“Family” entertainment on the cheap...

There is a little spot in Oakland that is great for families with kids. It’s the Parkway Speakeasy Theater located at 1834 Park Blvd. in Oakland. I’ve been going there for the past 3 years and it’s a great place to see 2nd run movies on a budget.
Generally, big movies that you would normally see at your local Cineplex show up here somewhere within 2-3 months of their initial run. From time to time, they also bring back older movies for special events. They also have a regular Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight on Saturdays, with all the trimmings.
For most of it’s existence in Oakland, it’s been a 21 and over theater as they do serve alcohol, but recently they’ve instituted more 'All Ages’ or ‘Family’ showtimes. They’ve had what they call ‘The Baby Brigade’ (Mondays at approx. 6pm) for their customers with infants or children under 1 year, but in order to accommodate those same customers with kids that no longer fall under the under 1 category, they’ve added 2 more ‘All Ages/Family’ showtimes into their schedule. Those are the ‘All Ages’ matinee on Saturday at around 2-3pm and a ‘Family Night’ which is on Sunday for all shows.
The seating in the theater is great as you have a selection of very comfortable couches as well as love seats and upstairs they do have some traditional theater seats, but all are quite comfortable and the rooms are nice and spacious so you can stretch your legs.
Concessions are good here as well. There is a good menu available on their website (which I will include at the end) which includes sandwiches, salads, desserts, pizza and drinks include soft drinks, lemonade, various juices, and a selection of beers (if you are so inclined).
Admission is usually $5 per person (which varies if the show is a special event show), the Saturday matinee is $3 and the Rocky Horror Show is $6.
There is plenty of on the street parking and they are OK with ins and outs if you have to feed your meter.
One word of warning however would be that even though the times are listed as ‘All ages’ and/or ‘Family’, please check the website before planning your trip as the shows are not always appropriate for all ages or for all families. So please use your own discretion.
Now, one word of advice. Put yourself on their mailing list to get the most up to date schedules as the website is usually updated on the Wednesday before the new shows start playing. The mailing list will ensure that you get a 2-3 day head start on the schedule before the website is updated.

Please go to www.picturepubpizza.com for any other info, questions, to view the schedule and the menu.

Enjoy!