Eye on the Hills: Hula store closing in Oakland’s Montclair district
One of the most recognizable clothing stores in Oakland’s Montclair district is closing, with a slow roll-out of discounts until the merchandise is liquidated or someone offers to buy the shop.
Andrea Faber opened Hula at 6136 La Salle Ave. in 1997 after previously serving customers in Berkeley with a business on College Avenue for 19 years. Her youngest daughter, Naomi, has been the buyer for the Oakland hills store even after moving with her family to Texas two years ago.
Longtime customers will tell you that Andrea has a passion for working in retail. She says she’s loved her time at both shops, to the point that her husband used to note how happy she was when she’d come home at the end of the day. With her staff (Susan, Melissa, Carin and Geri), running Hula most of the time, Andrea is only working a few hours a week these days but says she’s still going to miss her customers.
“They’ve been so much a part of my life,” she says, adding that she’ll miss hearing about their lives as well.
Happy days: Perle Bar in Montclair Village has brought back happy hour, with discounted snacks and drink specials daily from 3 to 6 p.m. Longtime customers remember Chef Rob Lam’s $10 happy hour burger from days gone by, but the new concept of modern Vietnamese food in a lounge setting opens up new possibilities.
$10 happy hour drinks include the Mekong Mule with Rieger vodka, Olhena Golden Turmeric spirit, lemongrass, mint and ginger beer. Craft beer from Pond Farm Brewing is $5 during happy hour, and a selection of wines are each $9. Appetizers include Fried Deviled Oyster Eggs with trout roe, Duck Confit Egg Rolls and Hanoi Pork Lettuce Cups.
Owl rescue: A Great Horned Owl was rescued from a tree at Lake Temescal last week. The owl was tangled in fishing line, and frantic observers were able to reach an arborist who climbed the tree, freed the bird and carried it to a net on the ground. The owl was taken to Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital in Walnut Creek for treatment.
UFO documentary: Oakland hills resident Mike Walker is featured in a new documentary on UFOs called “Experiencer” about people who say they’ve had encounters with space ships and extraterrestrial beings. Walker says he was abducted in 1985 while watching the clouds turn into a vortex.
“I blacked out, and that’s when they took me,” he says, stating also that he was in a different spot when he came to.
“After studying the phenomenon for over 35 years, I realized I was paralyzed. They had control over me. And they were done with me already.”
Ginny Prior can be reached at ginnyprior@hotmail.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com.