Oakland’s Alley doesn’t miss a beat going virtual
For music lovers, the piano bar is family in the best sense, and they won’t let it slip away
By Emma Silvers
Oakland’s Alley doesn’t miss a beat going virtual
For music lovers, the piano bar is family in the best sense, and they won’t let it slip away
By Emma Silvers
By Emma Silvers | San Francisco Chronicle
The first time Jacqualine Simpkins set foot in the Alley, she felt overcome, and not in a good way. It was 1995, and she was visiting Oakland from her home in Bellevue, Ohio, finally seeing the Prohibition-era piano bar owned by her uncle and his longtime girlfriend. For the past few years, they’d been talking up the place, trying to convince her to move out and help run it.
The Alley on Grand Avenue has been closed since March due to the pandemic. Its owner says the historic piano bar is on the brink of closure. Photo: Sarah Han
A group of bar regulars is asking for help to forestall yet another pandemic-driven closing of an institution near and dear to so many: Oakland’s historic Alley piano bar. The timeless Alley, the third oldest bar in Oakland, has been at 3325 Grand Ave. since 1933, but with the pandemic keeping its doors closed, its owner since 2009, Jacqualine Simpkins, says it is on the brink of closure.
The dedicated, die-hard Alley community has been meeting via social media, including through live, virtual events, to sing and stay connected ever since the piano bar closed in March. Through the long months of the pandemic, Alley regular Rachel Howard says, the fellow fans and singers got to know each other better and, once the situation turned dire, the Alley Preservation Society was born. Alley pianist Bryan Seet, along with Howard and
Regulars fight to save beloved Oakland piano bar the Alley
Emma Silvers
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The late Alley pianist Rod Dibble, who built the bar’s loyal following over nearly 60 years, claps in approval after a woman sings in 2011.Alex Washburn / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Bryan Seet (center), who succeeded Rod Dibble as featured pianist at the Alley, plays there in 2018. He and loyal regulars are trying to save the historic venue from permanent closure.Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle 2018Show MoreShow Less
As dive bars go, the Alley in Oakland has never been short on charm. With its grand piano, decades-old business cards plastered to the dark wood walls and a loyal cast of regulars who come from all over to belt songs by Cole Porter and Duke Ellington, the 87-year-old piano bar is a one-of-a-kind Bay Area institution.