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"I'm intrigued by Hello Stranger, which is set to open next month at 1724 Broadway (right above 19th Street BART) and aims to enliven the Uptown Oakland nightlife scene. The space will feature an elegant cocktail bar, a stage for DJs and performances, a dance floor, several booths for lounging, and an upper mezzanine with big windows for catching late-afternoon rays on the sunny side of the street. The trio of partners—Summer-Jane Bell, Josh Trabulsi, and Bill Stephens—bring Bay Area bar experience: Bell began making drinks at Radio in 2003, served as president of the local US Bartenders Guild chapter and now serves as general secretary on the USBG’s national team; Stephens is a fourth-generation Oakland resident; and Trabulsi is known from San Francisco’s Burritt Room (now Mystic Room after a sale by the Charlie Palmer group). Bell envisions “great drinks and fun service in a sexy nightclub environment,” plans an ambitious cocktail program informed by international USBG seminars, and says the bar will pour beer, wine, and cocktails on draft from 18 taps, with horseshoe booths available for large-format cocktails or bottles to share." - Caleb Pershan