Alamo Plaza
Thanks to a reader for pointing out that Loard’s Ice Cream has closed in Alamo Plaza. Their Orinda and Moraga locations remain open. Check out their flavors here.
College Square, Pleasant Hill
iTea boba cafes seem to be popping up all over these days with the latest in the College Square shopping mall near Diablo Valley College (DVC) on Golf Club Rd. in Pleasant Hill. These drinks are sweet enough for me at 30% so I’m glad they offer sweetness options. In addition to various food items they also offer games including Battleship along the wall. Thanks to a reader for sending word about this opening.
More photos of the inside after the jump…
Orinda Theatre Square
Last week we learned that Wild Magnolia is closing later this month in Orinda Theatre Square and a new restaurant called Saffron Indian Restaurant & Bar is planning on opening in this spot at the beginning of May. Watch for updates on their Facebook page here.
1616 N. Main St, Walnut Creek
The Chinese restaurant OI-C Bowl is closing mid-February in downtown Walnut Creek after quite a few years in this spot. Look for Siam Fine Thai Cuisine to open here. Stay tuned…
Rheem Valley Shopping Center, Moraga
Starbucks is going to reopen very soon, possibly later this week, a short hop from their existing spot in Rheem Valley shopping center in Moraga. Although it’s not a Reserve this one will have a drive thru! The updated interior looks way more spacious as well.
Lafayette Mercantile
Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches closed in the Lafayette Mercantile shopping center (where La Boulange cafe used to be) less than one year after opening. You can still check them out in Danville or their San Francisco location.
Orinda Theatre Square
Wild Magnolia, which replaced Table 24 a couple of years ago in Orinda Theatre Square, will be closing at the end of February. A new restaurant called Saffron Indian Restaurant & Bar will be opening in its place. Stay tuned.
1352 Locust St, Walnut Creek
The restaurant Tender Greens in downtown Walnut Creek is going cashless starting January 29th. I rarely use cash these days so am not really surprised by this. Are there other restaurants that don’t accept cash around here? Check out their Walnut Creek menu here.
La Fiesta Square, Lafayette
The French-style bakery La Chataigne is hoping to reopen on January 30th in La Fiesta Square in Lafayette. As you can see in the accompanying photo, there’s a bit of remodeling going on.
Village Square Shopping Center, Orinda
Thanks to a reader for pointing out that the Village Inn Cafe is closing this Sunday, January 28th in the Village Square shopping center in Orinda according to this News 24/80 article. The current owners have been in business for over 30 years since 1986. Check out their interesting story here.
From their website:
The Village Inn Cafe, located then in a narrow space in the Village Square Shopping Center was purchased by Kurt & Kathy Bellows in December of 1985. They cleaned it thoroughly, installed some new equipment, changed the menu and opened on January 6th 1986.
The restaurant was immediately successful, and business grew steadily. After eight years, Kurt & Kathy had an opportunity to relocate St. Helena. They sold the restaurant in August of 1994. St. Helena was not a good fit for them, and fortunately the Village Inn Café was not a good fit for the new owner. Kurt and Kathy were able to buy back the restaurant and returned in February of 1995. This hiatus turned out to be a very costly six month vacation.
