Sprouts & Shutters: What's Opening in the Tri-Valley

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 plus previews special community shopping and dining events.

Livermore’s , located downtown next to the , closed Oct. 31. Livermore Patch is looking into the details behind the closure and will bring you the full story soon.

A new BBQ restaurant and sports bar called Sauced BBQ and Spirits will replace the Sapphire nightclub. Co-owner Barrett Gomes says his new restaurant will be "heavily based on slow-smoked Southern BBQ and other Southern inspired dishes." The front half of the restaurant will be bar seating angled for prime sports viewing on up to 20 flatscreens. Gomes says the new restaurant should open in February or March after an extensive remodel.

Classy K-9 Pet Salon opened its new pet grooming shop in Livermore on Nov. 1. Owner Roberta Elliott owned V I Pet Grooming in Pleasanton for 25 years before selling it in 2006. Her new Classy K-9 Pet Salon is located in the 84 Plaza Shopping Center on Wright Brothers Avenue. For a list of services, visit classyk9petsalon.com.

The Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association holds its annual Holidays in the Vineyards event on Dec. 3 and 4. The festive event features live music, food, crafts, Santa visits, carolers and, of course, wine tasting. Get the details at lvwine.org.

Livermore’s Home for the Holidays event also takes place Dec. 3. Presented by Livermore Downtown Inc., the annual event offers holiday shopping specials offered by participating merchants, horse drawn carriage rides, holiday performances and snow in Lizzie Fountain. Get the details at livermoredowntown.com.

Unique Treasures Boutique opened a few months ago on Village Parkway in Dublin, across from Millennium Salon & Day Spa and the post office. The new boutique sells an eclectic assortment of gifts, home décor, used books and art as well as vintage and new clothing.

Opening Update: Sports Authority, on Patch, on Regional Street in Dublin’s former Mervyn’s building. The new sporting goods store is located next to other new Dublin businesses, including , (Designer Shoe Warehouse) and .

Opening Update: Unir Restaurant and Bar, previewed in the , is now open in Dublin’s in Grafton Station.

Experience some traditional holiday shopping during Dublin’s on Dec. 3. Shop for handcrafted decorations, toys, soaps and other items. The $5 event also features old-fashioned crafts, a visit from “Old St. Nick,” a performance by the Merrie Old Christmas Carolers and a candlelight gathering around the Wildlife Tree.

Gallery of Legends opened a temporary holiday store in Pleasanton's Stoneridge Shopping Center on Nov. 17. The celebrity and sports memorabilia store is located on the lower level near Nordstrom and will be open until Jan. 15.

Christmas Treasures also opened a seasonal store in the Stoneridge Shopping Center. The temporary store is located on the upper level near Macy’s Women’s.

Two stores have reopened in the Stoneridge Shopping Center: Bailey Banks & Biddle opened recently in its former spot on the upper level of the Nordstrom Wing. And As Seen on TV, which closed a few months ago, opened a seasonal store on the lower level of the Nordstrom wing.

Opening Update: The cosmetics store MAC finished its major store renovations and returned to its prominent downstairs location in the Stoneridge Shopping Center on Nov. 11.

Opening Update: The hat store Lids moved into its larger store in the Stoneridge Shopping Center a few weeks ago and is now located across the new seasonal store Gallery of Legends near Nordstrom.

Opening Update: The new , covered in the last Sprouts, opened in the new Pleasanton Gateway shopping center off Bernal on Nov. 18.

See’s Candies opened a holiday store in the Danville Square shopping center on Railroad Avenue. The temporary store, located near Trader Joe’s, opened on Nov. 11 and will close Dec. 24.

Opening Update: opens Nov. 28 in Danville’s Blackhawk Plaza. The new restaurant, previewed in the August Sprouts, features rotisserie-cooked free-range chicken marinated in Roti8’s “8 Treasure Spice blend.” Roti8, which replaces Laurus, also offers European-inspired dishes such as Spanish tapas and oven-fired pizzas along with wines, beers and cocktails.

Opening Update: Apricot Lane Boutique, covered in the , opened in the Blackhawk Plaza on Nov. 17. Brookstone, covered in the , opened Nov. 3 in Restoration Hardware’s old space across from the new Apricot Lane Boutique.

Yiping restaurant will replace San Ramon’s Ha’s Chinese restaurant, which closed a few weeks ago. According to Yiping’s facebook page, Allen Shi, who co-owns Sichuan Fortune House in Pleasant Hill, will open this new “eco-gourmet” Sichuan cuisine restaurant that focuses on locally grown, organic ingredients. We’ll include an update in an upcoming Sprouts column.

opened next door to the in the Diablo Plaza shopping center in San Ramon. The nail salon, now called Princess Nails & Foot Reflexology, was formerly located in the same center next to Taco Bell.

Mark your calendars for Dec. 10, when you can shop for unique holiday gifts offered by more than a dozen vendors at the Holiday Market at Forest Home Farms in San Ramon. The special Holidays on the Farm event also features holiday music by the San Ramon Children’s Chorus, Victorian ornament making, tractor rides and a visit from a Victorian Santa.

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.