Nothing Bundt Cakes Grand Opening Fri. Jan. 20

January 20, 2012 8:30 am

Nothing Bundt Cakes is holding multiple grand opening events today onward. 20% of the proceeds from the Walnut Creek store will benefit the Walnut Creek Education Foundation today. That’s great that they’re doing that. There will also be fun events the following day on Saturday:

Fri., Jan. 20, 9am-6pm – 20% of proceeds
from the Walnut Creek bakery will benefit
the Walnut Creek Education Foundation and
20% from the Dublin bakery will benefit
Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE)
Sat., Jan. 21, 10am – Free Bundtlets for a
Year for first 50 customers with purchase
Sat., Jan. 21, 12-3pm – Family Fun event
featuring entertainment for the kids and lots
of delicious cakes!
Wed., Feb. 1, 5:30pm –
Ribbon cutting with the Walnut Creek
Chamber of Commerce and
Mayor Bob Simmons

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Coming Soon – Dragon’s Pond Chinese Restaurant

January 18, 2012 8:30 am

Dragon’s Pond, a new Chinese restaurant featuring Hunan and Mandarin cuisines will be opening within 2 weeks at the old Da Lat Vietnamese downtown Walnut Creek location (1353 Locust St.), which closed a few months ago. There is a loose connection with Da Lat as the new owners are distant relatives. Anyway, as you can see by the picture above it’s not completed yet, but it looks quite nice and I look forward to checking it out when it opens. One commenter noted previously the over-abundance of Vietnamese restaurants in Walnut Creek so this is a nice change for downtown. As far as downtown Walnut Creek Chinese restaurants go, there is also OI-C Bowl on N. Main St. and PF Chang’s across from Nordstroms.

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Bonne Nuit Lingerie Store Closing

January 17, 2012 4:42 pm

Bonne Nuit, the lingerie store in downtown Walnut Creek is closing. This location is being shared with the European clothing store jeu.de.jupe and it looks like jeu.de.jupe will remain after Bonne Nuit leaves. I believe jeu.de.jupe moved to the Bonne Nuit location a couple of years ago from a few blocks away. All Bonne Nuit items are 25% off, with some items marked down 50%.

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Closed – Down Family Lane

January 10, 2012 4:30 pm

Down Family Lane, located at the backside of Broadway Plaza across from U Threads has closed its doors around Christmas time Beyond the Creek has learned. For any fans out there not to worry as they will still be available online.

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Closed – Calypso Twist

December 28, 2011 11:30 am

Calypso Twist has been closed for a while now, but it was a great addition to downtown Walnut Creek, hosting an eclectic mix of bold, artistic goods that made for great browsing.

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Erawan Thai Restaurant Closing

December 21, 2011 8:30 am

Although it seems intact now, apparently not for long, as Erawan Thai Restaurant, located on N. Main St. in Walnut Creek, across the street from Wells Fargo, is closing according to word on the street. The rumor going around is that this is where the elusive Farm to Table Cafe will be located that was mentioned in the Contra Costa Times article yesterday.

I had quite a few dinners at Erawan and thought the food there was quite good. But the photos they had on display on their windows were fading and really did not do justice to their food. Are there other Erawan fans out there, or am I the only one?

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Coming Soon – Stript Wax Bar

December 20, 2011 8:40 am

No, not that kind of bar. This one will offer skin waxing services for men and women. Check out the complete list. I don’t think I want to know what a Vajacial is, but they offer that, too. From their website:

Stript Wax Bar is a salon dedicated to the art of waxing. We are devoted to delivering high quality waxing services using the highest quality products in a comfortable and clean environment. That’s why we decided to specialize in doing one thing and doing it well.

Stript Wax Bar is located at 1629 Cypress St, across from Extreme Pizza.

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Duxiana Bed Store Closes

December 16, 2011 11:30 am

The Duxiana bed store, (selling high-end Swedish mattresses), located at 1530 Locust St. in Walnut Creek has been closed since July, according to a copy of a handwritten letter posted on the door.

According to the letter, Duxiana stores are open in both San Francisco and Palo Alto, so if high-end Swedish mattresses are your thing, fret not! I think the handwritten letter is a nice touch in this day and age.

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Judging Restaurants – La Boulange de Walnut Creek

December 7, 2011 8:30 am

La Boulange Bakery Cafe AKA La Boulange de Walnut Creek is finally open in Walnut Creek at 1348 Broadway Plaza next to the old Bing Crosby’s, which itself is currently being remodeled and will become a ~~bar~~ gastropub called The Corners Tavern.

Here’s a glimpse of the inside:

Plenty of baked desserts, breads, salads and open-faced sandwiches among other things. Compared to the Lafayette location this seems likely to get more traffic, hence the Formica tables that are easier to clean. The immense amount of natural sunlight beaming in really opens everything up, and the food was quite good when I tried it for lunch today.

This is a great addition to Broadway Plaza as that area lacks the quality eateries available downtown. Any fans?

Update: Thanks to the commenter for pointing out that it will be called The Corners Tavern with a gastropub concept.

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Le Creuset Closes

November 17, 2011 4:30 pm

This is somewhat old news but Le Creuset, the French cookware store on Mt. DIablo Blvd. in Walnut Creek has closed. At one time, Walnut Creek boasted 5 kitchen stores, Kitchen Table, Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, Viking and Le Creuset. Now only three remain, Viking and Le Creuset having closed.

Le Creuset had one of the most unfortunate locations that they failed to understand when they leased the place. On a map it looks ideal, in the heart of downtown, near the other kitchen stores etc. But that particular location is offset about 5 feet inwards such that it was almost impossible to see their signs from the corner of Locust St. and Mt. Diablo Blvd., where most people would be crossing from. Unlike other Le Creuset outlet stores, this Le Creuset was one of the first dedicated Le Creuset stores not outlet-related, and was intended as a test to see how it would perform nationwide. I’m afraid they may have come to incorrect conclusions about how well such a store could do, as well as Walnut Creek in general based on the unfortunate store location. Or maybe it was the super-heavy cookware afterall. 😉

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openings and closings