On Friday and Saturday evenings, a new energy buzzes along Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland’s Grand Lake neighborhood. Artists, rappers, singers and producers from across the Bay Area are finding common ground in an unexpected gathering place: 3319 Marché. Since opening in February 2024, the vintage clothing store has evolved into a cultural hub. At a time when the outlook for Bay Area retail feels uncertain, 3319 Marché defies the trend by staying rooted in hometown pride and creative community.
Tai Raino-Tsui and Marco Verdin—3319 Marché’s founders—are Oakland natives bonded by a mutual love of style, art, music and the city that shaped them. Their creative partnership traces back to a chance encounter in 2017 while waiting in line for Yeezys at Undefeated, the cult sneaker boutique in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley.
“When you’re in line for six hours, you don’t really have a choice but to make friends with the people around you,” Raino-Tsui said.
What began as a conversation about sneakers evolved into a shared vision rooted in fashion, sound and Oakland’s cultural fabric.
At the time, Verdin was pursuing a degree in education at San Francisco State, with dreams of becoming a teacher. Raino-Tsui, who grew up in the Grand Lake community, had long been immersed in fashion. For him, owning a storefront on Lakeshore feels like a full-circle moment.
“I used to walk these blocks when I was 8 years old, and I’d say to myself, ‘I want my own store here one day,’” Raino-Tsui said. “This was the block I knew for retail. So, just growing up right by the store and then having one here now—it feels very fulfilling.”
After meeting in 2017, the two continued building a friendship and creative partnership focused on community, secondhand luxury and high-end fashion.
“During Covid, we both had stuff stacking up,” Verdin said. “We started talking about doing a store. That led to a pop-up in downtown Oakland. It still wasn’t executed to the degree we dreamed of. It was a step toward the goal—but not close enough to the finish line yet.”
Though their early efforts didn’t unfold exactly as planned, launching a pop-up during the pandemic and setting up near Good Mother Gallery helped build a foundation. At the time, few vintage shops operated in downtown Oakland. Good Mother became a creative incubator—connecting them to a wider artist community and the world of event curation.
Their permanent location—a converted hair salon—reflects their blend of ambition and intention. Raino-Tsui, who studied fashion at FIDM in Los Angeles, says he and Verdin pulled inspiration from niche shops in L.A., New York and Japan.
Though understated in design, the space is deeply curated. From the scent in the air to the vintage speakers, to the sewing machine used for in-house tailoring, everything inside 3319 Marché was chosen with care.
“We built everything from the ground up with our bare hands,” Raino-Tsui said. “We got our hands dirty for sure. There are a lot of unseen hours and grind that went into it. We didn’t just show up with this fly store.”
While most retail brands lean into e-commerce, Raino-Tsui and Verdin committed to the physical retail experience. In an era when brick-and-mortar often feels like a dying art, they offer a counterpoint.
“People don’t really see the point of it anymore,” Verdin said, acknowledging the cost and risk of maintaining a storefront. “But for me, that’s where the value is. The whole thing is the experience—being able to walk into a store, feel the energy and connect. It gives the product more meaning, more weight.”
Today, 3319 Marché has become a creative hub for local artists to showcase their work. In May, Oakland rapper Seiji Oda hosted a listening event for his album human + nature. Last October, rapper and producer Ovrkast shot the music video for “CUT UP” inside the store. Most recently, Oakland band MeloDious celebrated their nine-year anniversary with an intimate in-store concert.
“We really do this for the community, for the love and to push boundaries,” Raino-Tsui said.
