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.

Saturday and Sunday, you can enjoy a leisurely food and wine stroll through downtown Livermore during its Taste of Downtown event. For $40 (or $35 in advance) you’ll get a glass for wine tasting and a passport for food sampling. On Saturday you can visit Ruby Hill Winery’s “Mello Cielo” tour bus, as seen on CBS's Eye on the Bay and featured in our . Get event details, including a list of participating wineries, restaurants and merchants, at www.livermoredowntown.com.

Nested Treasures celebrated the grand opening of its store on Rickenbacker Circle in Livermore on July 22. The home décor store specializes in custom art, gifts and furnishings by local artisans who rent space there. Nested Treasures also will offer weekly Wednesday workshops on a variety of do-it-yourself topics such as chalk paint techniques and repurposing used furniture. For shop dates and hours, visit www.nested-treasures.com.

Spanky’s Dog House, a quick-serve eatery on South K Street next to Tiffane’s cupcake shop, aims to open this month. You’ll find a variety of hot dogs, sausages and toppings to choose from, including Polish, Italian and chorizo, plus specialty hot dogs like “Mac Attack” topped with macaroni and cheese and “Picnic Dog” topped with potato salad. Owner Mike Kissling says he plans to open more Spanky’s Dog House eateries in the Bay Area, possibly in Dublin or Pleasanton.

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse recently filed an application with the City of Dublin to open a restaurant in the Fallon Gateway Shopping Center, where a Target store is expected to open this fall. You can read more about BJ’s Restaurant in Patch’s New Business: . For more about the Target store, see .

Does Dublin need a new smoke shop? How about two new smoke shops? Smoker’s Gift Shop opened in July on Regional Street near 99 Ranch Market. The store sells smoking items like hookahs and cigars but also offers a wide selection of unrelated “guys gifts” such as classic tin signs, cell phone accessories, sports collectibles and even Marilyn Monroe posters. The other smoke shop, Discount Cigarettes, will open across the street next to Stay True Tattoo on Amador Valley Boulevard.

Opening update: Dublin’s new Indian restaurant Masala Times, , opened July 26 in Lucky Pizza’s old spot on Amador Valley Boulevard.

Theater patrons soon will have a new spot to savor a glass of wine before the show. Grape Times Wine Bar & Bistro is set to open this fall on Railroad Avenue next to the Firehouse Performing Arts Center. Owner Donna Flavetta, who owns Elliston Vineyards in Sunol, says her wine bar will focus primarily on premium and reserve local wines with light appetizers.

The Bay Area chain Therapy opens today on Main Street next to Quizno’s in The Treehouse’s old space. Therapy, which started as an antique furniture store in San Francisco in the '90s, sells everything from designer boots to home décor. Get a preview at www.shopattherapy.com.

Nuubia Chocolat opens to the public in early September on West Las Positas Boulevard. The ultra-premium chocolate company operates out of a new commercial catering kitchen equipped with a front lobby gift shop at which the public can buy luxury boxes of ethically sourced hand-crafted confections. CEO, chocolatier and Danville resident Alexandra Saunders has partnered with Lionel Clement, head chocolate chef at Wynn Las Vegas and a participant in the 2009 World Chocolate Masters competition. A percentage of Nuubia Chocolat’s profits will be donated to wildlife sanctuaries.

Opening update: Did you miss Patch’s coverage of Coffee Ali? Read all about it in .

Looking for a new place for pho in Danville? You can order that popular Vietnamese noodle dish when Pho Saigon Noodle opens in the Town and Country Shopping Center on San Ramon Valley Boulevard. According to a center property manager, the restaurant is in the permit processing stage. We’ll include an update in a future Sprouts.

The fashion and jewelry boutique Geoffrey Scott closed its Blackhawk Plaza store July 13. In an online letter to its customers, owner Geoffrey Cooper cited the economic downturn and family commitments as reasons for his decision to close the shop.

Eyes on Hartz, which sells high-end and custom prescription eyewear, opened July 27 on Hartz Avenue. Eyes on Hartz, which also sells popular sports eyewear lines such as Oakley, Wiley X and Kaenon, was the former location of Danville's original Geoffrey Scott and the short-lived budget boutique G Bop.

The spirits superstore BevMo! plans to open in San Ramon’s Diablo Plaza shopping center this fall, taking over Jo-Ann Fabrics’ old space on San Ramon Valley Boulevard. Get the details in Patch’s .

Several readers have asked what’s moving into the former Borders and Le Asia stores. According to Marc Fontes, San Ramon’s economic development director, no new tenants have been found for those properties. Borders closed in February and Le Asia closed early last year. 

Halo Glow Airbrush Tanning opened recently in the Escape Hair Salon on Alcosta Boulevard. Escape Hair Salon, which opened late last year, has expanded its salon services to include makeup, facials, waxing and lash/brow tinting.

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.