In 2024, Daniel Gahr and Shirin Raza decided to revive a prominent Art Deco building a few blocks from their Uptown Oakland business, Bar Shiru, and across the street from the Fox Theatre. Built in 1931, the space at 1900 Telegraph Ave. had sat empty for months after the closure of popular Oakland restaurant Palmetto.
Gahr and Raza opened Gold Palm in its place, a casual cocktail bar with “Pakistani party food” inspired by Raza’s background. They hired an acclaimed chef to collaborate on the playful menu, which included masala fries, chili cheese toast and chicken samosas. Inside a small adjoining space, they also opened a separate late-night cocktail den called Moonglow that regularly hosts Bay Area DJs.
“We just really, really, really believe in the revitalization of this neighborhood and want to be a part of rebuilding Oakland into that amazing nightlife, arts and entertainment destination,” Gahr told the Chronicle ahead of the opening.
But now, after just 18 months in business, Gold Palm is closing.
“Well, friends, here it is, another post about your favorite spot in Oakland closing,” the owners wrote in an Instagram post Friday. “We dusted 8.8 million French fries with 48 pounds of masala spice. We created the best ranch in town. … But at the end of the day, the math is just not mathing, as they say.”
In a separate Instagram video on his personal profile, Gahr said, “We were just kind of never able to make it work in here, pretty much from the jump.”
Gahr and Raza did not immediately return the Chronicle’s request for comment. Gold Palm’s last day of service will be May 27.
It’s yet another gut punch for the struggling Oakland bar scene — which has seen a flurry of prominent closures in recent months — and comes on the heels of a string of good news for the city. On the same day Gold Palm made its announcement, the Chronicle reported that a new group of owners plans to bring back Athletic Club Oakland, the popular sports bar that closed in February. Moreover, Oakland dive bar the Lodge reopened last month after a short-lived closure, and queer bar There/There is opening soon in the former Friends and Family space. Those developments suggested a turnaround might be underway, making the Gold Palm news all the more sobering.
The building, however, will not be another empty storefront. According to the Instagram post, the space will be available for “private parties, happy hour bookings, special events and community gatherings.” Moonglow is also not going anywhere, “carrying on as a home for underground electronic music on the later side.”
The post teased expanded hours and a “cute food menu” at Moonglow. One commenter requested that the restaurant’s signature Gold Palm cocktail — a milk punch, but made with washed coconut milk instead of dairy and infused with a turmeric and guajillo shrub — lives on in the cozy sister bar. Raza gave a hopeful reply: “You read our minds.”