Alameda’s already vibrant beer scene just got a little merrier with the addition of a new beer garden that recently debuted on Park Street.
Called Park Station, the craft beer emporium is housed in the former Big O Tires shop at Park Street and San Jose Avenue and features plentiful outdoor seating, fire pits, heaters and even a stage. There’s also a cavernous main indoor tap room and a side room for private events.
In addition to the beer offerings, North Oakland eatery favorite Southie (southieoakland.com) is set up across from the tap room offering pulled pork and meatball sandwiches, breakfast burritos and other pub-friendly fare. The brainchild of former longtime Alamedans Melody Thebeau and her husband Dan, the transformation of the tire shop into a beer garden took three years.
The duo aren’t newbies to the beer biz, though — for the last eight years they’ve run a similar venue in Sacramento known as Sacyard, where they also transformed an auto-related business — a former car repair shop and junkyard — into a thriving beer oasis (sacyard.beer/#about).
A major factor in the decision of the Thebeaus and their partners to take on the transformation of the space was a change in zoning restrictions for the property that let them turn the tire shop’s former parking space into a beer garden.
“In East Sacramento, our immediate community is about the same population as Alameda and walkable. We don’t get in our car. There’s lot of outdoor life just as we see here. But I think in Alameda, the little nugget that was missing was that we didn’t have a grand outdoor space. You can live and feel it on this particular corner lot,” says Melody, who along with Dan splits her time between Sacramento and Alameda.
Featuring rotating taps of 30 mostly local brews — even from Alameda Brewing just down the street — as well as Faction out on Alameda Point (the former U.S. Navy base), Park Station’s owners aren’t brewing any beer and have no plans to do so but aim to serve up the best of the Bay Area’s craft beers.
“We’ve got Faction, we’ve got Ghost Town, you name it, and we’re the tasting room on this side of the Island for those folks. And it helps promote their beer,” says Melody.
Park Station also likes to tout itself as a home of the “true pint.” While some bars serve “pints” of beer in 16-ounce glasses, by the time the foam evaporates the beer dwindles down to 14 ounces. Park Station uses 20-ounce glasses, though, so that when the pint settles it’s a proper 16 ounces.
In addition to the suds, Park Station is also a dog-friendly venue but not a canine free-for-all. There are rules of conduct for dogs posted at the entrance. Among them is a prohibition on “aggressive dogs,” that all mutts be “supervised” and no more than two pooches per person. Helping to keep the doggies in line is Park Station’s very own “Dog Ambassador,” Drake, the Thebeaus’ very chill, mild-mannered furry friend. While opening a bar or restaurant is always a risky proposition, Melody says the enduring attraction of beer no matter what shape the economy’s in will carry the day.
“I believe in the beer industry and the beverage industry, beer is the drink of the people. For every decade of inflation that occurred or markets that crashed, people looked to beer. It’s affordable. It’s been around for centuries,” says Melody who points out that Park Station also has a formidable wine list.
On the grub side, Rich Wood, who along with his wife Rebekah has operated the Wood Tavern (woodtavern.net) and original Southie outlet for years in North Oakland’s tony Rockridge district, is excited about their first venture beyond Oakland’s College Avenue — even in an area that has not seen the development that the rest of downtown Alameda has. With experience working for the Kimpton Group hotel and restaurant developers, Wood says he sees potential on the south end of Alameda’s Park Street.
“All things change,” Wood said on a recent weekend. “Make sure you’re ready for change. And now it’s south Park Street’s turn to go through the transformation, and we’re lucky to be a part of the wave. This is a great community, and everyone here has been really super-supportive. I mean it’s 1:30 p.m. on a Saturday, and my guys have made a hundred pounds of spicy dogs already. It’s just awesome to be here. Life is good.”
Longtime Alamedan Derek Smitheram, sipping a brew and celebrating a friend’s birthday, said he couldn’t be more pleased with the former tire shop’s latest incarnation.
“I started bringing my car here in the mid-’80s. Seeing this repurposed and everybody having a good time and celebrating my man’s birthday here. Yeah, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
For more information on Park Station visit parkstation.beer online.
Paul Kilduff is a San Francisco-based writer who also draws cartoons. He can be reached at pkilduff350@gmail.com.