I also found your anecdote odd, as a lifelong resident of the Bay Area. People everywhere in Oakland will have generally seen and interacted with many South(east) Asians before, (and without a doubt Asians in general, and also without a doubt near BART stations and along major roads). I also specifically say South(east) Asians because at least visually many people do not distinguish between them.
Two comments have made me curious - do you think this could be locality specific (no, I do note you said "everywhere in Oakland", but still ....)?
This was not a major road - I got off any major road, and walked quite a bit to this cafe (30 min walks for me are common - this likely probably greater than that via much smaller roads through residential areas).
Also, not that it matters to my point, your quick Google search was for the Asian population - the Indian population is much lesser - you made me curious, so I Googled. Apparently 3.95% of the Asian population of Oakland is Indian - which actually comes to < 1%.