A while ago, liquor license activity mentioned a bar called Up Dog opening in Oakland, and then Diablo Dish figured out it was related to some folks behind the Weather Up bar in Brooklyn. After some serious online stalking, I was able to get in touch with the owners, who shared more details about their new project, which is called MAKE WESTING (Updog is the LLC) and opens on Monday August 22nd on Telegraph Avenue across from the Fox Theater.
Owners (and Bay Area natives) Christopher Foott and Glenn Kaplan are opening their cocktail bar with the help of some talented people from New York (mostly with part-owner Matthew Maddy of Brooklyn restaurant No. 7 and the bar Weather Up); Caroline Pagel (who has been running Sea Salt in North Berkeley for years) is also helping with the project. There’s a patio, a couple indoor bocce courts, a house cocktail menu, and eight beers on tap (including local Linden Street Common Lager). There are also a couple of tasty-sounding sub sandwiches on the menu, like a roast beef sandwich with pickled butter greens and five-spice mayo, and a broccoli sandwich with Salvatore ricotta and lychee muchim (gold star if you can tell me what that is), plus Walkers Crisps (they’re a Brit thang), and some other snacky items. Be sure to check out the slick photoshoot from UrbanDaddy here (designed by Matt Maddy). As for the name, it comes from a Jack London story. Hours will be 4pm-1:45am to start. 1741 Telegraph Ave. at 18th St., Oakland, 510-251-1400.