Beyond the Creek

Lottie’s Creamery Opening this Thursday in Walnut Creek

February 19, 2013 11:30 am

The opening of ice cream parlor Lottie’s Creamery in downtown Walnut Creek has been long anticipated and the moment has finally arrived. Lottie’s Creamery is having a soft opening (with limited hours) this Thursday, February 21st. According to their website the following flavors will be available during the opening:

Classic Vanilla
Chocolate
Chipotle Cinnamon
Fresh Mint
Peanut Butter Chocolate-Peanut
Citrus Marshmallow
Irish Coffee Crunch
Honey Blood-Orange Sorbet
Banana Chocolate Chip

I’m going to try my usual chocolate followed by Peanut Butter Chocolate-Peanut when I go. What flavor do you want to try?

According to the owner most if not all of the above flavors should be available on Thursday, with the complete list available shortly. The dairy is organic and eggs are cage free. However, what really sets Lottie’s apart from other ice cream shops is the in-house pasteurizer that will be used to make the ice cream. I was able to get some preview photos of the inside so take a look:

Check out more photos of the inside including the pasteurizer after the jump…

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Tulip Kids Boutique Closes in Lafayette

February 19, 2013 8:30 am

Back last August I noted the opening of Tulip in Lafayette and it looks like the baby and kids boutique has closed. The past week the store has been papered over and there is now a shut sign in front. I hope this is a temporary shutdown and they’ll reopen soon. Otherwise it’ll join the closure of nearby children stores Giggle and The Right Start.

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Kenyan Eco Warrior Talk at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek Feb. 17th

February 15, 2013 4:30 pm

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Wildlife Museum

Lindsay Wildlife Museum
1931 First Avenue, Walnut Creek
Sunday, February 17th, 2013
3:30 – 5:30pm | FREE with $7 admission

Kenyan Eco Warrior Talk

Discover Kenya’s Maasai culture and wildlife with Salaton Ole Ntutu, a Maasai community chief, shaman, warrior and eco-tourism leader, on Sunday, February 17 at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek. From 3:30-5:30 PM, all ages will enjoy Salaton’s stories of growing up from young cow herder to brave warrior, healer and community leader.

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Oyama Sushi coming to Downtown Walnut Creek

February 15, 2013 11:30 am

Last month I noted that the sushi restaurant opening up on N. Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek where The Pizza Place used to be would be Chinese owned with locations in the South Bay or Peninsula. Well it turns out that the sushi restaurant will be Lafayette’s very own Oyama Sushi located next to Trader Joe’s. They will be opening a second location taking over The Pizza Place as well as next door which used to be a furniture showroom. Word on the street is that there will be a significant upgrade to the entire building facade so I look forward to seeing how this will come out.

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Francesca’s Fashion Boutique Soft Opening 5pm Today – Grand Opening Sat. Feb. 16th in Lafayette

February 15, 2013 8:30 am

Last November I noted that the women’s fashion boutique Francesca’s was opening up in downtown Lafayette and this evening at 5pm will be the soft opening followed by the grand opening tomorrow at 10am on Saturday, February 16th. Located right next to men’s clothing store Venture in the Lafayette Clocktower (along with Patxi’s Pizzeria), Francesca’s will complement the area nicely. They have over 300 stores around the country including locations at the Stoneridge Mall and Bay Street in Emeryville. You can see their online apparel here.

I was able to get a sneak preview of the inside of the store recently and it looks great.

Check out photos of the inside after the jump…

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Update on Walnut Creek N. Main / Mt. Diablo Corner Project

February 14, 2013 11:30 am

UPDATE: According to the developer’s comments below there will be a Mt. Diablo view from the rooftop dining area!

Last February I posted a preview of the N. Main / Mt. Diablo corner lot project diagonally across from Neiman Marcus and now there are new renderings of what the proposed project will look like. According to Brian Hirahara from B.H. Development who is developing the property, the plan is for one retail tenant in the corner taking up two stories and a restaurant on the Mt. Diablo side taking up two stories plus a roof deck.

I look forward to finding out which retailer and restaurant open up here. The developer was also responsible for the project across the street anchored by Tiffany and brought the upscale restaurants Sasa and Va de Vi to Walnut Creek so I imagine similarly upscale tenants will open up here as well. What kind of restaurant would you most like to see here? What retailer would work well?

Check out the retractable windows on the 2nd floor:

The current location has an older rendering displayed:

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Giggle Baby Store Closing in Walnut Creek

February 14, 2013 8:30 am

Last November I pointed out that the baby store The Right Start was closing in Walnut Creek and now the colorful baby store Giggle, located in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek, will be closing by the end the month. In addition to the Walnut Creek closure, the Corte Madera store will also close. Apparently the opening of the baby store Buy Buy Baby, owned by Bed Bath & Beyond in Pleasant Hill a couple of years ago siphoned a lot of business from baby stores.

There’s not much stock remaining but strollers and car seats are 30% off and everything else is 50% off so check out Giggle while you can. Thanks to a reader for the tip!

Giggle’s colorful awning and window displays made downtown Walnut Creek a brighter place so this is disappointing news that they will shut their doors.

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Diablo Ballet’s Web Ballet Project Deadline February 14th

February 13, 2013 4:30 pm

Photo by Ashraf

The Web Ballet
Twitter hashtag #DiabloWebBallet
Deadline: February 14th, 2013

From a press release:

Diablo Ballet of California will become the first professional dance company to create an entirely new dance work from ideas suggested by internet users.

The Web Ballet will be based on choreography suggestions submitted by individuals all around the world to Diablo Ballet’s Twitter page @DiabloBallet and performed March 1st & 2nd in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Now through Thursday February 14th, people may use the Twitter hash tag #DiabloWebBallet to suggest:

– Emotion of the dancers (happy, sad, etc)
– The mood of the entire work (intense, lighthearted)
– Specific dance moves ( turning, jumping, specific steps)

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Judging Quilting Stores – The Cotton Patch in Lafayette

February 13, 2013 11:30 am

I was looking for some jeans needles when I happened upon this quilting store called The Cotton Patch in downtown Lafayette next to Artisan Bistro. Now, I’m no expert when it comes to quilting but when I stepped inside I was amazed at how cool this place is. They have all kinds of sewing machines, fabrics and even offer classes across the street. They will have a Beginning Quilting class on March 4th. If you have any interest in quilting you have to check this store out. And they have been open for 35 years!

From their website:

The Cotton Patch is a one-stop destination quilting shop in Lafayette, California. It was opened in 1978, which makes it one of the oldest quilt shops in the country. The continued success is due to the large selection of everything needed to make quilts of any type.

The shop houses over 4,000 bolts of fabric. There is a large selection of solids, blenders, batiks, black & whites, as well as the latest lines. Books are another specialty of The Cotton Patch. There are hundreds of titles, from the latest to the out of print.

Check the colorful inside:

The Cotton Patch is located at 1025 Brown Avenue in Lafayette.

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Cars of the Day

February 13, 2013 8:30 am

These two red Ferraris were spotted, as usual, in front of Nordstrom in Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek.

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