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.
Livermore
An upscale Mexican restaurant called El Sacromonte plans an early November opening in the historic building on First Street. Look for traditional Mexican cuisine with a gourmet flair, such as La Tartara de Atun (Tuna Tartare), El Mosaico de Goya (a salmon dish with fresh cheese) and El Pollo Con Mole de Puebla (chicken with spiced chocolate sauce). Dublin residents Sergio Barba and Pedro Martinez co-own El Sacromonte with the family who owns a hugely popular restaurant by the same name in Guadalajara. See samples of the dishes.
Modena’s Closet opened in late August next to Savvy Seconds and the spot of the new El Sacromonte on First Street. The small boutique sells “gently used” designer women’s clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses and other accessories.
Blowout Bar, a “Bumble and bumble” salon that opened this spring on Second Street, held a grand opening ribbon-cutting event Sept. 8 to celebrate its new salon. Blowout Bar specializes in “blowouts”—shampooing plus blow-dry styling for that “just left the hair salon” look. The full-service boutique salon also offers facials, waxing, keratin treatments and styling services using “Bumble and bumble” brand products.
Opening updates: T.J. Maxx, covered in the July Sprouts, opened on Las Positas in Livermore Sept. 25. And the new Tap 25, previewed in the June Sprouts, opened Sept. 16 in Livermore's Blacksmith Square.
Dublin
Vito’s Express, previewed in a , has bumped back its expected opening date. Owner Scott Bolin, who originally hoped to open his new pizza restaurant in June, says he’s shooting for a mid-October opening in the Grafton Station across from Lowe’s. You can see photos of the project and pizzas on Vito's facebook page.
moved its store from Village Parkway to a smaller but more accessible space on Amador Plaza Road in mid-September. The new location is next to the Plumbery and the Golf Mart. , a retail golf store, also recently relocated, moving from Dublin Boulevard to its larger store in August.
Pleasanton
Wok Hay opened Sept. 13 on Koll Center Parkway. The new Chinese restaurant replaces the Japanese eatery Suisha House, which closed in early September.
Lots going on over at the Stoneridge Shopping Center: The hat store Lids is relocating into a larger space next to Oakley soon. The cosmetic store MAC closed for major renovation and is operating out of a temporary spot near Lenscrafters. And the seasonal Calendar Club/Go! Games store was set to open last week on the lower level near Nordstrom. (See “Opening updates” below for more Stoneridge news.)
Jay Alan Jewelers will open on Main Street in early October after closing its . The jewelry store specializes in estate jewelry as well as other estate items such as fine art and antiques.
Opening updates: The new Lego store and Art of Shaving, covered in the , are now open in the Stoneridge Shopping Center.
Danville/Alamo
A new beauty-supply shop, Blackhawk Beauty Bar, opens in October in in Danville. The new store will sell hair and skin care product lines such as Pureology, Juico, Chi, Paul Mitchell, Origins and more. Blackhawk Beauty Bar will be located across from Restoration Hardware.
Dishcrawl, a culinary tour through a town’s participating restaurants, is coming to Danville Oct. 4. The $39 ticket for the inaugural Danville “Dig In” Dishcrawl event includes a dining tour that begins with wine tasting and light foods at the new , then dining at Faz and another yet-to-be-determined restaurant and concluding with chocolate sampling at . Pleasanton has participated in Dishcrawl and soon San Ramon and Livermore will be added, according to Dishcrawl organizers.
A Danville closure to report, too: Legacy Custom Framing closed its framing business on Railroad Avenue in September.
Opening updates: Claire's, covered in the , opened its fashion jewelry store Sept. 15 in Blackhawk Plaza across from DBar. And Danville’s new Incontro is now officially open.
San Ramon
Oh So Sweet will open soon near Togo’s and Katy’s Corner on San Ramon Valley Boulevard. The new candy shop looks tiny but charming, decorated with old-fashioned candy signs and lined with tall self-serve candy dispensers. We’ll include an opening update in a future column.
Sight & Sound Home Theater opened a showroom on Sept. 15. The new business, which sells audio and video equipment plus offers home theater installation, opened in the Crow Canyon Commons shopping center next to Loehmann’s in Cambridge Soundworks store’s old spot.
Daphne’s Greek Café, located in the Crow Canyon Commons shopping center, is now called Daphne’s California Greek. The casual Greek eatery chain recently changed its name, logo, interior and menu, adding California dishes influenced by Greek and Mediterranean flavors. New options include the California Greek Salad and Grilled Chilean Salmon. See the menu at daphnes.biz.
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 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.
