Around Oakley: Demolition of Round Table building brings back memories

By Roni Gehlke
Contra Costa Times

Without much fanfare or excitement demolition crews came out and leveled the former Round Table Pizza building last week, leaving nothing but a blank slab where the building used to be. Most people would say, good riddance, the building was considered an eyesore. To some, however, the building meant a lot of childhood memories.
For nearly 40 years the corner of Main Street and Vintage Parkway building was as close to a community center as Oakley ever had. It was not unusual on any night to stop in to pick up a pizza and find scores of children running around playing with the toys in one of the side rooms or the video game machines in the front.
It also wasn't unheard of to hear the sounds of off-key renditions of "Happy Birthday" coming from the backroom while enjoying a slice of pizza with your own family in one of the front rooms.
The backroom in the former Round Table Pizza restaurant also hosted weekly and monthly meetings from many of the local service clubs and organizations over the years. For many years it was the home of the Oakley Chamber of Commerce meetings. The first public meeting for the Oakley Almond Festival was held there. The Oakley Incorporating Committee even held fundraisers at the location.
Shy of restaurants in town with enough space to hold a dinner, Round Table Pizza became one of the prime spots to host an event. I'm sure even the owners can't tell you how many birthday parties
were hosted on-site over the years.
Of course the added appeal was always that the owners of the restaurant would throw in discounts and give prizes of free pizza to just about anyone who would ask, but that was just icing on the cake.
A few years back, with help from the city of Oakley, Round Table Pizza relocated its restaurant to the corner of Main Street and Carol Lane next to Starbucks. They still have the space to host a party now and again, but their location is much more compact than the older place.
Things change, that much is true. We can't always keep the old buildings in town just because of the fond memories attached to them. There are always new locations to make new memories. It was just sad that the building didn't seem to get a proper goodbye, that was all.
Over the past several months the city has acquired the old Round Table Pizza property, as well as CentroMart, Oakley Plaza (the buildings behind CentroMart) and the complex next door to CentroMart, which is owned by Pompeii Properties. This is all part of the plan of redeveloping downtown Oakley, allowing for a median in the center of Main Street, adding in more parking in that area and updating the storefront buildings along that corridor.
This will give downtown Oakley a much fresher look. That is important so the city can start attracting sorely needed business to the area. The old Round Table Pizza property is being set up to invite a restaurant to the space.
While I miss the former Round Table Pizza that once was, I hope the new improvements will help encourage more businesses to come to town.
It is often sad to see the amount of growth that has been happening in Brentwood and Antioch, while Oakley, in need of the tax dollars that the new businesses can bring, is still struggling.
Roni Gehlke is an Oakley resident. Reach her at ourbackyard@comcast.net.