Art and Science of Eyewear, the Lafayette eyeglass store that branched out to downtown Walnut Creek on N. Main St. several years ago is closing up shop and will focus on their Lafayette location at La Fiesta Square. A poster on the door notes:
We have consolidated our efforts into our flagship store in Lafayette to better serve you! Open since 1996, our popular downtown Lafayette location is just 3.8 miles from here and 2 blocks off the Central Lafayette Highway 24 Exit.
Back in August I noted that the Martinez bakery Le Gateau Elegant was relocating to Walnut Creek, and as of a couple of days ago they are now open in the Terrace Shopping Center (where Pacific Bay Coffee and George’s Giant Hamburgers) on Newell Ave. I had a chance to check out the bakery in Martinez while on jury duty, and the decor is very similar in Walnut Creek.
While there of course I tried the chocolate chip cookie for comparison purposes and it was good. Take a look at some of the pastries below, they look delicious. From what I hear they already have a big following among nearby Kaiser employees.
Although they offer plenty of bakery items in front, I think they have a huge wedding and specialty cake business behind the scenes as well. You can see their cake options here.
More photos of the inside including gingerbread man cookies after the jump…
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.
Back in July I noted that Chick-fil-A would be opening in Walnut Creek and last Thursday they finally opened. I had a chance to stop by on Saturday and it was absolutely packed. I’ve noted how crowded The Habit Burger Grill gets but this was nothing compared to Chick-fil-A. Even with more seating, the line wrapped throughout the restaurant and out the door despite what the Chick-fil-A president had to say about ‘traditional’ marriage. There were no protests on Saturday when I checked it out mid-day. Note that I was here strictly for the opening to see what it was all about for this post.
I also posted a video of Larry David in the Palestinian Chicken episode on Curb Your Enthusiasm which I thought was particularly apt in this situation. However having tried the chicken strips I have to say that the Larry Davids of the world don’t have to worry about this dilemma. The chicken strips I tried were mushy. When I think of chicken sandwiches my baseline is Bakesale Betty in Oakland. Now that’s a chicken sandwich. Of course, this is a fast food joint so maybe the comparison isn’t fair.
Chicken strips, potato waffle fries, and Chick-fil-A sauce:
The registers:
The car in the playroom is cool:
The most interesting thing about my experience at Chick-fil-A is that they offer table service without a number. Keep in mind that the restaurant was absolutely packed. I get to the register, order and they ask my name. I asked for my number and they told me I can sit wherever I wanted to. I asked the cashier how they did it and she said she’s physic. So I go find a seat in the corner hidden away, and sure enough another woman brings me my food. “How did you know to bring that to me?” She replied, “We know these things”. I thought that was pretty amazing but wondered how they did it. Were there video cameras or something recording where I sit? It turns out they note something about the customer in order to make them easier to find. Apparently it works almost all the time. In my case I was wearing a green jacket, and was by myself, which narrowed it down to one possibility, me. Pretty clever.
Stelle Bistro is opening up in the old Chili’s location at 1403 Locust St. this month according to Diablo Dish. They go on to note that they will offer “Italian, Continental fusion” cuisine. If the name Stelle Bistro sounds familiar to you, that may be because they used to be on N. Main St. as Caffe delle Stella, now occupied by the Greek restaurant Opa! (That exclamation point is part of the name, I’m not trying to be emphatic or anything). 🙂
Did anyone ever try the original Caffe delle Stella? How was it?
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:
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.
Back in the beginning of the month I noted that SusieCakes, a new bakery opening on October 27th in downtown Lafayette will kick it off with a sock hop from 1-4pm. As you can see the inside is finished and I can’t wait to try some of the pastries. Yum!
From the Facebook event:
You’re invited to the grand opening of the new SusieCakes in Lafayette! Not only will there be 50’s music and dancing, we’ll also have:
*Kids’ games & a coloring contest
*A balloon artist
*Face painting
*Complimentary mini-retro desserts, and
*Your photo taken in a vintage carIt wouldn’t be a party without you, so come by, see the new SusieCakes and celebrate with us on October 27th!
SusieCakes is located at 3598 Mt. Diablo Boulevard next to Pizza Antica in downtown Lafayette.
Back in August I noted that the Martinez bakery Le Gateau Elegant would be relocating to Walnut Creek, and I just received an email from the owner stating the relocation has begun in earnest:
Just wanted to update you, we have begun our relocation to Walnut Creek today. First with our oven being relocated as I am writing this. We expect to open in 2-3 weeks after final approvals from the Health Department and Walnut Creek building department . We are very excited to move our bakery, product and name to Walnut Creek!
So I would say the bakery should open sometime in November. By the way, during my jury duty stint in Martinez a couple of weeks ago I happened to walk past the original Le Gateau Elegant and tried a cookie which was very good.
Back in September I noted that the Habit Burger Grill was opening soon in the Sprouts Shopping Plaza and according to a sign on their window they are officially opening on October 31st, “No tricks, only treats!” In addition there will be soft-opening times where 100% of the proceeds will go to the following charities:
Take a look inside, I think it’s going to look great from what I can tell. Definitely stop by for the pre-opening events so you can support these charities AND get some great food.
Since we’re on the topic of Habit Burger Grill, I have dropped by the downtown Walnut Creek location a couple of times recently and have not been able to eat there because it is PACKED. Lines out the door. I wish I had more time to wait but there’s always next time.