Featured events- 03/10/2012 - Ton Koopman & The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
- 02/27/2012 - Classical at the Freight: Rossini Birthday Celebration
- 02/23/2012 - Michio Kaku: Physics of the Future, How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
- 02/23/2012 - 2012: a Turning Point? And If So, Which Way?: A Talk by Robert Reich
- 02/19/2012 - Takacs Quartet
Category Archives: Retail
Berkeleyside podcast: The ghosts of presents past
In the ever-repeating rituals of the holidays, today’s gift getters are tomorrows gift givers, so don’t mess up.
Catch up with the first podcast by John Rieger, with photos by Nancy Rubin, on Berkeley being a “bumper stickery” kind of town, and the second, on the rules of the road for cyclists in Berkeley.
And we are eager to hear your ideas for future podcasts. What subjects would you like John to cover? Which places would be ideal for him to pop up in? Berkeleyans are not usually shy about voicing their opinions. What questions should we be asking? Jot your ideas down in the Comments section below, or email us at tips@berkeleyside.com.
But first, click on the play button above and enjoy today’s show.
Shop Talk: The ins and outs of Berkeley businesses
DOWNWARD DOG Innerstellar Pilates & Yoga opened in mid-November across the street from Berkeley Bowl. It includes two movement studios, a wellness center and a retail boutique for yoga and pilates props and lifestyle clothing. Its website stresses that Innerstellar offers “only the most potent styles” of pilates and yoga.
THANK YOU AND GOODBYE Café Gratitude on Shattuck is likely to close in the next few months after its owners, Matthew and Terces Engelhart, announced they are dissolving the company and shutting down or selling all six of their Northern California locations. As well as Berkeley, this includes the Mission in San Francisco, Oakland, San Rafael, Healdsburg, Cupertino, and Santa Cruz. The reason, given by the owners in a letter posted on the company’s website, is a “series of aggressive lawsuits” surrounding wage and hour disputes which, they say, cost them too much money.
DIM SUM DELIGHT Shen Hua, an Elmwood fixture for 13 years, has a new repertoire on its menu: dim sum. Owner Edward Chu has been wanting to add the small plates for years, but finally introduced the service this summer. Lunch customers have a choice of 15 to 20 dim sum items but the dinner selection is more limited. Shen Hua serves standards such as ha gow and sui mai, but creates unique dishes every few weeks. The current specialty is vegetable dumplings. … Continue reading »
Shop Talk: The ins and outs of Berkeley businesses
SAME AGAIN General Appliance, at 2524 Shattuck Avenue, which closed its doors in June after 72 years in business, has been replaced by Airport Home Appliance Annex which has branches in Redwood City and Hayward (hat tip: Rachel Anderson).
SWEET STUFF Berkeley’s Indie Cakes & Pastries started supplying Berkeley’s Saul’s Deli with pastries and cookies a couple of weeks ago. Indie’s cupcakes and macaroons can also be found at Good Bellies and Bica cafes in Oakland and at the Walnut Creek Farmers’ Market.
HIPPIE GYPSY … Continue reading »
Cannabis dispensaries display a stylish flair
After the Berkeley Patients’ Group’s plans to move into the old Sharffen Berger chocolate factory on Heinz and Seventh Street fell through in 2010, the medical cannabis dispensary turned its attention back onto its San Pablo Avenue home. If the organization, which serves hundreds of people a day, wasn’t going to be moving into larger digs, what could it do to make the experience better for patients?
In a word, remodel.
Over the last year, Berkeley’s largest cannabis dispensary … Continue reading »
Four Berkeley Andronico’s face difficult conditions
There are signs that Andronico’s, the local supermarket chain founded in Berkeley in 1929, faces some serious commercial problems. According to a recent report in the San Francisco Chronicle, a number of suppliers are having difficulties being paid. A commenter to Berkeleyside’s recent coverage on Monterey Market reported that two Andronico’s workers were talking about their pay checks being delayed.
Andronico’s has four stores in Berkeley: on Solano (the company’s original store), on Shattuck, on Telegraph, and on University. According to people familiar with the business, the Shattuck and Solano stores do significantly more business than the other two locations. … Continue reading »
Tagged Andronico's
Will pharmacy war lead to new restrictions in Berkeley?
[This story was updated on 4/19/11.]
As the retail war between CVS and Walgreens heats up in Berkeley, Mayor Tom Bates is calling for a new law that prohibits any new pharmacy from locating within 1,000 feet of another pharmacy.
Bates will ask the City Council on April 26 to consider the new restrictions. If adopted, the planning department would work to amend the city’s zoning ordinances to add the changes.
“Everywhere you turn you see a Walgreens or … Continue reading »
Tagged CVS, Dave Fogarty, Elephant Pharmacy, Julie Sinai, Mayor Tom Bates, Walgreens
Apple Store progress — the blank slate
Berkeleysider Patrick Nagel happened to walk by the Apple Store site on Fourth Street this morning when its pants were down the large black construction hoarding was open. A foreman on the construction site tried to wave Nagel off, but like any intrepid photojournalist, he stood his ground on the public sidewalk for the photo above.
Nothing particularly Appleish is yet evident. The company’s aesthetic clearly demands a tabula rasa.
Tagged Apple, Apple Store, Apple store Berkeley, Fourth Street
Should Starbucks buy Peet’s? Let’s ask the Peetniks
Tagged Original Peet's store, Peet's Coffee, Peetniks, Starbucks
The wraps are up on Berkeley’s new Apple store
The geniuses are being recruited, the construction crew has moved in and the wraps are up on the site of the Apple store which will doubtless soon be the thronged by the best of Berkeley’s hipster geeks and Apple aficionados.
As revealed on Berkeleyside in October, Apple’s latest local altar to cool technology will open at 1823 Fourth Street, in the space formerly occupied by Slater Marinoff.
Designs submitted to the city of Berkeley by Apple show that the company is … Continue reading »
Berkeley Apple Store designs show building changes
When Berkeleyside broke the news that an Apple Store was moving into Fourth Street, officials from neither Apple nor the city could confirm the story. But ifoAppleStore, a site dedicated to news about Apple’s retail operations, yesterday revealed the full details of the store from drawings filed with the city in mid-November.
The submitted drawings show Apple is planning to fill in the plaza in front of the existing store, which used to house the Slater Marinoff furniture … Continue reading »
Tagged Apple Store, Fourth Street, ifoAppleStore.com
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