakland During Christmas

Bloggers like Refin and Nancy Friedman have openly pointed to Oakland's chronic lack of retail venues during the holidays. Friedman writes...

It's prime shopping season, and my fair city is in a world of hurt. The weekend before last I attended a town meeting convened by my city councilwoman at which a consultant delivered the depressing news that Oakland is losing $1 billion a year in potential retail sales to neighboring cities. (In the trade, that's known as "leakage.")

Once upon a time, downtown Oakland was home to four major department stores, a big furniture store, and several swanky boutiques. The tide began turning in the 1980s, thanks to lackluster leadership, rising crime, and general cluelessness. The Loma Prieta earthquake, in 1989, delivered the coup de grâce. Some downtown structures were never repaired and remain vacant. Today Oakland, a city of about 400,000, has only one department store: Sears. To shop at Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Home Depot, Target, or Pottery Barn, Oaklanders must travel to Emeryville (pop.: 6,882), Albany (pop.: 16,444), Walnut Creek (pop.: 64,583), or, of course, San Francisco.


She's right. It's also why I pushed for an Uptown Entertainment District with a mall at its center - not housing -- when I worked for Elihu Harris. But Jerry Brown came in and altered the Forest City deal I spearheaded such that now, Oakland has financed and is seeing the construction of housing that when finished with be next to BART, where its dwellers can hop on a train and go to the Forest City retail development at Union Square.

The word "suckers" comes to mind again and again.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Alex Castro, Electronic Arts VP, Is Oakland’s “Fake Joe Tuman”, “Crocker Mom”

Alex Castro, is currently Vice President Of Product Management At Electronic Arts, and a fairly-well-known and legendary tech executive, regularly quoted in a number of industry publications. But Alex Castro’s also an Oakland resident who has the terrible habit of going online, making traceble email accounts from his Electronic Arts office, and posing as someone […] from WordPress http://ift.tt/1fVkWP9 via IFTTT

Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023

Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023 Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023. Imani Greer gets a highlight in The Oakland Post: Chef Imani Greer, a culinary entrepreneur, has created quite a stir — and menu — for the Bay Area’s vegan-loving community with the opening of his new Roasted and Raw (R&R) restaurant near Oakland’s Jack London Square. I am proud to welcome him to Zennie62Media for Oakland Restaurant Week 2023. Stay tuned. via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvMqVWLAH4

Event: Jog For Jill San Francisco Run September 12th Golden Gate Park

Cal Women's Rowing Team member Jill Costello passed away from complications due to lung cancer on June 24th 2010 and at the age of 21. A San Francisco event and run called Jog For Jill has been established and will be held this Sunday, September 12th at 5 PM. Two members of the Cal Women's Crew team were at the Cal vs. Davis football game wearing Jog For Jill shirts, and were kind enough to provide the video interview above. Below are the other details from the event website, where you're encouraged to pre-register here CLICK FOR SITE : Pre-Registration: Online/$25 Day of Registration: 4:00 p.m./$30 Shotgun Start: 5:00 p.m. After run/walk celebration: 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Event Location: Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Bandshell S Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, California 94118 Participants are encouraged to pre-register. Only pre-registered participants will be guaranteed a walk/run T-shirt. T-shirts will be limited to the first 2500 day of regis