Lamorinda Music Expanding into Former Lafayette Health Club Space

May 22, 2012 11:30 am

Lamorinda Music, located at 81 Lafayette Circle in Lafayette, is expanding in a big way, taking over the entire Lafayette Health Club space which closed earlier this month. In addition to four more studios, a classroom will be added, as well as a high-end guitar shop run by The Waybacks former guitarist and singer Stevie Coyle, who will also offer guitar lessons. Visiting musicians will occasionally perform as well, with refreshments from nearby The French Bakery. Sweet! The expansion should be completed sometime in July.

The guitar shop will be situated on the right side:

The new space is already being used for some classes:

This expansion is going to be great for the music community in Lafayette and I look forward to checking it out when it’s completed.

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Loot Antiques in Lafayette is Closing

May 22, 2012 8:30 am

Loot Antiques, located at 3598 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette, next to Pizza Antica, is closing most likely by the end of June. They would like to relocate somewhere within Lafayette so stay tuned for their new location. In the meantime everything in the store is 30% off so drop by for some good deals.

Word on the street is that a cupcake chain will be moving in at some point but this has yet to be confirmed.

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Recently Moved – Soccer Post in Lafayette

May 21, 2012 8:30 am

When the lease for the Soccer Post in Lafayette was up late last year word on the street is that in order to make room for a restaurant they moved down to 3400 Mt. Diablo Blvd. (near Hank and Frank Bicycles) in Lafayette. Turns out that restaurant was supposed to be a French brasserie headed by master chef Patrick Farjas, but that plan has been shelved, in part by comments he made dissing the Lafayette restaurant scene. I think that may deserve its own post…

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Remodel of Downtown Safeway in the Works

May 18, 2012 11:30 am

Walnut Creek Magazine noted recently that the downtown Walnut Creek Safeway located across the street from Nordstrom is planning on tearing down the current building to be replaced with a much larger supermarket within the next 3 years. The new supermarket, (55,000 square feet) would be built over the current parking lot with cars being able to parking inside the building, below the shopping area (but not underground). The photo above shows the view from Mt. Diablo Blvd. and S. Broadway. Looks pretty sweet to me.

Please note that these are only the initial renderings, and will probably change over time. For example, the city is recommending access from Iron Horse Trail, removal of the landscape walls, and more landscaping to make it more pedestrian friendly.

This is the current Safeway supermarket:

There would be umbrella tables for eating:

Check out more photos after the jump

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Naracamicie Opening Soon in Broadway Plaza Walnut Creek – Italian Blouses & Shirts

May 16, 2012 8:30 am

A few months ago I noted that the cosmetics store PureBeauty had closed in Broadway Plaza, and now the Italian fashion line Naracamicie will be taking its place, probably opening up next week. There’s already a store near Union Square. Take a look at the inside that’s getting set up.

From a Naracamicie press release:

Naracamicie is a fashion brand headquartered in Milan, Italy, and is quite familiar to Italians. The designers bring out 150 styles in 2 seasons a year, Highlights of the brand are its Made in Italy tag, and the range of dressy styles for women including classic button downs, silks, and longer styles with asymmetrical closures, both in white and luxurious colors. Men’s shirts are available in both slimfit and traditional cuts. All fabrics and design are Italian, yet carry a relatively modest $150 average price tag.

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Betsey Johnson Closing in Downtown Walnut Creek

May 14, 2012 8:30 am

The designer fashion chain Betsey Johnson is being liquidated and all 69 stores will be shutdown, including the one in downtown Walnut Creek at 1198 Broadway Plaza across from Nordstrom. There are 20-40% markdowns now, but I imagine the discounts will increase over the next few weeks as they get rid of their current inventory.

This is a prime retail location with newly opened Neiman Marcus around the corner, and Nordstrom right across the street, so I’m curious what store will open in its place. What would you like to see there?

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Progress at Sprouts Market Shopping Center in Walnut Creek

May 8, 2012 8:30 am

Progress at the Sprouts Market Shopping Center, located at Geary Rd. and N. Main St. in Walnut Creek, is coming along nicely and is scheduled to be completed sometime this summer. Sprouts is a supermarket mostly in Southern California with a couple of branches in the Bay Area, the nearest one being in Dublin.

The inaugural stores at the center will be:

Has anyone tried the food at Freebirds? How does it compare to Chipotle? Based on the popularity of the Walnut Creek Habit restaurant, it’s not surprising they decided to open up another one.

On a side note, if anyone has information on new restaurants or stores opening up in Walnut Creek, please send me an email to tips(at)beyondthecreek.com I’m usually downtown, but I’d like to know what else is opening up around town.

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Judging Confectionery Stores – Plumeria Flours in Walnut Creek

May 7, 2012 11:30 am

Plumeria Flours, a “cookies and confections” store located on busy Newell Ave. in Walnut Creek, is “inspired by the flavors of the Hawaiian Islands”, and makes handmade desserts like, “Chocolate Covered Fleur De Sel Hibiscus Flower Caramel“, “Popcorn Seaweed Caramel – ‘Humuhumunukunukuapua’a’” and “Chocolate & Pop Rocks with Cayenne Powder: WRATH OF PELE“. You can check out the rest of their store-pickup specials here.

Although located on Newell Ave, you may not have noticed it before. That’s because it’s located BEHIND the strip mall where George’s Giant Hamburgers and Pacific Bay Coffee are. In addition they are open for in-store pickup ONLY. They do sell at farmers markets and other events around the bay area; check out their schedule (at right) here. Just yesterday they were at the Celebrate Mama event in Walnut Creek. Did anyone have a chance to try their products?

I’m going to go on record saying that I definitely want to try these confections! It’s too bad they aren’t open normally as there is a nice plaza in the back of the mall with benches which would be the perfect place to munch on a chocolate covered Aloha Lei Oreo cookie.

Plumeria Flours is located at 1463 Newell Ave. in Walnut Creek.

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Friday Question of the Day – Favorite Supermarket

May 4, 2012 8:30 am

Having recently visited the Russian grocery Babushka, I’ve been wondering what the best supermarkets around town are. Of the big ones, Walnut Creek and Lafayette both have a Safeway, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, Orinda and Moraga also have a Safeway, and Walnut Creek has Nob Hill Foods as well. Among the smaller markets, Lafayette has Diablo Foods, and Walnut Creek has Lunardi’s. I find myself at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods most often, with occasional trips to Safeway and Diablo Foods.

So for today’s Question of the Day, what is your favorite supermarket? Do you go to different ones for different things?

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Groceries Around the World – Babushka in Walnut Creek

May 3, 2012 11:30 am

Walnut Creek is home to several large groceries like Safeway, Whole Foods and Nob Hill Foods, but quite a few ethnic groceries are also represented in Walnut Creek. Above is the entrance to the Russian grocery Babushka, in business since 1997, located a few stores down from George’s Giant Hamburger on Newell Ave.

Take a look at that kielbasa selection:

Shopping here you might as well be in Brighton Beach yet, step outside and you’re steps away from Broadway Plaza and downtown Walnut Creek. Babushka also has a restaurant located in the back which will be profiled in a later post.

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