Piedmont Avenue…A Great Place to Live—and Eat!
Posted on | April 14, 2010 | No Comments
Piedmont Avenue is one of the most interesting and eclectic shopping districts in Oakland. There are wonderful old-time stores, long staples of the street, and newer one-of-a-kind shops, restaurants and cafes—some spilling off onto several side streets—all thriving side-by-side down this long corridor of neighborhood charm and diversity.
People who live in the surrounding neighborhoods actually come out to the Avenue to shop, dine, go to the movies or enjoy coffee or tea. This is the street that has the annual family friendly Halloween parade and takes pride in the small town feel. Local residents love the area because it feels like a village.
You can get just about anything you want on Piedmont Avenue: there’s a 
post office, a public library, a drug store, video store, wine store, cleaners, fitness studio, stationary, books and comic books, flowers, 2 day-spas, gift stores, antique stores, clothing stores, a movie theatre, at least five coffee shops (Peet’s, Starbucks, Caffe Trieste, Gaylord’s, Rooz Cafe), L’Amyx Tea Bar, the impressive Piedmont Grocery as well as the well-stocked independent Monte Vista Market AND restaurants galore!
At the top of Piedmont Avenue is Mountain View Cemetery, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, where many local icons and celebrated families have been laid to rest. Complete with docent tours of the grounds, it has long been considered a peaceful haven for thoughtful walks made more colorful and vibrant by the annual tulip festival at the end of March.
The center of Piedmont Avenue was once the terminus of the Key System’s C Line. It is still an excellent commute location with MacArthur BART station, casual carpool, freeways and AC Transit lines nearby. At the bottom of the commercial strip, near West MacArthur Boulvard, Kaiser Permanente’s flagship Medical Complex stretches out for blocks.
What do you want to eat tonight is not an easy question on Piedmont Avenue. Perhaps you should have dessert first! You can’t go wrong with the always popular Fenton’s Creamery (on Piedmont Avenue since 1895!) made even more popular by the recent Pixar movie UP.
Three of the 2010 Chronicle top 100 are on the Avenue: Bay Wolf, Dopo and Adesso. There’s also César Latino, Barney’s Gourmet Hamburger shop, the always popular Little Shin Shin, Lo Coco’s Sicilian, and Gregoire take out. Bon Appétit!
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