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.
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. 🙂
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:
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.
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.
The women’s clothing store Francesca’s Collections will be opening at the Clocktower in downtown Lafayette right next to the men’s clothing store Venture which opened in September. Looks like a great match to me. Francesca’s has a store in the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, anyone shopped there?
From Francesca’s website:
Shopping at Francesca’s is like finding a gem. Because we’re a boutique, we only carry limited quantities of specially handpicked items so you don’t have to worry about bumping into someone at a party with the same dress as you. The best part is that our prices make everything easy to say yes to, so you know you’ll always find something ah-mazing!
Francesca’s Collections will be located at 3569B Mt. Diablo Blvd. in downtown Lafayette at the Clocktower.
I finally had a chance to drop by the newly opened SusieCakes bakery in downtown Lafayette where everything looked amazing, both in terms of store design as well as bakery items. They even offered free doggie treats out front which you can see in the bottom left of the photo. Nice touch. I noticed a cake sample right away and it was excellent. I bought a chocolate chip cookie as I always do when trying new bakeries out for comparison purposes, and it was superb as well.
However, I have a bit of a pet peeve that I want to see how others feel about. As I was browsing their display case, I noticed there were no prices. When I’m deciding what to order I tend to take price into account. When I go to a cafe I look up at the board and check the prices, when I shop at a clothing store I check the price tag to help me decide what to buy, when I shopped at the Walnut Creek Baking Company (RIP), I looked at the prices listed next to items. Helpful information before deciding to get a snickerdoodle, or mini-cupcake, or frosted holiday cookie.
At SusieCakes, as you can see from the photo, it was rather crowded. A friendly person behind the counter asked if she could help. I looked at her, then looked at the display case to double check that I’m not losing my mind and that indeed there were no prices listed, then looked at her again, and started asking her how much things cost. Not wanting to hold up people as the employee told me the prices, she mentioned that there was a menu with the prices. So now I’m going back and forth between the menu and the display case trying to figure out what to order.
Then I get to the cashier and noticed a postcard mentioning Thanksgiving pie pre-orders. Again, there is no price listed. I ask the cashier why there are no prices listed and she explained that they want to engage us the customer. I was smiling incredulously as people were waiting behind me. So I asked her how much the pies were. She explained that the pumpkin pie and pecan pie are $18.95 and the apple pie is $24.95. Now am I expected to remember these prices as I bring the postcard home to show my wife? Why couldn’t they just put the price on the postcard? I already know it’s going to be delicious I know it’s going to be made from scratch. What’s there to engage about? I just want to know the price! So I took a pen that’s used to sign credit card receipts and wrote the price for each pie on the postcard. Meanwhile the people behind me are probably wondering what the hold up is. Frankly, it felt very awkward.
So for Friday’s question of the day, should bakeries post prices on a board or next to the items for sale à la WCBC, or are prices passé and not really relevant in this day and age?
Sprouts supermarket is open, Habit Burger is open as of yesterday, and Supercuts will soon be open in the Sprouts Shopping Plaza at Geary and N. Main St. in Walnut Creek. Personally, I’m really waiting for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Freebirds World Burrito to open up. I have never been to either before so I can’t wait to try them out!
The amazing Lafayette Whole Foods, in addition to selling black water is now selling ostrich eggs for $49 a pop! They come from Tehachapi, CA (a couple of hours north of Los Angeles), home of the Indian Point Ostrich Ranch where you can take a tour to view the ostriches. How cool is that?
Now what do you do with ostrich eggs? Do use them in place of regular eggs? For example if a recipe says to use 6 eggs can you substitute one ostrich egg? Can you use them for Easter egg decorations? How many people would an ostrich egg omelet feed? By the way, the eggs next the ostrich eggs in the photo are actually duck eggs, which themselves are bigger than chicken eggs, so these are some HUGE eggs!
Back in April I noted that Insignia Hair Salon would be opening in the former Duxiana mattress store on Locust St. in downtown Walnut Creek, and based on the inside it looks like the opening will be happening any day now. A price-list is available here.
Their new website has more information about the owner Jessica Rae:
I’m a California Native and have lived and worked throughout the San Ramon Valley my whole life. For over 14 years, I have worked as a Stylist and Colorist in the Greater East Bay.
I’m highly skilled in precision cuts, color, and product knowledge, including specialiized training in: L’ Oreal Paris Professional Color, Redken Color and Haircut, Goldwell Color, TIGI Haircut, Pureology Haircut, Vidal Sassoon Academy, Great Lengths Extensions, Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy, Express Blow Out, Yuko Hair Straighting, Brazillian Blow Out.
Insignia Hair Salon is located at 1530 Locust St in Walnut Creek.