Spotted at Cypress restaurant in downtown Walnut Creek, in celebration of Bastille Day on July 14th.
Spotted at Cypress restaurant in downtown Walnut Creek, in celebration of Bastille Day on July 14th.
Kinder’s Meats & Deli, the popular meat and deli located on Ygnacio Valley Rd. in Walnut Creek and elsewhere in the East Bay, is opening a new location at 1293 Parkside Dr. in Walnut Creek next month. It will be located near the Shanghai Gourmet restaurant.
From their website:
Three generations of hard work and family pride began in 1946 when John Kinder opened his first meat market in the Bay Area town of San Pablo, California. In 1985 Kinder’s was relocated to Concord, California, and the business became a popular neighborhood meat market, deli and catering company – not to mention, the only place in town to get a marinated ball tip steak sandwich. After 65 years of growth, Kinder’s now boasts 15 locations throughout Northern California and Nevada with both family and franchise locations. Kinder’s is also gearing up for explosive growth in expanding their proprietary line of bbq sauces, marinades and more in retail market across the country.
How does Kinder’s compare to Morucci’s?
Over the weekend I had my first ever parking-jacking incident at my favorite downtown Walnut Creek parking garage, the Broadway Pointe Parking Garage, off Duncan St (near Starbucks). I made it to the 2nd level when I noticed a family getting ready to leave in a corner spot. So I parked my car, turned the blinker on indicating I was waiting for the spot, and waited. And waited. After about five minutes, they finally pulled out. In order to let them exit, I needed to wait until they went first. As soon as they left, a car from the upper level zoomed straight into the spot, leaving me staring in disbelief. I made a feeble honk to let them know what I thought of their behavior. This was not a case of a few seconds difference where there could be some kind of misunderstanding. I was right next to the spot with blinker on for five minutes.
Luckily a different spot opened up nearby which I quickly snagged. However, I was somewhat close to the car that took the spot I had been waiting for, and pondered for a moment whether I should just leave, or approach them and ask them what they were thinking. I looked over, and nobody was there so I thought they may have left. I walked to the end of the garage about to open the door to leave when I took one last look. That’s when I saw one guy standing there, looking at me. If I were younger, with an older car, I might have approached and asked him to explain himself, but I know better now, and left nodding my head at the poor behavior of some people.
Has anyone ever taken a parking spot you’ve been waiting for? If so, what did you do?
photo by Flickr user Mr. Wizzard
From the City of Walnut Creek webpage:
At the November 6, 2012 statewide general election, the City of Walnut Creek will have three (3) City Council seats up for election: those currently held by Mayor Bob Simmons (completing his 1st term), Mayor Pro Tem Kish Rajan (completing his 1st term) and Councilmember Gary Skrel (completing his 3rd term). Mayors in Walnut Creek are not directly elected, but rather serve on a rotational basis as appointed annually by their fellow council members. All council members serve four-year terms.
Persons interested in running may pull nomination papers and receive all the other necessary forms and information for City candidacy from Walnut Creek’s City Clerk, Suzie Martinez. Forms are available at the opening of the nomination period on July 16, 2012. It takes approximately an hour to review the information with the Clerk, so appointments are encouraged and are being taken now for the 16th. You may make an appointment by calling the City Clerk’s office at 925-943-5819.
Nomination papers are due back to the Clerk by 5 p.m. Friday, August 10, 2012. In the event an incumbent does not file, the nomination period is extended to Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 5 p.m.
To be eligible to run for these offices a candidate must be at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident and registered voter in the City of Walnut Creek. Please call the City Clerk’s office if you have any questions about eligibility or the nomination process.
I never realized that the mayor of Walnut Creek is not elected directly, does anyone know why they are appointed by the city council instead?
Yesterday the Walnut Creek police reported on a robbery with a knife that happened in the Broadway Plaza parking garage next to Macy’s, and the Pleasanton Weekly points out that it may be related to a similar incident that happened on July 6th at the Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton.
The woman had just arrived at the mall, and as she opened her trunk to get the items for return, two young women jumped her. One tried to grab her purse, while the other made a grab for the bag.
Check out the complete article at Pleasanton Weekly here.
On Wednesday afternoon after I sold my car in downtown Walnut Creek, I ran into Occupy Walnut Creek at the corner of N. Main St. and Mt. Diablo Blvd. They are still protesting all these weeks, from 4-6pm on Wednesdays, which I was surprised to see as I thought they had disbanded months ago. Since this should be the Friday Question of the Day, do you support Occupy Walnut Creek and the protests?
From a Walnut Creek Police Department press release:
On Wednesday 07/11/12, at approximately 5:22 PM, Walnut Creek Police responded to a reported robbery at knife point at the Broadway Plaza Parking Structure near Macy’s. Police arrived in minutes and determined the above described suspects approached the victims in their parked car and stole their purses at knife point. The suspects were last seen running through the upper level of Macy’s and possibly leaving in a dark colored Lexus SUV.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Det. Leonard or Ofc. Keeler with the Walnut Creek Police Department at (925) 943-5844.
From the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce:
Music will be provided by the iconic 80’s cover band, Tainted Love. Come sing and groove with your family and friends to all of your favorite ‘80s tunes you loved when you were growing up in the heart of Downtown Walnut Creek!
Admission to this outdoor concert is $7. Food and beverages will be sold at the event including beer, wine, sodas, burgers, tacos, hot dogs. Please bring a valid ID for alcohol purchases.
Based out of San Francisco, Tainted Love headlines coast to coast at major clubs, ballrooms and rock venues. Their nationally celebrated high-energy show has brought them a loyal following of fans of all ages.
For further information about these events and the Downtown Business Association, please visit www.walnutcreekdowntown.com. The Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association is located on 1615 Bonanza Street, Suite 213, in Walnut Creek.
Forma Gym, located at the corner of N. California Blvd. and Cypress St., is moving to 1908 Olympic Blvd, according to a sign on their window. Note, the “1” was removed from the window based on reader comments. This is the former location of Walnut Creek Sports and Fitness.
Normally I make a late afternoon post about some local event taking place but yesterday I unfortunately skipped this because I sold my 10 year old Honda Civic. For an eternal pessimist like me this is easier said than done. I had visions of counterfeit cash, carjackings and kidnappings constantly running through my mind but I had to get rid of it somehow so I finally broke down and posted an ad on Craigslist.
Viewing other ads for the same Civic I chose what I felt was a fair price and then waited for the replies. Before the ad was even posted publicly I received my first reply somehow, and after answering some questions I asked that we meet at the Lafayette Safeway parking lot as I heard it’s not recommended to show it at one’s house, it’s better to show it in a public area. In the meantime I gathered up all relevant documents, got the car washed and then parked the car in the parking lot, waiting for the potential buyer. Checking my iPhone I received about 10 more inquiries so I felt pretty good, although I thought I may have underpriced it and to top it off I forgot to mention I had a car alarm installed in the ad.
I had no idea who to expect but it turned out to be a middle aged couple from the other side of the Caldecutt. They got out of their car and walked around the Civic, asking lots of questions. Eventually they asked for a test drive, and I said sure, as long as I could ride in the back. (That’s where the car-jacking/kidknapping visions reappeared.) We take off down Mt. Diablo towards Walnut Creek, and eventually the guy asks about seeing a mechanic. Since I usually take my car to Walnut Creek Honda for service, and we were headed that way, I asked them whether they would like to stop there where they could look up the records for the Civic. They agreed, and we head to the Honda service center in downtown Walnut Creek. Parking the car right outside, we go in and ask someone to look up the record. He noted that the timing belt was recently changed, and everything seemed fine. The couple liked what they heard, and after talking it over among themselves for a bit, they agreed to buy the car at asking.
The final issue that remained was payment. (This is where visions of counterfeit cash appeared.) Thankfully the guy said he needed to withdraw cash directly from Mechanics bank. So we headed a few blocks down, with me happily pointing out the new restaurant Opa!, as well as the new “fountain head” sculpture, and enter the bank. I witnessed as the teller counted out the cash, handed it over to me, and then we went to an empty spot in the bank and completed the deal and I handed him the title and other documents. The whole transaction was painless and I ended up in my favorite area, downtown Walnut Creek. They expected to drive me back to the Lafayette Safeway parking lot, but how could I not hang out for a bit since I was already in beautiful downtown? So I bid them good day, walked a couple of blocks to Wells Fargo to deposit the cash, then headed over to Peet’s and proceeded to drink a refreshing iced tea, followed by dinner at Boudin Bakery since dinner was not yet being served at Corners Tavern. (I wanted to get the burger.)
So that’s the story of how I sold my beloved Honda Civic, No counterfeit cash involved, no carjackings and kidnappings, just the familiar and friendly Lafayette and Walnut Creek that I know and like so well.