This laid-back Oakland venue serves up live music, comedy, and burlesque in a retro-chic space, complete with arcade games and pool, perfect for an easy night out.
"Thee Stork Club was a true dive and music venue back in the day, and now new owners Marc Ribak and Billy Joe Agan are keeping that history alive — albeit in their way. The spruced-up space still hosts bands of all kinds in its performance area, but the bar itself is now a 1970s throwback space, complete with velvet paintings, faux rock wall, and casino carpeting. The back room, meanwhile, is an all-red vibe with circular booths perfect for nursing cocktails with friends. The drink menu is made up of “classic” drinks from the 1990s, such as appletinis and lemon drops, just like what every dive bar needs." - Dianne de Guzman
"Call it 2022’s design modus operandi: Campy maximalism led the way for the Bay Area’s newest bars and restaurants this year, ushering in a much-needed era of over-the-top fun. Even among the colorful cohort, Oakland music venue and bar Thee Stork Club stands out for both its mission to bring the local music scene back to its pre-pandemic tenor, its Madonna Inn-inspired decor, and kitschy throwback drinks poured without a hint of regret. It’s a bar that doesn’t take itself too seriously: Where else can you order drinks like the Harvey Ball Wanger, the club’s take on the Harvey Wallbanger; a Crappletini; or a Garfield, a peach schnapps and vodka-laced drink that’s “an ode to America’s favorite slob,” without catching flak? Plus, with plans for fishbowl drinks in the works and acerbic asides on the menu — like the C-Word, which notes the drink is “a bitchy take on the Sea Breeze” — Thee Stork Club can make even the most jaded bargoer smile. It’s the antidote to the overly polished bar scene of 2022 and a place to have an unabashedly good time." - Eater Staff
"Stepping in from the Telegraph Avenue sidewalk into the dark confines of Oakland dive Thee Stork Club is like traveling through a time warp. Wood-paneled walls are dotted with velvet black lighting paintings, rising up from a floor covered in swirling, patterned casino-style carpeting; a faux rock facade found in dated California grottos surround the bar area, while an infinity mirror installation includes exposed, warm-hued lightbulbs reminiscent of an old episode of Solid Gold. These aesthetic updates are just part of the changes made to Thee Stork Club, beyond the added 'e' to the name. The bar and live music venue has long been home to the local rock scene, existing for decades as a space for musicians in Oakland and beyond." - Dianne de Guzman
"Monochrome style crops up again inside Thee Stork Club, the music venue and bar opening in Oakland in July, with one section of the space enveloped in a blood-red design and a green room that will be an actual green room. Already, ties have been made to all things camp, thanks to Stork Club co-owner Marc Ribak’s friendship with film director John Waters, who is known for his camp and trash sensibilities. Ribak runs the annual Mosswood Meltdown music festival Waters hosts, and Ribak says he and wife Amy Carver’s style for Thee Stork Club is partly inspired by how they run Mosswood. “I have a similar approach to the design of the club as we do the design at the concerts in the park: It is really whimsical and everything’s done over-the-top and outrageous,” Ribak says. “It’s just about having a wow factor. It’s almost like, why do people go to places like Egypt or New York or Las Vegas or Hearst Castle or Madonna Inn? People go to these places because they’re places of intrigue.”" - Dianne de Guzman
"Berkeleyside reported the return of legendary Oakland dive bar the Stork Club back in April — but now SFGATE has some additional concrete details about the bar’s reopening. Close readers may remember that a group of new owners plan to change the bar’s name (slightly) to Thee Stork Club; the public will finally be able to step into the historic space on July 1, when the owners are planning a “grand reopening bash.”" - Lauren Saria
