Nathan Dalton
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Articles by Nathan Dalton
Shop Talk: Berkeley’s Karim Cycle closes but its owner is still selling bikes
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. Open North Berkeley Moon Pop Play Studios is a new home-based preschool in North Berkeley.
Clinic selling peptides, testosterone and IV drips opens in Berkeley
Hydration Room recently opened at 1901 Fourth St. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside The intravenous therapy boom has arrived in Berkeley. Once a niche industry serving celebrities and the ultra-rich, IV hydration therapy is becoming more and more widespread (it’s estimated to become a $3 billion industry this year), even as medical experts say its benefits for healthy people have not been proven and warn of its risks, which could include trauma, bleeding or infection.
Two new Berkeley arts spaces open their first exhibits this week
There's no paywall here because our reporting is free for all of Berkeley. Support from readers like you helps make it possible. Donate today to our fall campaign and your gift will be fully matched by some of our most generous supporters. Signpainter Patrick M. Piccolo puts the finishing touches on the exterior of Starfish Arts at 1227 San Pablo Ave., which opens this week. A new artist collective is breathing new life into old painting traditions.
Shop Talk: Ledger’s Liquors changes hands; new family-owned vet clinic opens on Shattuck
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. Sold Central Berkeley Ledger’s Liquors on University Avenue is now owned by the Benicia-based Sips.
Berkeley Outlet, a ‘hoarder’s delight,’ is closing after 48 years
Berkeley Outlet, a destination for secondhand goods in West Berkeley, will close in the coming months. Credit: Nathan Dalton Paul Neidert still has the receipts. All of them. Every single one he’s written out by hand since he began selling used furniture and other salvaged goods in April 1978 can be found in a cabinet behind his desk at Berkeley Outlet, his vast warehouse in West Berkeley.
Berkeley’s Dark Carnival bookstore, a home for sci-fi fans and fish-themed car emblem collectors, turns 50
Dark Carnival, the fantasy and science fiction bookstore, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. Credit: Dark Carnival Dark Carnival, Berkeley’s go-to bookstore for fantasy and sci-fi fans, is celebrating its half-century mark this month. “It’s been a surprising 50 years,” said owner Jack Rems, who opened the store in 1976 as a UC Berkeley undergrad. The most surprising thing of all might be that it managed to survive for so long.
Artist studios pop up at Berkeley’s empty Half Price Books
Artists tour the former Half Price Books space in downtown Berkeley where Zero Empty Spaces will be opening two dozen small artist studios. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside When Half Price Books closed in November, it left an 8,000-square-foot hole in the heart of downtown Berkeley. But the bookstore’s departure after 20 years holding down the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Addison Street has created an opportunity for local artists to make and sell their work.
Pickleball in the sky: A new Berkeley club plays 6 stories above downtown
Neighborhood Pickleball hopes to attract pros and novices alike to its three courts atop the six-story parking structure at 2061 Allston Way. Courtesy: Neighborhood Pickleball A local entrepreneur has built a little slice of pickleball heaven on top of a six-story parking garage in downtown Berkeley. Neighborhood Pickleball, which opened in May, was founded by Jim Jenkins, a software engineer and pickleball fanatic who lives in Orinda.
The North Face, once headquartered in Berkeley, closes its last outpost in the city
The North Face Outlet on Fifth Street closed on July 12. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside The large half dome logo has been covered, the doors have been painted black, and without a note of goodbye, The North Face Outlet in Berkeley has closed after decades on Fifth Street. The store, which shuttered on July 12, was the last vestige left of The North Face in Berkeley, once home to the company’s headquarters and manufacturing plant.
New Berkeley clinic aims to make hair removal less painful for trans community
Electrologist May Cluff with Airship co-worker Chelsea O’Neal. Courtesy: Airship Electrolysis When Umbra Williams first walked into an electrolysis clinic, she was treated as some sort of “predator,” she said, an experience familiar to many trans women. “I had honestly stopped looking for electrolysis in the Bay Area because I had two prior very unpleasant encounters,” said Williams, 44, who transitioned three years ago.
New improv comedy theater in downtown Berkeley aims to ‘cultivate queer joy’
Members of Uprising Improv perform at Provocation Theatre on Bancroft Way earlier this year. Courtesy: Provocation Theatre Itching for the stage and want to pursue comedy? Hoping to feel a bit more confident at your next work meeting? Or maybe you’re just an awkward dater?
Berkeley Wellness Center to close as California shifts mental health funding
The Berkeley Wellness Center on University Avenue will close June 19. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside The Berkeley Wellness Center, an arts-focused community space for people with mental health challenges, is closing this month after a change to how California allocates funding for behavioral health programs meant it lost funding from Alameda County.
Berkeley thrift shop blames city for closure
ThriftyCat, at 2070 Martin Luther King Jr. Way (at Addison), closed on Feb. 15 after about a year in business. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside After just a year in business, ThriftyCat, the secondhand shop on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, has closed. The reason for the closure centers around the small parking lot outside the shop, which owner Bryce Kalousek-Maritano wanted to use for both retail and storage.
Shop Talk: Publishers Group West celebrates 50 years, Berkeley Bait & Tackle Art Gallery closes amid family legal fight
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. In the Spotlight West Berkeley Revelers at Publishers Group West’s 50th anniversary bash on April 25. Courtesy: Publishers Group West On April 25, the book distribution company Publishers Group West threw a big party in Berkeley in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Después de medio siglo de servicio un taller mecánico de Berkeley cierra sus puertas, los clientes organizan una fiesta en honor a su fundador de 91 años
Read this story in English. Henry Basurto, fundador de Henry’s Service, y su hijo Lonnie en una fiesta organizada por los clientes el 30 de abril para celebrar la historia del taller mecánico. Cortesía: Sally Basurto-Pras Después de casi 50 años, Henry’s Service, el amado taller mecánico de Westbrae, cierra sus puertas.
It’s a wrap for Central Works — fourth Berkeley theater to close since 2023
Edwin Jacobs and Monique Crawford perform in Central Works’ satirical 2023 play “Mondragola,” set in Niccolo Machiavelli’s Florence. The theater is closing with its directors set to retire. Credit: Robbie Sweeney Central Works, the 36-year-old Berkeley-based theater company, is coming to a close after the end of its current season, as co-directors Gary Graves and Jan Zvaifler are set to retire.
Wavy Gravy, most famous counterculture icon alive in Berkeley, turns 90
Ninety years does not seem like enough time to contain the life of Wavy Gravy. The hippie icon is probably best known as the emcee of Woodstock, but his impact on American culture goes far beyond those three days of peace and music. He was Albert Einstein’s neighbor, Bob Dylan’s roommate, and the official clown of the Grateful Dead. His friends are a who’s who of 1960s counterculture: Lenny Bruce, Ram Dass, Ken Kesey. He’s been a beatnik poet, a hog farmer and a jester.
Wavy Gravy, most famous counterculture icon alive in Berkeley, turns 90
6 hours ago For our 2026 Skincare Awards, Bazaar editors tested some of the buzziest routine staples of the year to narrow down the best masks and treatments that are actually worth shopping for. And we don’t take our top picks lightly: These award winners combine the latest innovations in skincare with proven, …
As Berkeley auto shop closes after 50 years, customers throw party for its 91-year-old founder
Henry Basurto, founder of Henry’s Service, and his son Lonnie at an April 30 party thrown by customers in celebration of the auto shop’s history. Courtesy: Sally Basurto-Pras After nearly 50 years, Henry’s Service, the beloved car mechanic in Westbrae, is closing up shop. On Thursday, April 30, dozens of customers who have trusted their cars to Henry’s over the years threw a party to honor the auto shop and its 91-year-old founder, Henry Basurto.
As Berkeley auto shop closes after 50 years, customers throw party for its 91-year-old founder
4 hours ago Argentine officials are racing to determine whether their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the Atlantic cruise ship MV Hondius. The health crisis on the anchored vessel coincides with a surge of hantavirus cases across Argentina. Many local public health experts link the surge to the accelerating impacts of climate change.
Berkeley Mills furniture store reopened soon after bankruptcy and closure
The custom furniture shop Berkeley Mills announced its closure in July after 37 years, citing “high costs and low margins” along with mounting debt, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in August. But after finding new investors, the shop is open for business again with co-founder Gene Agress back at the helm after stepping down as CEO in early 2025 due to health issues.
Berkeley private school with a colorful and groundbreaking past turns 80
Miss Ellis and her class at Berkwood School in the 1950s. Courtesy: Berkwood Hedge Eighty years ago, five mothers, concerned about overcrowding and the lack of competent teachers in public schools immediately after World War II, came together and opened their own parent-run elementary school with just nine students.
Shop Talk: New Pilates studio in West Berkeley; Cotopaxi closes on Fourth Street after robbery
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. Opening West Berkeley The future home of Plank + Power in West Berkeley features high ceilings, poured concrete floors and a light filled mezzanine.
Air today, beer tomorrow. Almanac partners with Berkeley company on first air-capture carbonated beer
Call it climate coping with a twist. Almanac Beer Company has introduced a pale ale carbonated with carbon dioxide captured from the air, turning a familiar indulgence into a modest experiment in reuse. The beer is made possible thanks to Aircapture, a Berkeley-based start-up whose direct air capture technology, installed inside Almanac’s Alameda brewery, can pull CO2 from the atmosphere, liquefy it and purify it into beverage-grade form.
How thorny regulations and tariffs led Xocolate Rockridge to melt down
Xocolate & Confections in Rockridge sold its last box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Known for its stylized window displays and colorful, eye-popping “Wonkaesque” decor, the store was an offshoot of The Xocolate Bar, the celebrated chocolate maker that has been selling a delightful array of fair-trade, organic chocolate bars, truffles and bonbons on Solano Avenue in Berkeley since 2008.
Barnes & Noble College takes over Cal student stores
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. In the Spotlight UC Berkeley Barnes & Noble College is now running the Cal student stores.
Berkeley nonprofit merges Jewish study with artmaking
Rabbi Adina Allen (standing left) and her mother, Pat Allen (standing right), oversee a class at Jewish Studio Project’s Berkeley studio. Credit: Nicole Seguin Growing up, whenever Adina Allen was upset, her mother would ask, “Have you made art about it yet?” As a teenager, the question annoyed Allen, as advice from a parent often does.
Berkeley Zen Center picks its first female abbot
Linda Galijan will be Berkeley Zen Center’s first female abbot. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside The Berkeley Zen Center has chosen a new abbot. Linda Galijan will be just the third person to fill the role in the 59-year history of the center and will be its first female abbot. Galijan will officially be installed during a ceremony on March 1.
This artist built a safe space on wheels for homeless Berkeleyans to warm up in
Stefan Kaiter-Snyder (right) sits with his friend Tom inside the mobile warming hut he designed and built. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside In late November of 2024, when an atmospheric river drenched the Bay Area, a local welder and artist named Stefan Kaiter-Snyder began handing out tarps to unhoused residents throughout Berkeley.
Shop Talk: Paraíso Plant Studio moves into former Market Hall space; American Giant, Vans close on Fourth Street
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. Moved Fourth Street Paraíso Plant Studio has moved into the former Market Hall space on Fourth Street. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside Paraíso Plant Studio has moved into the former Market Hall Foods space on Fourth Street, just a few doors down from its previous spot.
Meet Berkeley’s new poet laureates — a kindergarten teacher and 2 high school freshmen
Youth Poet Laureate Nolawit Ketema (right) and Vice Youth Poet Laureate Rachel Dunn after the award ceremony Tuesday at the Berkeley Public Library’s Central Branch. Credit: Zac Farber/Berkeleyside Berkeley has crowned a new poet laureate and two new youth poet laureates. Hanan Masri, a kindergarten teacher at Berkwood Hedge School, is the city’s third poet laureate, succeeding Aya de León, who finished serving her two-year term in December.
Berkeley’s John Hinkel Park is a ‘dream world, green world’
A path wends up the ivy-colored hills of John Hinkel Park. Credit: Sara Martin for Berkeleyside Editors’ note: This week we’re republishing some of our favorite stories of 2025. This story was first published on Oct. 1. On a recent sunny Sunday, a troupe of actors was rehearsing “The Taming of the Shrew” at the amphitheater in John Hinkel Park.
This Berkeley neighborhood is thriving — except for one intersection. Can it stage a comeback?
The shuttered 7-Eleven is one of three currently vacant storefronts at the intersection of San Pablo and University avenues. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local Local Editors’ note: This week we’re republishing some of our favorite stories of 2025. This story was first published on May 14.
At 17, she designed a Berkeley church’s stunning stained glass windows. Now 88, she’s finally been recognized
These are uncertain times. Democracy is under threat in myriad ways, including the right of a free press to report the truth without fear of repercussions. One thing is certain, however: Berkeleyside was built for moments like these. We believe wholeheartedly that an informed community is a strong community, so we're doubling down on our mission of reporting the stories that empower and connect you when it matters most.
R. Kassman, purveyor of fine pianos for over 40 years, plays its final note
The R. Kassman piano store has closed after more than 40 years. Credit: Nathan Dalton After 46 years, R. Kassman, Purveyor of Fine Pianos, has closed, as current owner Ric Overton is retiring after four decades in the industry. The last piano was sold at the Gilman District shop on Nov. 29. The piano store was founded in 1979 by Russell Kassman in San Francisco. Kassman closed his San Francisco shop in 2004 and reopened in Berkeley in 2007. Kassman sold the business to Overton in 2019.
Berkeley Hat Company on Telegraph Avenue to close after 50 years
Carol Lipnick and Ed Dougherty inside Berkeley Hat Company in 1995. Courtesy: Carol Lipnick After nearly 50 years, the Berkeley Hat Company is closing. The business, founded in 1976 by Carol Lipnick and her late husband, Ed Dougherty, has been a fixture of Telegraph Avenue since 1980, and has supplied hats to countless residents, musicians, actors, athletes, Burners, and party-goers.
Shop Talk: Vintage shop opens in Thousand Oaks; new jiu-jitsu academy and play space for babies and toddlers
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. Open Thousand Oaks Slow Living Supply Co. is a new vintage store housed in the former Persimmon space in Thousand Oaks.
Older Berkeleyans plead for free ceramics program to stay open during senior center remodel
Members of the South Berkeley Senior Center ceramics program at work in the studio. Credit: Ruth Rogow When Nicky Royce first walked into the ceramics studio at the South Berkeley Senior Center, her first thought was: “Oh my God, I’m home!” Royce, who taught high school ceramics for 30 years, knew a thing or two about clay studios, but there was something special happening at the senior center. “I saw these people working and chatting and being so creative,” said Royce.
Half Price Books closes its downtown Berkeley store after 20 years
Half Price Books in downtown Berkeley closed its doors for good on Nov. 30. Credit: Nico Savidge for Berkeleyside Editors’ note: This story was first published on Berkeleyside on July 3. Half Price Books, a fixture of downtown Berkeley for 20 years, will close its Shattuck Avenue location on Nov. 30, according to a spokesperson for the company.
Ink Stone has been UC Berkeley’s go-to place for art and architecture supplies for 50 years
Fifty years ago, a UC Berkeley MBA student named Chuck Smith saw a need for stationeary supplies on the north side of campus, and opened a little retail store in a basement on Euclid Avenue serving mostly college students. Soon after opening the shop, which he called The Ink Stone, an architect friend of Smith’s was bemoaning the fact that he had to drive to Richmond to pick up blueprints.
First look at Uqbar, West Berkeley's new literary-inspired restaurant
On their very first date some eightyears ago, Benji and Jennie Smith joked about opening a restaurant together. At the time, Benji was working as a prep cook at Momofuku in Washington, D.C., and Jennie had worked as a bartender during college. The two bonded over their love of food and cooking. 2265 Fifth St. (at Bancroft Way), Berkeley; www.uqbarthecafe.com Grand opening Friday, Nov.
First look at Uqbar, West Berkeley’s new literary-inspired restaurant
On their very first date some eightyears ago, Benji and Jennie Smith joked about opening a restaurant together. At the time, Benji was working as a prep cook at Momofuku in Washington, D.C., and Jennie had worked as a bartender during college. The two bonded over their love of food and cooking. 2265 Fifth St. (at Bancroft Way), Berkeley; www.uqbarthecafe.com Grand opening Friday, Nov.
Taller de bicicletas Waterside Workshops en Berkeley reduce personal y recorta horas por falta de fondos
Waterside Workshops, organización no lucrativa ubicada en el Parque Acuático de Berkeley que enseña a la comunidad construcción de botes y reparación de bicicletas, enfrenta serias dificultades financieras. Read in English Este año, el programa Street Level Cycles de la organización, con 18 años de trayectoria, vio reducido su horario debido al despido de cuatro empleados: uno de tiempo completo y tres de medio tiempo.
Berkeley’s Waterside Workshops reduces staff, cuts bike shop hours as funding dips
Waterside Workshops, a nonprofit based in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park that teaches community members boatbuilding and bike repair skills, is facing significant financial headwinds. Hours have been curtailed this year at the 18-year-old organization’s Street Level Cycles program as four staff members, one full-time, three part-time, have been laid off. The nonprofit’s youth mental health case manager, a full-time position, has also been cut.
Another sheet metal company closing with long history in West Berkeley
Crown Heating and Sheet Metal, a 70-year-old metal fabrication company, has closed its Berkeley shop. But unlike the Walter Mork Company, another decades old Berkeley-based sheet metal shop that recently announced its closure after 116 years, the closing of Crown does not reflect the company’s struggles to compete in an age of computer-aided fabrication, or even a lack of work. Its owners are just ready to retire.
Berkeley’s Sari Palace changes ownership but stays in the family
After 38 years of running Sari Palace on University Avenue, owners Anil and Asha Thakkar are stepping down. But the South Asian clothing boutique is not going anywhere, and the new owners are no strangers to the shop and the local community. Shelly and Deepak Ajmani, who own Bombay Spice House and Lishq, which are both located on the same block as Sari Palace, between Ninth and Tenth streets, are the new owners of the boutique, along with their children Reeya and Manav Ajmani.
Berkeley’s Sari Palace changes ownership but stays in the family
California likes to think of itself as a laboratory for progress. But when it comes to racial equity in higher education, the experiment has failed. …
Shop Talk: Berkeley resident is selling dog poop bags with Donald Trump's face
Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org. In the Spotlight Those who think the president is full of shit can now turn that belief into a reality, with a little help from man’s best friend.
West Berkeley sheet metal shop closing after 116 years
After 116 years in Berkeley, Walter Mork Company is closing its doors. The custom metal fabrication shop has survived two world wars, the Great Depression, and countless ups and downs in the economy. Twenty U.S. presidents have been elected since Walter Mork, a Finnish immigrant, opened the shop in West Berkeley in 1909. And four generations of the Mork family have worked there.
Saba Grocers awarded $2M to expand fight against 'food apartheid'
Not long after Oakland’s Soda Tax was implemented in 2017, Lina Ghanem found herself behind the counter of a corner store, where customer after customer complained about the new tax, which levied a 1-cent per ounce fee on all sugar-sweetened beverages. At the time, Ghanem was working at a research institute in Berkeley, gathering information from corner stores about the impact of alcohol, tobacco and other legal substances on local communities and knew “nothing about the soda tax,” she said.
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