Wondering what’s moving into your neighborhood shopping center? Our biweekly Sprouts & Shutters column highlights the latest Tri-Valley restaurant, retail and other business news.
You can shop for ghoulish décor and popular costumes early this year with the opening of giant Halloween superstores in the Tri-Valley. In addition to the new one going into San Ramon (see above), Spirit Halloween opens its temporary Halloween stores Sept. 13 on Amador Plaza Road in Dublin and in mid-September in Pleasanton's old Borders store, 4575 Rosewood Drive.
Epic Lounge & Sports Bar opened Sept. 8 in Pleasanton's Hopyard Village, replacing Popi Lounge. The new owner remodeled the space, creating both a lounge area for weekend music events and sports bar with eight flatscreen televisions. Owner Khristian Joy Buison says he hopes to offer a small food menu in the coming months.
A new natural-foods grocer plans to open in Pleasanton, filling a long-vacant space in the Vintage Hills Shopping Center on Bernal Avenue. Read all about New Leaf Grocery in Patch’s .
A new Indian eatery, Udupi Palace, opened this spring in the Court Furniture Plaza in Pleasanton, replacing Paradise Biryani House. Udupi Palace, a small Bay Area based chain, offers a large menu of South Indian cuisine that’s exclusively vegetarian. View the menu at udupipalaceca.com. (Thanks to a Pleasanton Patch reader who sent the news tip.)
Incontro aims to open its new restaurant this week in the former La Ultima space on Hartz Avenue in Danville. (Incontro closed its San Ramon restaurant at the end of August.) Co-owner Gianni Bartoletti says the new Incontro features a larger, remodeled interior, patio dining, full bar plus expanded lunch, dinner and happy hour service. Get a glimpse of the interior and patio in our photo gallery. You can also read more about La Ultima's closure and Incontro's plans in our earlier coverage in May's .
While you're waiting for your seat at Incontro, you can pop into the new shop Terreaux next door. The home decorating store offers design services, home accessories, gifts and seasonal items. Owner Carol Franco says her store, which opened at the end of August, is triple the size of her former location on Railroad Avenue.
Starbucks will be moving into Danville's Rose Garden Shopping Center soon. Starbucks replaces the chocolate café Bittersweet that closed last year. Starbucks is still in the permit processing stage so an opening date has not been set.
Queen of Arts opened a new art studio Sept. 5 on Railroad Avenue in Small Fry Shoppe’s old spot in Danville. The new store, located near Pascal’s, offers art classes and parties plus sells art supplies, vintage furnishings, jewelry and seasonal items. View a listing of fall adult workshops and children’s classes at www.queen-of-arts-cs.com.
A new store is taking over San Ramon’s old Borders — at least temporarily. Halloween City, operated by Party City, opened Sept. 9. The huge seasonal store, open through Nov. 2, will sell the latest trendy costumes, party supplies and decorations. Prefer things on the frightening side? The store also has a “Chop Shop” filled with gore decor.
A new Indian restaurant opened in the San Ramon Square shopping center on San Ramon Valley Boulevard. Hyderabad Biryani House, which opened Aug. 25, serves South Indian dishes such as the Navratan Kurma (a vegetable curry) and Tandoori Chicken. Get a menu preview at hyderabadbiryanihouseca.com. The casual eatery replaced City of D’Lights (now Café Attila), which moved across the center to a larger location.
San Ramon’s new Best Bead Shop opened in August on San Ramon Valley Boulevard next to Erik’s Deli and the new Wallbeds n More store. Best Bead Shop moved to San Ramon after closing its smaller Danville store at the end of July. Owner Chitwan Singh said the new location offers a larger retail section and room for bead parties and birthday events.
Dublin’s , which on Golden Gate Drive, will expand its indoor facility by adding an additional 65,000 square feet. When the new expansion is completed later this year, the recreational vehicle dealership will have more than four acres inside for sales, consignment, service, storage and rentals plus a six acre outside display area.
Opening update: Lucky Garden, the new gardening supply store previewed in our , is now open on Village Parkway in Dublin. You can get a peek inside the store in our photo gallery.
Sanmola Japanese House will open in a few weeks on First and Mines in Livermore, replacing First Buffet. Owner Cindy Lin says her new restaurant will serve both Japanese and Chinese cuisine and will include an all-you-can-eat sushi option on the menu. Lin hopes to open in early October. (Thanks to a Livermore Patch reader who sent the news tip.)
Classical Clocks & Antiques made a short move in August by relocating into a space double the size of its old store next door on East Stanley Boulevard in Livermore. The store boasts the largest selection of clocks in the Bay Area plus sells a variety of antique furnishings such as victrolas and sewing machines.
India Express was set to open Sept. 10, replacing Alekos Café in Vasco Plaza on North Vasco in Livermore. Owner Manjinder Kaur, who says her new restaurant will serve both South and North Indian cuisine, hopes to open other India Express locations in the Bay Area in the near future. You can see the menu at indiaexpresslivermore.com.
Did you miss Patch's last retail and restaurant roundup? Read about these and more in our last Sprouts & Shutters column:
- and in Danville and Alamo
- and in San Ramon
- and in Dublin
- and in Pleasanton
- and in Livermore
Know of a restaurant or shop opening or closing in the Tri-Valley? Please send me a news tip at patchsprouts@gmail.com.
