Oakland’s Kingfish Pub & Café is an East Bay institution. For decades, it’s been a beloved neighborhood dive bar, but it began as a humble bait shop on Claremont Avenue in 1922. Located in the Temescal neighborhood, the Kingfish is a shrine to Cal sports — both past and present — and to all Bay Area teams, with paraphernalia (oars, hockey sticks, and generations of ticket stubs) plastered or hung on the walls. The Fish was a sports bar before sports bars were even a thing.
A bit of history: In 1873, as part of an effort to protect University of California students from the dangers of alcohol, the state legislature enacted a law banning the sale of liquor within two miles of campus. (This restriction was changed to a “one-mile” rule in 1876.) Berkeley passed a temperance ordinance in 1899 that was repealed in 1900, but then reinstated citywide in 1906 through the end of Prohibition. As a result, the Kingfish in neighboring North Oakland became a hub for college students, in addition to the folks who lived in the then working-class area, which featured an Italian bakery, a hardware store, and the original Genova Delicatessen. They are all long gone today, but the Fish abides… read more >
