Which is Walnut Creek's Best Strip Mall?

As we continue with the frenzy that is holiday shopping, Walnut Creek Patch writers and editors checked out major commercial centers--the hubs of neighborhoods--that are just as important to residents and workers as are Broadway Plaza and the rest of downtown. 

You can call these places "strip malls." The official term, in commercial real estate parlance, is "neighborhood center."  Indeed, these five larger "centers" are very much neighborhood hubs, housing vital shops and services—including grocery stores, the most vital shop of all. These malls also serve as community gathering places in their individual ways.

Walnut Creek Patch's team of shopping fiends checked out the different centers,  assessing them on the quality of their grocery stores, noting their anchor stores, coffee joints and restaurants, and highlighting their unique shops that would prompt many of us to make a drive across town.

Corner of Bancroft Road and Treat Boulevard

Anchors: Safeway, CVS/Pharmacy, McCaulou's Department Store

Countrywood is a lovely shopping center and easily has the nicest grounds of any of Walnut Creek strip malls.  There is a fish pond that meanders around Starbucks, complete with benches and lovely shrubbery.  The grounds are kept up, and there is ample parking. Countrywood is adjacent to the Iron Horse Trail, so it's the perfect place to begin or end your walk or run.

There are three main areas of the center, one by Safeway, one by CVS and the other on the north side, by The Starbucks does not have any inside seating but there are tables and chairs, many with umbrellas, outside of Starbucks and throughout the whole center. The pond and main common area are just far enough away from the parking lot that kids can run around a little. Between the fish, birds and all the dogs, there's lots to keep them amuse them.

Food and Drink: Starbucks Coffee, Noah's New York Bagels, Genova Delicatessen, Sorrento Italian Restaurant, Una Mas Mexican Grill, All Star Donuts. Jamba Juice, Yogafina Yogurt, Black Bear Diner, Chinatown Café, Artie's Countrywood Lounge, Panera Bread (coming spring 2011)

Shops: Milner's Jewelers, Countrywood Fitness, Fashion Cleaners, Tropical Solution Tanning, Factory Direct Furniture, Countrywood Nail Salon, Countrywood Music, Countrywood Florist, Nor Cal Swim Shop, David's Hairporte, Cousin's Locksmith, The UPS Store, State Farm Insurance, Provident Credit Union. 

--Donna Lynn Rhodes 

Geary Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Road

Anchors:  Lunardi's Market, Rite Aid

Palos Verde Mall is tucked away where Walnut Creek meets Pleasant Hill and Lafayette. The biggest draw is definitely Lunardi's and if you've ever visited the store's butcher area along the entire back wall, you'll know why. Lundardi's bakery, produce, grocery, full-service deli make it easy to get hooked.

The Palos Verdes Starbucks is my favorite in Walnut Creek, and the whole center just underwent a major facelift and looks really nice.

The mall has recently expanded, adding not only more stores, eateries and a bank, it also now features a lovely seating area with benches. I've heard wonderful things about , the Thai restaurant, and the new Beauty Lounge combines a spa and a wine bar. There is plenty of parking around the entire center, and it is well maintained.

Food and Drink: Chopin Polish Café, Do Sit Thai Cuisine, Papa Murphy's Pizza, Subway, Green Garden Restaurant, Starbucks, Tutti Fruitti Frozen Yogurt

Shops and Services: A Wee Change Consignment, Beauty Lounge, Chase Bank, Voila! Gift Store, AVB Travel, Artistic Jewelry, Fine Floorz, The Finishing Touch, The Tick Tock Store, Norge Cleaners, AmeriClean, Long Life Custom Footwear and Shoe Repair, Marie's Salon, Queen Nail, Sports Barber Shop, Raw-Center for Strength, Snap 24 hour Fitness, Cushing & Gan Optometry, Geary Vet Hospital, The UPS Store, Animal Crackers, Cigarettes for Less
--Donna Lynn Rhodes

Tice Valley Boulevard and Rossmoor Parkway

Anchor Stores:  Safeway,  CVS/Pharmacy 

Rossmoor Shopping Center offers a variety of shops, services and offices for people who live in the Rossmoor retirement community and the Tice Valley neighborhood.

The center is not as dressed up as Walnut Creek's other neighborhood shopping hubs. There is no coffee joint or inviting outdoor seating area where folks can hang out. Its Safeway, while clean and stocked with basic inventory, is small and didn't undergo the same facelift as other Safeways around town to make it look more high-end grocery.

Rossmoor features several banks, a UPS store and two shops that people might drive across town for. There is the Draper's and Damons that sells  casual and special occasion clothes  for fashionable mature women.  Rossmoor's Hooked on Books may be the only independent book store selling used books left in town--after the closure of Bonanza and Diablo Books. 

While parking is a lot more plentiful at Rossmoor than at other centers, its services cater to the retirement community's residents. This means—how else to say this?—you should plan on building a few extra minutes the time you spend on line at the Safeway and CVS check-out aisles and at the bank.

Food and Drink: Rossmoor Diner

Shops and Services: US Postal Service, Draper and Damon's, Hooked on Books, UPS Store, and offices for attorneys, CPAs, realtors and CPAs.
--John Sterns

Ygnacio Valley Road and San Carlos Drive

Anchor: Sports Basement and Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, coming in 2011.

This is the only neighborhood center in town that doesn't have a  grocery store.  But not for long. The British chain Work is currently underway getting the store ready for an opening this year. The lack of a grocery store has hardly put a dent in the popularity of the center, across Ygnacio Valley Road from Heather Farm Park.  At noon on a weekend, the parking lot was nearly full.

What do people come for? The plaza is an attractive center with Spanish-style tile lining all the roofs, and several outdoor eating areas catering to two of its more popular cafes. Peet's Coffee and Tea on one end, and a Sweet Affair Bakery on the other end.  A Sweet Affair Bakery was busy at breakfast and lunch, and sells fresh-from-the oven bread and a variety of cookies. It possibly makes Walnut Creek's best chocolate chip cookies.

People also travel across town for Sports Basement. Other unique shops include the Walkabout Shop, Kinder's Meats and Deli, and Lemonade, a small consignment boutique that sells eco-friendly kids wear and gear.

Food and Drink: Peet's Coffee and Tea, A Sweet Affair Kinder's Meats and Deli, Tatsu Sushi, China Village, Mountain Mike's Pizza, High Tech Burrito, Subway, Daphne's Greek Cafe:

Shops and services: European Wax Center. Fitness 19, Walkabout Footwear, Encore Dancewear and Costumes. 
--Martha Ross

Ygnacio Valley and Oak Grove roads

Anchors: Safeway, Rocco's Pizzeria Ristorante, CVS/Pharmacy

This bustling center brings in the crowds, but not because it has a look that is inviting.  The buildings and sparse landscaping look like they could do with an extreme makeover. The only coffee joint, a Starbucks, is more of a coffee bar and it's housed in Safeway.  

Still, it has Rocco's Pizzeria Ristorante, one of Walnut Creek's premiere gathering spots for friends and family—even on Monday nights. It also is a top eatery for youth sports teams celebrating their end-of-season accomplishments. OwnerRocco Biale is known for his philanthropy to local cause.  (We're very fond of Rocco's simple, cheesiest cheese pizza)

Encina Grande also has one of Walnut Creek's most attractive Safeways, which boasts a large produce section, with a large display area devoted to organic fruits and vegetables, and an extensive wine selection. The Encina Bycicle center also has been in business since 1975 and is the go-to place for kids' and adult bicycles, bike gear and bike repairs. 

Because of the center's popularity, parking can be a challenge. Finally a fun fact: Eninna Grande was the site of a massage studio--now closed--that at times was on the police radar for offering male clients more than a standard therapeutic massage.

Anchors: Safeway, Walgreen's, Rocco's Pizzeria Ristorante

Food and Drink: Jade Garden, Papa Murphy's Bagel Street Cafe, Taco Bell, Eve's Hamburgers, Applebee's, Toyo Sushi, Yum on the Run, Yogurt Station, Rocco's PIzzeria Ristorante

Shops and Services: Ace Hardware, Supercuts, Sparta Taikowndo,Kumon Math and Learning Center, M & M Cork'n Bottle Liquor Store
--Martha Ross

Oak Grove Road and Citrus Avenue

 Anchors: Nob Hill Food, Beverages and More

Citrus Marketplace is an attractive shopping center that is the hub for people living in and around the Woodlands neighborhood and for people working in the Shadelands office park.

The anchor grocery is Nob Hill Foods, a spacious store though its interior seems dated. Still, customers rave about its produce section and the fact that it has an entire aisle devoted to natural and organic products.

The center no longer has its coffee joint, though you can get coffee at any of the restaurants.

People would probably drive across town for Beverages and More. Parking at Citrus Marketplace is plentiful but, be warned, it's difficult to turn into the center if you're traveling south on Oak Grove Road.

Food and Drink: Carl's Jr., Panda Express, Quiznos, Mary's Pizza Shack, Jalisco Burrito, Tutti Fruiti Yogurt shop

Shops and Services: U.S. Post Office, Bank of America Online, Chase Bank, Weight Watchers
--David Mills