Maria Alderete is up on a ladder hanging up a papier-mache sea creature by the kitchen while her husband and business partner, Rick Mitchell, is sitting at the bar with his laptop, replying to emails and updating a spreadsheet. In the kitchen, chef Wilson Mendez is testing the fryer. Each member of the crew, who have worked in concert for close to two decades, knows their part well and is relishing having the band back together. Back at the bar, Jared Hirsch is fixing a pesky mint leaf garnish, part of an amber colored gin tonic, in a ribbed balloon glass. The team is putting the finishing touches on 542 Grand Ave., where Bar Skula opens today, July 1.
For 15 years Alderete and Mitchell were at the helm of Luka’s, a restaurant often credited with catapulting the revitalization of Uptown Oakland. In January of 2022, after they were unable to negotiate a new lease with the landlord, they closed the restaurant.
The Grand Avenue space across from the Lake Merritt pergola, which until early 2024 housed Sidebar, a popular restaurant, has been gradually revamped since Alderete and Mitchell signed the lease in November of 2025. Besides Alderete, Mitchell, Mendez, and Hirsch, other faces patrons familiar with Luka’s will recognize at Bar Skula include Jacob Alioto, the founding chef at Luka’s.
Bar Skula occupies the Grand Avenue storefront where Sidebar used to be. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
Bar Skula’s bartender Aaron Ortiz squeezes grapefruit juice for cocktails. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
“Rick, Wilson and Jake have been cooking every week for the last six months refining the menu,” Alderete told Nosh.
On the day Nosh visited, the crew was fine-tuning details two days before the soft opening of the project that Alderete and Mitchell are calling a “Luka’s remix.”
Mitchell said that the storefront on Grand Avenue has been their dream location dating back to when it housed Trio Bistro and Grill, before Sidecar or Luka’s opened.
“My goal in life is to own my local so I always have a restaurant to go to,” Mitchell said. “We have a little cabin on the Russian River. So now that I’m getting this place open, my life will be complete.”
The couple, who live walking distance from the new restaurant, were regulars at Sidebar and knew Hirsch was the perfect bar consultant to help them develop the cocktail menu at Skula.
On the menu, both Luka’s and Sidecar regulars will find recognizable drinks and dishes.
For example, there is a new take on the “Caged Heat” cocktail. Departing from Sidebar’s version with Four Roses Bourbon, Hirsch remixed it with tequila and mezcal for Skula, still using one key ingredient: the Caged Heat syrup made out of tamarind, cardamon and chili (which can be purchased next door at Oaktown Spice Shop).
Other cocktails Hirsch is excited about are the three distinct gin tonics including the “Reckless on Paper,” which pays homage to espresso tonics and is made with Nordes, a gin from Spain, plus coffee liquor and manzanilla sherry.
“Most of these cocktails lean into the Iberian diaspora, as does most of the food menu,” Hirsch said. “The journey that started off in Spain and Portugal, and then migrated into Latin America, South America, us here, and what used to be called Alta California. There’s a lineage through the cocktails and a lineage from the food that traces that drink.”
Bar consultant Jared Hirsch designed Bar Skula’s cocktail menu. He was previously the bar manager at Sidebar. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
Two of Bar Skula’s gin tonics: “Pio Pico” (top) and the “Reckless on Paper.” The cocktail menu was designed by bar consultant Jared Hirsch, who was previously the bar manager at Sidebar. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
The bar’s anchor items are three refreshing gin tonics served in intricate glassware. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
Alderete and Mitchell have also brought back Luka’s fan-favorite fries with various sauces like lemon-garlic, aji verde and chipotle aioli. The classic Lukas’ burger, oysters, and the wings are also on the menu.
New items that will be unveiled at the restaurant’s soft-opening on July 1 include two types of agua chile and four ceviches, shrimp and beef dishes, salads, and four desserts.
The menu is more than revisiting old hits, and includes some enticing vegetarian items as well.
“One of my favorite dishes is the corona beans in aguachile verde,” Alderete said. “It’s vegan, and it’s so bright and beautiful. The bean really carries the flavors.”
Corona beans are a type of large legume with a creamy interior and a meaty and nutty texture.
A lot of the items on the menu, the couple said, were inspired by their travels through Mexico, Central and South America.
“Rick and I drove down through Sinaloa [Mexico] to a town called Topolobampo where you can catch the ferry and head to Baja California where there are amazing mariscos,” Alderete said.
From the ceviches, Alderete’s favorite is the Nayarit, made with albacore, mango, coconut milk and leche de tigre.
Mendez created the shrimp, rajas and cheese dobladas that pay homage to the cuisine of Guatemala, his home country.
“Wilson was our first employee, and he was with us the entire 18 years we were open,” Alderete said. “Having him come back and run this kitchen under the guidance of Rick and our founding chef Jake, and giving him the opportunity to shine and celebrate his culture is incredible.”
Besides the appetizing menu, Alderete and Mitchell were inspired by Lake Merritt when deciding the decor and ambience they wanted.
Alderete told Nosh that part of the inspiration was Googling “underwater Lake Merritt creatures” and coming across a 2020 Oaklandside article titled “What’s lurking beneath Lake Merritt? More than you think.” The story, by former Berkeleyside journalist Ally Markovich, reported on the “creatures” like bat rays, otters and leopard sharks that have found their way into the man-made lagoon. She was also inspired by the urban legend of the Lake Merritt Monster, a serpent-like creature that once inhabited the lake.
All these sea creatures inspired the murals that embellish the ocean-blue-colored walls. In order to accomplish her vision, Alderete enlisted the help of Oakland-based Chilean muralist Pancho Pescador, known for his colorful work around town including the Love Letter to Oakland mural series.
Pescador painted two murals inside the restaurant. One depicts a battle between the Lake Merritt Monster and a giant octopus. On the other side of the restaurant, a colorful leopard shark shares the depths of Lake Merritt with a blowfish and an axolotl.
“I know these are not Lake Merritt creatures,” Alderete said of the blowfish and the axolotl, “But I love them.”
Finally, Aldete reached out to citizen scientist Damon Tighe for permission to print some of his underwater creature photos, which are framed and hung around the restaurant. Alderete also worked with artist Daniel Camacho to create paper mache versions of three of Tighe’s photos.
“I put together all these images of the creatures and sent them to Pancho [Pescador,]” Alderete said. “We’ve always worked on projects where I tell Pancho ‘this is what I want.’ For this one, I wanted to give him the ability to be creative and actually bring himself into the piece.”
Oakland-based muralist Pancho Pescador poses for a portrait with his finished mural inside Bar Skula. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
A mural by artist Pancho Pescador depicts Lake Merritt scene with both real and mythical underwater creatures. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
Pescador and Alderete exchanged phone calls, text messages and sketches for about two months until both their visions were ready to be transferred to the walls.
The sketch was the most difficult part of the process, Pescador told NOSH. For the mural, he enlisted the help of Bolivian muralist Pablito Something, a San Francisco-based artist known for his bright and colorful designs.
“I’ve been wanting to paint an octopus for a long time,” Pescador said. “And then the idea of the battle between the octopus and the monster came because of the movie ‘Godzilla vs. King Kong.”
Pescador worked on the mural while other renovations were being done.
“They were putting epoxy on the floor and it was so stinky,” Pescador said. “We had to wear masks and open all the windows.”
Other features, like the bar that overlooks Lake Merritt through the restaurant’s large windows, were kept intact.
Hirsch said that the Sidebar was always a community hub, and hopes that Skula is embraced in the same way. The murals, he said, add to the community feel inside the restaurant.
Front-of-house staff at Bar Skula go over the menu and drink options ahead of a friends and family dinner service on June 29, 2026. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
Maria Alderete and Rick Mitchell are calling their new venture a “Luka’s remix.” Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh
“There’s always something about me sitting in different seats around the restaurant just to see what drew our attention,” Hirsch said. “Every time you look up, there’s another layer of interest.”
For now, the restaurant will be walk-ins only, and, once the crew nails down the pacing, Mitchell said, they’ll start taking reservations. The bar will remain first-come-first-served.
Alderete and Mitchell hope that the community embraces this “Luka’s remix.”
“Getting back into the restaurant business seems crazy,” Mitchell said. “It’s hard times all around. But, it’s what I do and what I love.”
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