Oakland chef and restaurateur Michele McQueen and restaurant co-owner Matt Strum went over 51 name iterations before arriving at Lucy Blue. McQueen recounted the brainstorm she had on the phone with her best friend from college.

“A lot of times when I’m thinking of how to name something, I use this phrase that’s like, ‘Hey, you guys want to go to …?’ If it flows, then it works,” McQueen said. “I was super frustrated—‘Fuck it, I’m gonna just call this shit Lucy Blue.’ And we were like, ‘Oh!’”

Strum confirmed the name sounded good. The inspiration came not only from the names of McQueen’s two cats—“Lucy” and “Blue”—but also from their behavior.

“What do cats do? They eat, drink and chill,” McQueen said.

The character of Lucy Blue could start out as a premise of a joke. “A cat walks into a bar …” but walks into a cosmic third place. This premise doesn’t end anywhere funny, but it describes the bar’s ethos. On the bar’s website, a page is devoted to The Legend of Lucy Blue: a green-eyed domestic shorthair cat silently witnessing Oakland’s evolving history from the dockside through the Jazz Age, from the protests of the 1960s and 1970s to the present day.

With the name emblazoned in blue fluorescent lighting on the building’s front across the street from the Fox Theater, the bar is a space for distilling in comfort. The promise is met with the first crunch of the buttermilk fried quail. Driving people to gnaw at the ends of the bones, a crispy morsel of meat has one grasping for every last bit of flavor. 

For those wanting to indulge in a dish that’s more refreshing, the halibut crudo plays with the lightness of the watermelon radish against the backdrop of the sauce’s tart bitterness, a taste meant to be chased through each mouthful. The elote hushpuppies are a familiar twist that one can pop into their mouth, bite after endless bite.

Lucy Blue defies easy categorization. Despite its reputation for being a place of comfort, surprises keep unfolding inside and outside its walls. McQueen shows photos of “Callie” and “Tinder” from her camera roll. These are not famous musicians or well-known influencers, but horses that visit weekly.

As the staff settles into their rhythm and regulars develop, McQueen and Strum are already planning what’s next. Their sold-out New Year’s party, which kicked off 2026, will be followed by live music on Sundays. The menu will expand too, with the addition of a beef slider with caramelized onions.

A number of local bands will venture through. A friend of the late D’Wayne Wiggins introduced McQueen to a band he played with at Bill Graham—but they don’t have a new name yet for her to promote. In any case, Strum and McQueen are committed to featuring local bands and find relief in the fact that Oakland has incredible talent.

In this season of cooking and translating a restaurant concept into reality, McQueen wanted a place she could visit even if she wasn’t present at its inception. As a part of the Oakland Restaurant Collective, Strum and McQueen are grateful other business owners have supported them. They also appreciate that people come out of the woodwork to visit this location. The community of patrons, fellow owners and visitors sustains them.

Going forward, Strum and McQueen hope their Uptown lounge grows into Oakland’s firmament. As the legend of Lucy Blue continues to add another chapter to Oakland’s story, the joke has written itself. A cat walks into a bar… and decides to stay.

Lucy Blue, 468 19th St., Oakland. Open Sun-Mon, Wed-Thu 4pm to midnight; Fri-Sat 4pm to 1:30am. 510.454.9212. lucybluebar.com

(Photo by Cameron Eichenbaum)