Two New Clubs in the Works for Uptown

Oakland’s art scene appears to be spreading southward as it grows more fecund, with new venues cropping up in the retail corridor that abuts Grand Avenue. The latest to come before Oakland City Planning Commission are a Latin dance club called Manny’s, which just got approved to open at 2120 Broadway — aka the building with the mural of a man planting an oak tree. Chilean immigrant Manuel Cabello has owned the property since 1995, but he only recently pooled enough resources to launch a club there. He says that Manny’s will feature salsa, samba, flamenco, and tango nights, catered gaucho steak dinners, and dance lessons. It’s designed to introduce Oaklanders to the whole panoply of Latin culture — not just the Caribbean side to which we’re most familiar, he said.