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Arts & Culture

Oakland’s couchdate Launches New Pop-Up Model Following Eviction

Ariana Proehl
Its jam sessions, listening parties and events will spread out to other downtown Oakland venues in March.
Three men stand facing the camera in front of a wooden sign that read "couchdate"
From left, Akh Graystone, Emmanuel Singh and Afiba Ntama of Couchdate in Oakland on Jan. 18, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

After eight months of hosting events like vinyl listening parties and jam sessions in a downtown Oakland warehouse, couchdate founder Emmanuel Singh posted a stunning announcement on Instagram: “Everything has its seasons. couchdate is being evicted.” The Feb. 29 post, which has since been deleted, detailed that they would be looking for a new space. 

Singh and couchdate had been unofficially subleasing their space at 1431 Martin Luther King Jr. Way from the tenant on record. The building’s management company cited failure to address an unspecified lease violation and ordered the tenant to vacate by the end of March, according to a March 1 eviction notice reviewed by KQED.

Despite the news, Singh is undeterred. “couchdate isn’t going anywhere,” he says in a phone call. Since the eviction notice, he and couchdate co-organizers Afiba Ntama and Akh Graystone have received a swell of community support as they plot their next steps. 

Today, they posted their March calendar of events, reflecting a new pop-up model they will test over the next few months while they seek a more permanent home for couchdate. They also launched a tiered, monthly membership option on Patreon for those who wish to show more dedicated support. 

“As couchdate becomes more public, it’s really, really important for us to maintain the kind of energy and safe space we’ve made for Brown and Black people,” Singh says. To start, couchdate will host pop-up events at downtown Oakland venues Baba’s House, Good Mother Gallery and the space at 102 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, which most recently housed Slug wine bar until its closure last August. They’re talking with additional venues for April. 

As Singh has had conversations about couchdate’s next moves, though, he’s heard some discouraging reflections from some downtown Oakland business owners. According to Singh, “A lot of them are like, ‘It’s really rough. The city’s showing us no love.’” 

One of his more optimistic advisers is Jenn Lui, co-founder of Baba’s House, an event space on 15th and Franklin Streets with a similar community-building mission as couchdate. Lui says Oakland needs more spaces like these to help revitalize downtown. “People are looking for these safe spaces even if they don’t realize it,” Lui says. “couchdate is one of those places, and it definitely needs to be here for the long run.” 

Lui relayed concerns she’s heard from other downtown business owners around Broadway and Telegraph, especially about crime. “Hopefully the city will come through and figure out extra security,” Lui says of Singh’s plans to hold some of the pop-ups at 102 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza.

When Singh reflects on some of the factors that led to taking on the now-defunct sublease agreement in the first place, he cites the city’s red tape and the high cost of doing business in Oakland, where commercial rent is notoriously unaffordable — especially for more grassroots, creative projects like couchdate. “It’s unfriendly and so, so difficult to do things ‘the right away’,” Singh says. 

But in this next chapter, Singh is hoping to find ways to partner with the City of Oakland. He says he plans to reach out to people like Steve Snider, CEO of Oakland Venue Management, which has a history of coordinating with the city for events. 

Ultimately, Singh says the circumstances and subsequent pivot have inspired a new tagline, now seen on couchdate’s Instagram page: lovers come & go but couchdate is forever. “couchdate is a community, it is a culture, it is a vibe,” Singh adds. “It’s not tied to a physical place.”

For couchdate’s latest pop-up location information and calendar of events, visit their Instagram page. 

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