This brand new Ferrari was spotted, where else, in front of PF Chang’s in downtown Walnut Creek.
This brand new Ferrari was spotted, where else, in front of PF Chang’s in downtown Walnut Creek.
A couple of weeks ago I noted belatedly that Build-A-Bear closed in Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek, and already it’s been taken over by the seasonal store Go! Calendars. It seems like every year Go! Calendars hops from store to store taking advantage of temporary lease opportunities.
Back in August I noted that Starbucks was opening up in Broadway Plaza’s Macy’s in downtown Walnut Creek, and they are now open for business. There is no sign outside indicating a Starbucks, but it’s literally right inside at the corner near Haagen-Daaz.
Check out the cool wall decoration:
Now downtown Broadway Plaza has two Starbucks. They also just bought La Boulange Bakery around the corner (soon to be serving Starbucks coffee), Barnes and Noble has a Starbucks cafe inside, and there is another Starbucks a stone’s throw away in downtown Walnut Creek as well. Does anyone feel like there are too many Starbucks in downtown Walnut Creek? On a side note, I downloaded the Starbucks app on my iPhone to try out the payment by phone and think it’s pretty cool how gift cards can be stored on the phone.
A couple of weeks ago I noted that the fashion jewelry shop Bracchiale was coming to Broadway Plaza, previously occupied by Betsey Johnson which left in June. Now Bracchiale is open for business and when I dropped by it was quite crowded with women checking out what kind of jewelry is available.
Check out the front part of the shop below:
This is some of the jewelry available:
According to the owner there will be a wide variety of jewelry available with all price ranges in mind up to $300. By the way, Bracchiale is pronounced Brashale not the Italian way, Brackiale. Bracchiale is located at Broadway Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek right across from Nordstrom and next to Swarovski.
From a press release:
DIABLO BALLET & SHERMAN CLAY PRESENT
GREAT MUSIC FROM GREAT BALLETS OCTOBER 12th IN WALNUT CREEK
(Walnut Creek, CA) Music from such legendary ballets as Swan Lake , Romeo & Juliet, and others come alive in the piano concert Great Music from Great Ballets, Friday October 12th 8 PM at the Sherman Clay store in Walnut Creek (1605 Bonanza Street). Admission is free. Seating is first come and doors open at 7:15 PM.
Presented by Diablo Ballet and Sherman Clay, world class concert pianist Gregory Taboloff will perform works by such legendary composers as Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and others masters. Lauren Jonas, Diablo Ballet Artistic Director, will introduce and talk about each ballet.
Enjoy a glass of complimentary wine while enjoying some of the greatest classical music every written. You may also enter a free drawing to win tickets to a future Diablo Ballet performance.
Great Music from Great Ballets is presented Friday November October 12th 8 PM at Sherman Clay, 1505 Bonanza Street in Walnut Creek. Admission is free for all ages. Doors open at 7:15 PM for first come seating. For more information, call Diablo Ballet at 925-943-1775 or visit www.DiabloBallet.org.
PHOTO INFOPhoto Credit: Ashraf
Diablo Ballet dancers Mayo Sugano and Derek Sakakura
From an email:
Corners Tavern’s new weeknight Happy Hour offers hand-crafted cocktails, select artisan beers and an eclectic list of wines, plus some of the best bites in town – all at special mid-day pricing. Beginning October 10, Happy Hour will be available Monday – Friday from 3 – 6pm in the bar and lounge areas. Some of the great finds that we’ll be featuring include $6 wines-by-the-glass. Look for La Grange Tiphaine Chenin Blanc, Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Cadet D’OC Pinot Noir and Potel-Aviron Gamay. We’ll also be featuring some of our most popular cocktails – at just $5 each: Hemmingway Daiquiri, Boulevardier and Moscow Mule. A rotating list of draught beers will also be available for $4 with favorites like Trumer Pils, Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale, Linden St Burning Oak Black Lager and Calicraft Cali Colsch.
Executive Chef Esteban Escobar will also make some of his favorite bar snacks available such as his house made pretzel with Belgian ale mustard for $2, housemade potato chips with Aleppo pepper for $3, smoked chicken wings with achiote and lime for $6 and more. View the full Happy Hour menu.
Yesterday I was at Starbucks on Duncan St. and N. Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek so my 4 year old could get a drink. I told him to pick something out and he chose this. Perfect I thought, a juice drink. I order a small iced tea for myself and the cashier rang up about $8. I thought I was hallucinating or something. “$8?” I asked the cashier. Maybe they raised the prices of plain iced teas I thought to myself. When the cashier told me the juice drink is $6 I guided my kid to a $1.50 apple juice.
I’m sure this Evolution Fresh drink tastes great. I’m sure it’s beyond healthy. But as Jerry Seinfeld likes to say, Really!?!
From the City of Walnut Creek Saturday Walks webpage:
October 20, 2012 Along the canals of Walnut Creek Click for walking guide.
An easy canal-side 4-mile walk on two regional trails, one statewide trail, and one nationwide trail, all in Walnut Creek! Meet at Heather Farm Community Center, 301 N. San Carlos Drive, for an 8:30 a.m. departure. Note date change to 3rd Saturday of the month for October only!
Did you know that downtown Walnut Creek is home to a real pomegranate tree? I had just finished up a meal at the Greek restaurant Pomegranate on N. Main St. near Cypress Ave. and the owner happened to be standing outside. He pointed to the tree in front and said, “Look at the pomegranate tree.” I looked and thought he decorated it with fake pomegranates and replied, “Haha that’s funny”. But he was serious. He planted the tree about 15 years ago and there are quite a few large pomegranates growing right in the middle of downtown Walnut Creek! This is why I like downtown Walnut Creek so much. Secret Koi ponds, and now pomegranate trees. Amazing!
I’ve been meaning to update this site’s logo for a while now and finally found a great designer to update it. Interestingly, he was able to reuse the three swirls from the original logo:
What do you think of the new logo? Did you notice Mt. Diablo in the logo?