Liberty Bell Popup Kiosks Open in Walnut Creek

November 26, 2012 11:30 am

Last week I noted the appearance of popup kiosks in Liberty Bell Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek where the restaurant Il Forniao is located, across the street from Nordstrom, and the kiosks are now open. According to the popup website, the kiosks are from:

Danville Chocolates
Alicia Klein
Folkmanis Puppets
Mill Valley Candle Works
Cover-Up Accessories

The photo above is the Alicia Klein kiosk selling handbags and “Taxi” wallets.

Check out the goods from Danville Chocolates:

According to their website you can get a free caramel apple on your birthday for registering your cell phone number.

This kiosk is selling Folkmanis Puppets (Emeryville)

and this one, Mill Valley Candle Works:

Two kiosks were not open over the weekend. According to the popup website one of them is Cover-Up Accessories so I’m guessing one is vacant for now. I like how small, locally produced items are being sold not available nearby. Of all the kiosks I would most like to try something from Danville Chocolates. What do you think of the offerings?

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Phoenix Salon & Day Spa getting a Facelift in Downtown Walnut Creek

November 26, 2012 8:30 am

Being that downtown Walnut Creek is becoming an East Bay fashion and salon mecca, Phoenix Salon & Day Spa is getting remodeled to keep up appearances. This looks great, love the wood accents.

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The Right Start Baby Store Closing in Walnut Creek

November 21, 2012 8:30 am

The baby store The Right Start is closing in downtown Walnut Creek. Located across the street from the Container Store on Botelho Dr, they offered baby goods targeted to babies up to 18 months. They still have a store in San Francisco in Presidio Heights. Apparently the lease was going way up so they’re bailing by the end of the year.

Now for some interesting news. Word on the street is that this will be the new location for the stationery store Paper Source! Possibly opening this coming April. Stay tuned…

If you’re looking for some baby goods drop by as there should be sweet sales:

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See’s Candies at Moraga Farmers Market and Rheem Valley Shopping Center Open Through the Holidays

November 20, 2012 11:30 am

See’s Candies is now available at the Moraga farmer’s market (most weeks) as well as the Rheem Valley Shopping Center. It’s being run by the Kiwanis to support local organizations mostly in Lamorinda. So if you want to show your support and/or don’t want to go all the way to Walnut Creek then check them out and pick out a nice box of chocolates.

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Liberty Bell Popup Plaza Opening Soon in Downtown Walnut Creek

November 20, 2012 8:30 am

The City of Walnut Creek has approved six popup kiosks at Liberty Bell Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek where Il Fornaio is located at the corner of Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Broadway. They have recently been installed; check out what they look like in the photo above. According to a new website promoting the kiosks:

Liberty Bell Plaza, will become Pop Up Plaza, and provide an opportunity for retail designers actively looking to enter the Walnut Creek area, but have been unsuccessful in finding an available location. The plaza is designed to be a collection of designers and brands not available in the East Bay. The project will be kept fresh and exciting by limiting the opportunity to one through three month.

The Liberty Bell design incorporated into the kiosk design is a nice touch:

Stay tuned for which popups will be opening… What would you like to see at these kiosks?

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A Colorful Mind Drawing Studio Closes in Walnut Creek

November 14, 2012 8:30 am

The children’s drawing studio A Colorful Mind has closed recently in downtown Walnut Creek. Back in February I noted the opening so it hadn’t even been open a year. I was scouting birthday locations when I dropped by and couldn’t believe it was gone. It was really nice inside and the teacher there seemed great. Too bad this happened.

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Friday Question of the Day – Where is the Best Location for Independent Retail Stores?

November 9, 2012 8:30 am

With the news this week that the women’s shoe and handbag boutique Footcandy is closing this year due to competition from larger retail stores in Walnut Creek, that got me thinking about where is the best location for a small independent retail store to set up shop, in Walnut Creek or Lafayette?

Walnut Creek has big department stores like Nordstrom, Macy’s and Neiman Marcus, along with mid-tier retailers like Pottery Barn, H&M, Barnes and Noble and Apple, with smaller independent retailers mixed in such as Atlas and Norf London, while Lafayette is home to many independent retail stores such as the recently opened men’s clothing store Venture and children’s store Tulip. It seems to me that Walnut Creek would bring in more foot traffic, but competition would be greater with more choices available. The question is whether the increased foot traffic is worth being overshadowed by the larger stores. If you were going to set up shop as a small independent retailer, where would you choose, Walnut Creek or Lafayette? I also have Orinda on the list but I think it will come down to Lafayette and Walnut Creek. I didn’t bother adding Moraga to the list, because well, cows don’t shop. 🙂

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Footcandy Closing in Walnut Creek by End of Year

November 7, 2012 8:30 am

Footcandy, the women’s footwear and handbag boutique located at 1365 N. Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek will be closing by the end of the year. They opened back in 2005, and were known for carrying high-end brands like Jimmy Choo and Manalo Blahnik in addition to cool window displays. Did anyone see that spirderweb display for Halloween, how cool was that?!

It looks like Footcandy was squeezed out by Nordstrom’s liberal return policy combined with its (along with Neiman Marcus) foray into higher end shoes. It’s too bad that a small independently owned boutique wasn’t able to compete. The good news is that prices are 30-60% off but the remaining stock is going fast so I would check them out ASAP if you’re interested. They may not even last through the end of the year if they sell off their stock early. I have heard that a boutique in Danville may be interested in taking over this location. Stay tuned…

Here’s how the inside looks:

Norf London that might be interested in this:

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Stem Salon Opens in Downtown Walnut Creek

November 6, 2012 11:30 am

Back in March I noted that Mika Specialty Salon closed, and now a new hair salon called Stem Salon has opened in its place. Stem Salon is located at 1325 Locust St. across the street from Anthropologie.

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European Kitchen & Bath in Walnut Creek Closes

November 5, 2012 8:30 am

European Kitchen & Bath has closed in downtown Walnut Creek recently. According to a sign in the window:

We are moving our showroom
to a new location.
Sorry for any inconvenience
As soon as new showroom is
established we will inform our clients
Thank you!
www.accenteuropean.com

They were located at 1571 Botelho Drive across from Men’s Wearhouse. Their website has no information about the closure.

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