As Cal students return to campus, we visit the avenue which has visibly changed in the past year. Local merchants, and the TBID that represents them, say more positive transformations are on the way.
Mad Monk Center for Anachronistic Media
Posted inArts, Business
How Quirky is Berkeley? Mark Bulwinkle’s sculpture inside the new Mad Monk
The new Telegraph Avenue store owned by Ken Sarachan is decorated throughout by sculptures by local artist Mark Bulwinkle.
Posted inBusiness
Shop Talk: Mad Monk, Neeko, Serena & Lily, more
MAD MONK CENTER FOR ANACHRONISTIC MEDIA Ken Sarachan’s Mad Monk Center for Anachronistic Media threw open its doors in April after years of construction. The spacious space at 2454 Telegraph Ave. that formerly housed Cody’s Books now holds thousands of used books and LPs (brought from the basement of Rasputin’s down the street). There are no […]
Posted inBusiness
Cozy acoustic music venue comes to downtown Berkeley
Of the several new music venues slated to open this year in Berkeley, the Back Room will probably be the comfiest. With room for 100 people at most, the brick-walled site at 1984 Bonita St. is occupied by sofas, loveseats, and a Steinway grand piano. Owner Sam Rudin describes the music he plans to book […]
Posted inNosh
The Butcher’s Son, People’s Café, more
Berkeley’s first vegan butcher shop, The Butcher’s Son, is slated to open Feb. 22. These details, and much more, in this week’s Bites.
Posted inCommunity
How Quirky is Berkeley? Bulwinkle on Telegraph Avenue
As the old Cody’s bookstore building on the southwest corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street rises from the ashes, Ken Sarachan’s vision for the Mad Monk Anachronistic Media Center has begun to emerge. When Sarachan moved his Rasputin’s records into the space that today is Bear Basics at Telegraph and Durant, he turned to […]
Posted inBusiness, Community, Housing & Development, Schools
UC Berkeley close to deal for long-empty Telegraph lot
UC Berkeley and property owner Ken Sarachan are close to a joint-venture development deal for the long-empty lot at the north-east corner of Haste and Telegraph, which means that new student housing might be in place there by August 2017. “We are in negotiations, deep negotiations,” said Robert Lalanne, UC’s Vice-Chancellor for Real Estate. Lalanne said […]
Posted inCommunity
How Quirky is Berkeley? Mark Bulwinkle’s steel artworks
For more than 40 years, Mark Bulwinkle has lived life on his own terms, doing what he wants to do every day with a unique artistic vision, a welder’s torch, and a Yankee work ethic. His art, especially his cut-steel sculptures, add a genius quirkiness to Berkeley. Bulwinkle grew up in a house on the […]
Posted inCity, Housing & Development
Berkeley settles case with blighted Telegraph lot owner
The city of Berkeley and Ken Sarachan have settled a lawsuit over his empty lot at 2501 Haste St. on the corner of Telegraph Avenue, clearing the way for the construction of a a six-story, mixed-use, Moorish, palace-like structure inspired by Italian hill towns, Tibetan forts and the rock-cut architecture of Petra in Jordan. Under […]
Posted inBusiness
Mad Monk Center to rise on Telegraph
The proposed Mad Monk Center for Anachronistic Media on Telegraph Avenue is set to include a 50-seat restaurant and full bar, as well as a performance space.
Posted inBusiness
Tackling Telegraph Avenue: Is this time different?
Nearly 200 Berkeleyans came to Willard Middle School on Thursday night to hear and offer ideas about improving Telegraph Avenue, which has suffered in recent years from declining retail sales, empty lots and plenty of handwringing. “I have great enthusiasm and great optimism that we’re going to make things happen,” said Mayor Tom Bates after […]
Posted inBusiness, Fire, Housing & Development
New building proposed for Sequoia site on Telegraph Ave.
The owners of the property at 2441 Haste St. at Telegraph, scene of a devastating fire in Nov. 2011 that destroyed the five-story Sequoia Apartments, have submitted a proposal to the city of Berkeley to build a new 42-unit, 43,000 sq ft apartment building. The project would also include retail spaces intended for two restaurants that […]