Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...Smiles Day School at Montclair Presbyterian Church in the Oakland hills has closed after serving the community as a preschool for more than 40 years.
The closure announcement was a surprise, says parent Stacey Cram, who said many parents offered to pay more tuition and even explore ways to promote Smiles on social media and in parent forums. The school’s officials did respond by pushing back the closure date from 30 to 60 days but ultimately decided the best course was to shut down the preschool, citing low enrollment. Cram says it’s a sad end for an amazing institution and educators.
“Many of the teachers had been there for 20, 30 or even 40 years and should definitely be celebrated for educating so many kids in Montclair since 1982,” she said.
Cram added that the teachers were wonderful and looked after their students really well. A goodbye card from the families included heartfelt praise for the teachers and access to a lesson in using AI to help them start home daycares.
Montclair news: Perle Bar has closed, once again, after trying two different concepts over nine years of “challenging” operations in the Oakland hills’ Montclair Village.
Perle Wine Bar, which opened in 2017, closed last year but reopened as Perle Bar, a Vietnamese restaurant and sports bar. However, that new version also shut its doors for good recently. An Instagram post says they have no excuses, just gratitude for being able to serve the community.
Meanwhile, Montclair Village will kick off its annual Picnic on the Plaza series this Sunday with a health and wellness fair from 12 to 4 p.m. Picnic tables will be set up in the pedestrian mall on Antioch Court, and the event will include fitness and martial arts demonstrations, mental health talks and practitioner booths.
Card craze: Mahjong is having its moment, with card games springing up all over the East Bay. United Dumplings in Oakland’s Rockridge district hosts Mahjong on Fridays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and has experienced teachers to help beginners learn the game. All ages are welcome.
Two Oakland hills women are also teaming up to teach an American version of the game, spelled Mah Jongg. Linda Carucci and Laurie Westley had their first group class earlier this month and are offering two more courses for beginners from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sept. 22-23 and from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 14. Carucci says she grew up watching her Italian-American mother play Chinese mahjong.
“The distinctive sound of the tiles clicking as they called out ‘1 Dot, 7 Bam, 8 crack’ had been unwittingly stored in my memory bank until about 10 years ago,” Carucci says.
The difference between the Chinese and U.S. version is that American Maj Jongg includes jokers and uses racks and pushers to hold and display the tiles. It also uses a deck issued by the National Mah Jongg League, which specifies about 70 possible hands. The classes will be held at Highlands Country Club Clubhouse in Hiller Highlands. Anyone interested can email Laurie Westley at laurieawestley@gmail.com.
Sweet treats: The popular Salt & Straw ice creamery is reportedly opening a shop on College Avenue in Rockridge. A Reddit post says the creamery with nine Bay Area locations is eyeing the former Ike’s sandwiches location at 6310 College Ave. Salt & Straw has investors including celebrity Dwayne Johnson and is a fifth-generation family-owned business, known for its eclectic ingredients including habanero goat cheese and wild nettles.
Speaking of College Avenue, the Rockridge District Association will host its annual Rock-N-Stroll the Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a few events stretching into evening. Twenty bands and 50 artists will line the mile-long street from Broadway to Alcatraz.
The event will feature wine and food tastings and promotions at neighborhood restaurants. View the entertainment schedule and more online at rockridgedistrict.com.
Ginny Prior can be reached at ginnyprior@hotmail.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com.