Night Heron, the cocktail bar that became a gathering spot for Uptown Oakland's creative and activist crowd, pours its last drinks Saturday night at 1780 Telegraph Avenue. Owner Sequoya Lee is closing the doors for good after years of building what she describes as a community bar and venue, not just a place to grab a drink.
Lee attributed the closure to current economic realities, according to the New York Post. The bar's run is described inconsistently in that same report — the headline puts it at four years in downtown Oakland, while the article body describes it as four and a half years. Night Heron actually began slinging drinks in Uptown Oakland on June 24, 2022, according to Eater SF.
Lee announced the closure in a video posted to her personal Instagram account and the bar's account earlier this month, and the post drew more than 2,100 likes. She described Night Heron as a space created for Black and brown people, built around accessibility and partnerships with entrepreneurs, artists, activists, organizers and filmmakers. She encouraged patrons to come out for the bar's final weekend before it shuts down for good.
Final Hours and What Comes Next
Night Heron is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, its final two days of service, with the last pour coming Saturday night. Lee said another bar will move into the Night Heron space once it closes, though no details about that new operation have been disclosed.
The last weekend of service lines up with Oaklandside's reporting that Night Heron, at 1780 Telegraph Ave., would close its doors on Nov. 13-14, according to Oaklandside. That same report noted another Oakland closure happening around the same time: Arthur Mac's Temescal location was set to serve its last day on Dec. 20, even as its Emeryville spot stays open and a Hayward location moves forward.
Part of a Rough Stretch for East Bay Food and Drink
Night Heron's closure adds to a string of recent shutdowns across the East Bay. Flipside, an Oakland burger restaurant open for nearly 15 years, planned to close Oct. 31 after a co-owner cited the high cost of ingredients and rent, Oaklandside reported in the same roundup covering Night Heron's neighborhood. Berkeley's Nabolom Bakery & Pizzeria closed after service on Oct. 18, with owners pointing to rising ingredient and business expenses alongside a drop in sales.
Alameda's Admiral Maltings also shut its taproom, The Rake, on Oct. 18, saying in a statement that despite its best efforts, it couldn't make and sell malt economically. Weeks earlier, Oeste in Old Oakland told the Mercury News it was likely to close in October, pointing to the city's sluggish economic recovery. None of these closures are presented as sharing one identical cause, but the pattern across Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda points to an industry under sustained financial strain.
For now, Night Heron's remaining hours are Friday and Saturday night only, with the bar's final call coming Saturday. Lee has not shared further plans for herself or specifics on what will replace the Uptown Oakland fixture she spent more than four years building.
