The women’s clothing store Francesca’s Collections will be opening at the Clocktower in downtown Lafayette right next to the men’s clothing store Venture which opened in September. Looks like a great match to me. Francesca’s has a store in the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, anyone shopped there?
Shopping at Francesca’s is like finding a gem. Because we’re a boutique, we only carry limited quantities of specially handpicked items so you don’t have to worry about bumping into someone at a party with the same dress as you. The best part is that our prices make everything easy to say yes to, so you know you’ll always find something ah-mazing!
Francesca’s Collections will be located at 3569B Mt. Diablo Blvd. in downtown Lafayette at the Clocktower.
I finally had a chance to drop by the newly opened SusieCakes bakery in downtown Lafayette where everything looked amazing, both in terms of store design as well as bakery items. They even offered free doggie treats out front which you can see in the bottom left of the photo. Nice touch. I noticed a cake sample right away and it was excellent. I bought a chocolate chip cookie as I always do when trying new bakeries out for comparison purposes, and it was superb as well.
However, I have a bit of a pet peeve that I want to see how others feel about. As I was browsing their display case, I noticed there were no prices. When I’m deciding what to order I tend to take price into account. When I go to a cafe I look up at the board and check the prices, when I shop at a clothing store I check the price tag to help me decide what to buy, when I shopped at the Walnut Creek Baking Company (RIP), I looked at the prices listed next to items. Helpful information before deciding to get a snickerdoodle, or mini-cupcake, or frosted holiday cookie.
At SusieCakes, as you can see from the photo, it was rather crowded. A friendly person behind the counter asked if she could help. I looked at her, then looked at the display case to double check that I’m not losing my mind and that indeed there were no prices listed, then looked at her again, and started asking her how much things cost. Not wanting to hold up people as the employee told me the prices, she mentioned that there was a menu with the prices. So now I’m going back and forth between the menu and the display case trying to figure out what to order.
Then I get to the cashier and noticed a postcard mentioning Thanksgiving pie pre-orders. Again, there is no price listed. I ask the cashier why there are no prices listed and she explained that they want to engage us the customer. I was smiling incredulously as people were waiting behind me. So I asked her how much the pies were. She explained that the pumpkin pie and pecan pie are $18.95 and the apple pie is $24.95. Now am I expected to remember these prices as I bring the postcard home to show my wife? Why couldn’t they just put the price on the postcard? I already know it’s going to be delicious I know it’s going to be made from scratch. What’s there to engage about? I just want to know the price! So I took a pen that’s used to sign credit card receipts and wrote the price for each pie on the postcard. Meanwhile the people behind me are probably wondering what the hold up is. Frankly, it felt very awkward.
So for Friday’s question of the day, should bakeries post prices on a board or next to the items for sale à la WCBC, or are prices passé and not really relevant in this day and age?
Sprouts supermarket is open, Habit Burger is open as of yesterday, and Supercuts will soon be open in the Sprouts Shopping Plaza at Geary and N. Main St. in Walnut Creek. Personally, I’m really waiting for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Freebirds World Burrito to open up. I have never been to either before so I can’t wait to try them out!
Looks like House of Bagels on Locust St. in downtown Walnut Creek is on the cutting edge of technology, offering up its menu as a QR code displayed prominently on its front door. What I would like to know is whether anyone has ever scanned a QR code? Is this really useful?
On a side note, how are the bagels at this House of Bagels? Is this the same owner as in San Francisco? What’s the best type? I tend to prefer everything bagels myself.
The lawsuits against the Moraga School District over sex abuse cover-ups in the 90s keep piling up. Just yesterday the Contra Costa Times reported that two “Jane Does” are suing the district for $30 million. This comes on the heel of the initial lawsuit against the school district by Kristen Cunnane who was also sexually abused in the 90s as well.
The article notes that when school officials were informed of the abuse:
Instead of passing the allegations on to law enforcement, as required by law, Walters sat on the complaint for two months before showing Witters the letter — revealing the girl’s identity to her alleged abuser. Witters denied the abuse allegations.
A district memo says Walters shared the girl’s letter with vice principal Simonin, and the two administrators decided “not to pursue the issue,” according to district records.
I wonder how this will affect Moraga school finances in these times of financial difficulties. Will money raised by the PTA and local community be used to offset district money used to settle the case? Maybe they can use that in their donation plea as they attempt to persuade people to donate. “We need your help to offset money from the Moraga school district as they settle all these sex scandals from the 90s. Think of the children. Thank you.”
The reflection takes away from this image unfortunately, but this life sized image of Hannibal Lechter has probably scared countless people strolling down Locust St. in downtown Walnut Creek as they passed by the Redux Lounge during the day. Anyone surprised the first time they saw this? I have to admit I was.
Back in September Diablo Dish had the scoop on Ike’s sandwich shop coming to downtown Walnut Creek however the lease sign had been up and no work was being done, until now that is. Check out the unmistakable likeness of Ike himself plastered on the windows of the former Red Mango frozen yogurt store a couple of doors down from the Cheesecake Factory. Check out their menu here. I can’t wait to try this place out! Has anyone been to Ike’s before? How are the sandwiches?
Ike’s Place first opened its door on Halloween of 2007. The man behind the sandwich, Ike Shehadeh, always puts his customers happiness first. That is what sets Ike’s Place aside from the rest. When you come to Ike’s Place it is our goal to make you feel like the unique individual that you are. If that isn’t enough to set us aside, did I mention that the bread is baked fresh to order? And our soon to be patented “Ike’s Dirty Secret Sauce” is spread on every sandwich and baked right in the bread, and another layer is spread on afterwards to give it that extra flavor. Mmmmm… are you hungry yet?
I wonder if they’re going to do extensive remodeling inside or whether they can reuse Red Mango’s interior. I think it looks pretty nice in its current state:
It’s interesting how this section of downtown Walnut Creek has morphed into a giant outdoor food court, with Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, Panera, Buckhorn Grill and of course a Starbucks.
Who knew that downtown Walnut Creek is home to a pole dancing studio? I must have walked by here a million times and the thought never even crossed my mind. Sedusa Studios is located at 1255 S. Main St. next to Children’s Place and offers a variety of classes from Stiletto Basics to Olympic Pole Training. Class are listed here.
We have twelve twenty foot tall dance poles, beautiful lighting, a large Go-Go Dance cage, and Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors throughout the studio. Pole Dance class sizes are kept to twelve women so that each dancer gets her own pole for the entire class. The huge space, sound system and lighting make the studio a perfect place to hold your bachelorette, birthday or holiday parties. Get your sexy on and come dance with us, soon!
