Titled “Concrete Totem”, this sculpture is located next to Yogurt Park in Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek.
Titled “Concrete Totem”, this sculpture is located next to Yogurt Park in Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek.
From a sign at Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek:
Join together with pride as we celebrate
the Holiday of Chanukah with a
Grand Menorah Lighting of Contra Costa’s Largest Menorah
1st Night of Chanukah
Tuesday, December 20
5:00 – 7:00 PMNightly Menorah Lightings
Wednesday, Thursday, SUnday & Monday: Dec 21, 22, 25 & 26 at 5:30 pm
Friday: Dec. 23 at 4:00 pm
Saturday: Dec. 24 at 6:00 pm
No, not the North Pole, this one is in a parking lot at Broadway Plaza of all places. Every year it gets converted into an elaborate photo booth. Here are the details:
These flower sculptures are located next to the parking garage near Crate & Barrel in Walnut Creek.
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.
Last week I wrote about ØL Beercafe & Bottle Shop focusing on beer on Giammona Drive in downtown Walnut Creek, and right around the corner is Residual Sugar Wine Bar on Locust St. This bar opened in May, 2010 and has been getting rave reviews, including winning the 2011 best wine bar award from Diablo Magazine.
The bar is long and narrow with one wall stocked to the brim with wine bottles, as can be seen in this photo.
Residual Sugar features some of the world’s best wines with over 35 available by the glass. Residual Sugar is able to offer this wide selection thanks to its unique 32 Tap Cruvinet System, enabling wines to be opened while maintaining their freshness and flavor.
Additionally, Residual Sugar makes its entire 800+ item wine list available by the glass, provided that the party orders at least two glasses of that wine. This unique aspect of Residual Sugar’s wine program allows customers to have the opportunity to taste a wider selection of wines, many of them limited production. All partial bottles are added to a blackboard behind the bar and sold by the glass.
According to owner Jim Telford the clientele ranges from twenty-somethings to an older Lesher Center crowd and they aim to educate people about wine without pretension. Has anyone been here?
Crazy in Suburbia, one the most influential Walnut Creek blogs online, has featured this blog, Beyond the Creek, on one of their posts over the weekend. The writer, Martha Ross, has written for Diablo Magazine and been editor of Walnut Creek Patch previously. The posts on Crazy in Suburbia are always well written and thoughtful, so it’s an incredible honor to be featured there.
Looks like H&M may have been on to something by closing the bathrooms after all, as reported on Thursday. Turns out that the Walnut Creek police arrested 3 people who were caught running out of H&M with a “large amount of clothing in their arms”. According to the police bulletin:
The officer watched the three subjects get into a nearby waiting vehicle. As he pulled up behind the car, one person got out of the vehicle and ran away on Duncan Street toward Main Street. Another subject in the vehicle attempted to flee on foot but was detained in the car with three other people. The officer saw numerous clothing items strewn about the car with security sensors still attached. An employee of nearby H & M identified several of the detained individuals as having just come from their store. Approximately $1000 worth of clothing was recovered and found to have been stolen from H & M.
Police are still looking for the 4th suspect:
He is described as a black male in his 20’s or 30’s, wearing a cap and a blue striped shirt. The subject also had some type of piercing between his cheekbone and his eye.
The second grab and run incident happened at Nordstroms Saturday night around 8:30 pm. This one was more serious and involved some shoppers who attempted to stop them from escaping. According to the Walnut Creek police report:
Witnesses told officers Black and an unidentified female entered Nordstrom and selected armloads of high-end purses. They ran from the store with the purses setting off a security sensor alarm. Black pushed past customers entering the store as he fled. A customer tried to grab Black’s arm and Black pepper sprayed him in the face. A second passerby tackled Black as he ran toward a waiting vehicle. Black attempted to pepper spray him as well so he struck Black several times in self defense. The two fought for a few moments until other citizens and a Loss Prevention Officer arrived to help detain Black. Officers recovered a knife, a can of pepper spray and several burglary tools from Black when he was arrested.
Two of the good samaritans were treated at the scene for minor injuries and released.
Over $10,000 worth of high-end purses were recovered and returned to Nordstrom.
This reminds me of the flash mob robberies that are being coordinated via social media, and certainly bolder than the quiet shoplifting incidents that involves slipping an item or two under one’s clothing. I wonder what I would have done had I been shopping at these stores at the time. Would I have had the gumption to get involved? Unless someone’s life is being threatened maybe it would have been better to just call 911? What would you have done in this situation?
ØL Beercafe & Bottle Shop is only a few months old, tucked away on Giammona Drive in Walnut Creek, next to Skipolini’s Pizzeria. This place takes their beer very seriously. You can even check out exactly what’s on tap online.
This is just part of their beer selection. “100s of bottles, 18 taps”. Focusing on independent brewers, they offer both domestic and foreign, with a particular focus on Belgium brews. When I inquired about Lambics the bartender showed me at least 5 different types of Lambic.
In addition to beer, they offer cheese plates, and other small dishes. You can even order a Skipolini’s pizza right from your table. The bartender also mentioned if you bring in a bagged lunch from outside they’ll take $1 off a draft. Sounds like a good deal for office workers nearby.
If you’re wondering why Walnut Creek, it turns out one of the owners of the highly regarded Oakland bar The Trappist lives in Walnut Creek. Anyone check this place out yet?
