Sprouts Farmers Market coming to Mill Valley

Great news for Tam Valley residents:  Mill Valley Patch reports that the long-vacant market at Tam Junction is soon to be occupied by Sprouts Farmers Market.  The store was previously occupied by DeLano's, who went out of business and closed the store in 2010.

Sprouts is a fast expanding chain of grocery stores that first expanded into Northern California in 2010.  The focus is on fresh produce, with a range of conventional and organic lines, together with other basic grocery items.

DeLano's closing in Tiburon and Mill Valley

The Delano's grocery chain, which has struggled to maintain market share in the face of new competition and declining consumer spending, has folded. The two Southern Marin stores, at Tamalpais Junction, Mill Valley and The Cove, Tiburon, are expected to close in December. As reported today in the IJ, it looks like the Fairfax store will remain open but will drop the DeLano's name. The chain's three San Francisco stores are also closing.

DeLano's presence in Marin began in 2006, when they took over five Bell Markets. Poor performance led to the closure of the DeLano's market in downtown Tiburon in February 2009, and the store in Novato closed the following August.

The two Southern Marin stores have likely seen a sales decline following the opening of Whole Foods at the Alto Center in Mill Valley.  The Fairfax store benefits from little local competition, although that would change if a market is found by the new owners of the Fair-Anselm Plaza.

So what now for the closed stores? According to Fresh & Easy Buzz, There are a few small-format grocers currently looking to expand in Northern California, including Fresh & Easy, Henry's Farmers Market and Sprouts Farmers Market. Any of these would be good new additions to Marin County. Local grocer Mollie Stones may also be interested, although the Southern Marin sites may be considered too close to Mollie's existing stores in Sausalito and the Bon Air Center.

NBBJ Real Estate Awards

I see it's time to send in nominations for the Business Journal's "fifth annual 2010 Top Projects Awards" (fifth... 2010...?).

There aren't a lot of Marin contenders (it's been a quiet year). A leading contender in the mixed use category will be the Tamalpais Commons project in Mill Valley (picture below). This higher-density development is the first of several planned for Miller Avenue and is still controversial with many locals who fear increased levels of traffic. I'm not sure whether the residential component is a success, but the retail is a great addition to this part of Miller, adding three new businesses: Dish restaurant, Yolo fro-yo and ToyHouse.

Another Marin mixed-use development that might receive an award is the Millworks project, which houses the new Whole Foods in downtown Novato. The City has been criticized for allowing such a large project. And in terms of design it's just OK. On balance I think it's a worthwhile project, bringing business, jobs and residents to the downtown area.

Northgate Mall probably doesn't qualify, as it opened last year. They did a great job of getting most of the space leased in the midst of the great recession, but I'm not a fan of the design: the inside of the place looks too much like a warehouse. And there are too many small design fails, such as putting the H&M entry right behind this structural column.

Meanwhile, over the street at Northgate One, the new Walgreen is my official entry for "Ugly Building Turning Its Back On The Street" category.

Buy your tickets for the gala awards ceremony now, folks.

Prepare for Fro-yo Wars in Mill Valley

I stopped by the new Swirl frozen yogurt store on Miller Avenue at the weekend. It's one of the self-serve operations where you can combine different flavors in a carton and then pile on a hundred different toppings. Nice stuff - but gets pricey if you fill the carton up. The store is at 417 Miller Avenue in the space previously occupied by the Lolipop cup cake store.

I wonder if "fro-yo frenzy" will become the 2010 version of the "cup cake craze" of 2008? Two years ago Lolipop opened at the same time as Frosting Bake Shop, another cup cake store, in downtown Mill Valley, and the Teacake Bakeshop in Corte Madera. Suddenly there were more cup cake shops than you could shake a stick at, and it was clear they wouldn't all survive. So there was a sense of deja-vu today when I read in the IJ that another self-serve fro-yo store, Yolo Yogurt Lounge was preparing to open just one block away in the new Tamalpais Commons development at 505 Miller.

Good luck to both stores, because I think they'll need it.

Grocery Stores Gone Wild

This might sound strange, but the most dynamic sector of Marin's economy has to be grocery retailing. The transformation in this sector over the last few years has been remarkable and is set to continue this year with more new stores opening and - very likely - more old stores closing.

Ten years ago, the grocery scene in Marin was dominated by mid market regional chains such as Albertsons and Bell Markets that operated 15-20,000 sq.ft stores. By 2006 Albertsons had closed or sold all their stores. Also in 2006 DeLano's took over five Marin Bell Market stores, although the ones in downtown Tiburon and Novato have since closed.

Over the last couple of years we've seen new stores from Trader Joe's in Novato and Larkspur, a large new Safeway at Hamilton Marketplace, the discount Grocery Outlet opened in Novato and Paradise Foods took over the old Safeway store at Pacheco Plaza.

And the action is set to continue in 2010. First out of the blocks this year is Mi Pueblo, which opened March 20 in the old Circuit City store in San Rafael's Canal neighborhood. Of all the new supermarket openings in Marin, this one seems to make the most sense, providing a large format grocery store targeted precisely at the local Hispanic market and serving an area that didn't already have such a store.

But grocery retailing will get really wild in the next few months with the opening of two new Whole Foods stores. The first will be a 40,000 sf store in the new Millworks development in downtown Novato, which will open on April 22nd. This will be followed early June by the new Mill Valley store, which will occupy the 23,000 sf ex-Albertsons space at the Alto Center.

The Whole Foods in Novato will no doubt make life tough for other grocers in the local area, in particular those competing at the higher price points, such as Paradise Foods and Harvest Market. The smaller WF store in Southern Marin will pull customers from Tiburon and Corte Madera as well as Mill Valley, so any sales impact will be spread among several existing stores. Whole Foods will also provide some serious competition for the various farmers markets around the county, some of which are already under strain.

If any other grocers want to try their luck in Marin there are several vacant stores available, including those at Fair Anselm in Fairfax, the ex-Delano's in downtown Tiburon and The Square Novato, and Marinwood Plaza. Unfortunately, as the current crop of new markets get established, this list is more likely to get longer than shorter.

New leases signed, and others refused

It looks like fans of Peets Coffee will miss out on having a local outlet in Sausalito after the City voted 3-2 to refuse the zoning change required to locate a store on Bridgeway in the town. Despite being a Bay Area operation, Peets is considered "formula retail" because of the number of outlets it has; and chain retailers are banned from the waterside part of downtown Sausalito.

It's good to see local retailers expanding to new outlets in Marin. New leases have been taken in Novato for the Rustic Bakery at 1407 Grant Avenue and Stefano's Pizzeria at the Nave Shopping Center. The Rustic Bakery will be opening their second Marin location (the original bakery & cafe is on Magnolia Avenue, north of Larkspur), while Stefano's will be opening their third store, adding to their existing outlets in Mill Valley and Corte Madera.

Another new eatery expanding in the Novato area is Boca Pizzeria and Wine Bar, which has signed a lease at the renovated Pacheco Plaza. It's an interesting location choice by the owners of Boca Steak and Seafood, who must not be worried about opening a competing restaurant just around the corner from their existing eatery on Ignacio Boulevard.

In Mill Valley, crafts fans can look forward to February 1st, which is when Once Around will (finally) open their doors on Miller Avenue.

Missing in action

I can't believe that this blog has been around for almost two years and there remain several retail places that I've yet to feature. So here's my top 10 target list for 2010:

1. Sausalito (a) Bridgeway & (b) Caledonia Street
2. Marin City
3. Downtown Mill Valley
4. Downtown Tiburon
5. Corte Madera Old Town Square
6. Magnolia Avenue in Larkspur/Kentfield
7. East San Rafael / Montecito Plaza
8. San Rafael to San Anselmo (4th Street)
9. South San Rafael / Bellam & Andersen
10. Terra Linda / Scotty's

Any other requests?

Marin retail news update

Mill Valley residents can cast their vote to help select a design consultant for the Miller Avenue Streetscape Plan. All fourteen proposals are on the City of MV website, and those with time on their hands can use the evaluation tool to select their favorite consultant.

Over in Corte Madera, The Village will be getting a not-so-glamorous new neighbor when The Home Consignment Center takes over the Lay-Z-Boy space at 801 Tamalpais Avenue.

Nearby, the Old Town Square will be losing one of it's most popular stores when Tamalpais Paint and Color moves to a location in East Corte Madera in January. The current building was offered for sale last year, at which point the paint store was "in the middle of their 10-year lease". Any local residents care to suggest what they would like to see in that space?

Good news for leopard-print throw rug fans: Z Gallerie (Town Center Corte Madera) has emerged from bankruptcy.

A new proposal was unveiled for the Hannah Ranch site in Novato. The development proposal includes a 116-room hotel and a small amount of office, retail and restaurant space, and was greeted with much more enthusiasm than the previous attempt to build a Home Depot at the site.

Miller Avenue: vacant store update

An update on the retail space available to lease on Miller Avenue. There are usually one or two units on the market as part of the normal cycle of business openings and closures. At the moment there are a few extra vacant spaces, with several businesses being hit by the recession and there being few start-ups to replace them.

First, the fast food joint previously occupied by Jack in the Box has been sitting vacant for a long time. The chairs are out, the sun shades are up, but nobody's home.

Ciao Bella we previously mentioned. Disappearing under ivy on the east side of the Avenue. The store is close to the new new Tam Commons development, so might benefit from new activity in this area.

Opposite Whole Foods are two adjacent units in a prime location, but previously occupied by retailers with marginal business models: Lolipop candy store and Gourmet Garden To Go, a provider of take-out entrees.

Further north on the west side are two larger units whose long-time businesses closed in recent months. One was the auto parts store at 360.

The other was previously the toy store at 352. Now being fitted out by a new business venture called Once Around, which will be a craft/gift shop when it opens in the fall. You can follow their progress on their website as they get ready to open.

Finally, the unit previously occupied by the electric vehicle showroom now stands vacant. Concept maybe a year or two ahead of its time?

Miller Avenue, Part 2

This is Part 2 of our look at Miller Avenue in Mill Valley. Let's start with Whole Foods, which is the main anchor store that draws a lot of shoppers to the area. How important WF is for the viability of Miller Avenue may be tested in the future if the company decides to shutter the store after opening its new MV location at the Alto Center next year. The Miller Ave store is the smallest Whole Foods store in the nation, but is believed to have one of the highest sales intensities (sales per square foot). The combined size of the old and new Mill Valley stores will be less than 40,000 sq.ft, which is the typical size of most new WF stores (such as the one in Novato), so I would expect that while it is not very efficient to operate two stores in the same market, there are enough dollars in southern Marin to keep both stores running profitably.
To the south of WF is the coolest furniture store in Marin: Design Within Reach.


Directly opposite Whole Foods, at 401 Miller is a commercial block that includes the Marin Theatre Company, Cactus Cafe, Jolly King Liquors, and to the rear, the unbeatable Mama's Royal Cafe.



Hidden away behind the Theatre Company is a small retail center that includes a General Hardware store, a small Sloat Garden Center, a deli and a nail salon. There's also the pet grooming store with the unforgettable name: Doggie Style.



It's a ramshackle little center that is earmarked for removal by the Miller Avenue Precise Plan. If that ever happens, it's unlikely that stores like General Hardware and the garden center would find alternative affordable sites in the Miller Avenue area.

Miller Avenue in Mill Valley

Miller Avenue is the long boulevard that leads into Mill Valley from the south. It's a historic street that follows the path of the original railroad and contains a mix of uses, including many retail stores that serve the local neighborhoods of Sycamore Park and Homestead Valley. The area's history is covered in detail in this excellent piece by Matthew Stafford in the Pacific Sun.

In recent years Miller Avenue has made the news through the preparation of the Miller Avenue Precise Plan (MAPP), which is the City of Mill Valley's attempt to beautify and enable limited development in the area, make more efficient use of the commercial spaces and add affordable housing. This being southern Marin, the MAPP caused quite a stir, particularly among those that want to retain the small town atmosphere in the neighborhood. A local group called the Friends of Mill Valley were very active in the debate and produced an alternative MAPP, pointing out that the City's proposal could result in a lot more development than was anticipated, with resulting impacts on traffic and local services. With no final resolution on the Plan, the City has focused on developing a Streetscape Plan for the Avenue.

One new project that is typical of the kind of development envisioned for Miller Avenue is Tamalpais Commons. This is a mixed use development at the southern end of the Avenue's commercial area, which includes street level retail uses, upper level residential apartments and a separate block of 12 townhouses.

The commercial part of Miller Avenue starts at the southern end with a mid-sized Safeway supermarket. The area immediately north of Safeway is sparsely developed and is one of the main areas of focus for increased density by MAPP. A solitary Taco Bell / KFC stands on the west of the road. On the east side there's a medical center, Wells Fargo, the Tam Commons site, Grilly's mexican diner and Malugani TiresMy favorite building is the Caletti Construction building, which looks like a huge pile of sticks.

Other stores along this part of the commercial strip, south of Whole Foods, include the Art & Paper store and Cafe of Life Chiropractic.

It's not easy to make a living on this part of the strip - ask Ciao Bella, gradually succumbing to the ivy.

I'll put up some more photos in Part 2 of the Miller Avenue story, later this week.

Whole Foods unveils Mill Valley store plans

Now that Trader Joe's has started to fit out its new Larkspur store, the much-delayed development of the new Whole Foods store in Mill Valley is lurching another step forward with a public meeting to review the store's exterior design plans, at the Mill Valley Zoning Administrator (3pm Wednesday).

When it opens, the Whole Foods store will look very different to the Albertsons store it is replacing. According to the staff report, the plans for the exterior include a new brick facade and wooden pillars, with the intent to resemble a farmers market.

Green features will include a 400 sqft recycling/composting stucture at the rear of the store. The renovation will be designed to LEED Silver level, as required by the City.

The traffic study projects that the new Whole Foods will generate approximately twice the number of visits as the old Albertsons, with an estimated 5,890 average daily vehicle trips to the store, compared with 2,945 for Albertsons. However, the report claims that this will have a "less than significant" impact on traffic in the local area, and that the existing car parking and traffic intersections can adequately cope with the increase. Hmm... My guess is that anyone who regularly passes through the Blithedale/Camino Alto intersection might beg to differ.

After gaining approval for the exterior design, permits can then be issued for the building work to commence, with an opening date in early 2010.

UPDATE: additional reporting from the Mill Valley Herald, IJ and More Marin.

This week's news stories

Lots of buzz this week about the new farmers market at the Alto Center in Mill Valley. "Where's the Alto Center?" was the question most asked, because most people know the strip of stores as "y'know, next to Albertson's", or "by the MV Post Office". Alas, poor Albertson's still stands empty, despite being snatched up by Whole Foods after it closed in 2007. According to a WF manager quoted in the IJ, we won't be seeing the store open until 2010 because the City has asked for a traffic study. Do they really need a traffic study when the building is changing hands from a market to... another market..? Anyway, apparently the farmers market was a hit and will be a regular attraction Friday mornings until at least November. Anna has some photos here.

More great news if, like me, you can think of nothing more enjoyable than wasting the occasional hour hanging out at Sports Authority. The store at Vintage Oaks is set to expand into the adjacent space that was vacated by the Shoe Pavillion bankruptcy last year.

Meanwhile, design firms are among the retailers being forced to shut their doors by the slow economy. The Marin IJ reports on Paper White and Green Fusion, two such businesses that are closing in San Rafael.

Finally, worth checking out is the Tavern at Lark Creek, which opened in Larkspur last week.

Up the Junction

Tam Junction is located in the southern part of Mill Valley, where the Shoreline Highway intersects with Almonte Blvd. It's a busy junction, especially on summer weekends as San Franciscans pass through on their way out to Stinson Beach, and it's home to 20-30 commercial and retail businesses that make a living from the passing traffic and from the local Tam Valley community.

It's not the most glamorous retail destination in Marin, but it has it's own character. The Arco station right on the intersection has the cheapest gas in the county, and is always busy. There's the iconic Oriental Rug House, famous for its never-ending 'going-out-of-business' sale. Funnily enough, now that there's a recession, the Rug House is no longer going out of business. Perhaps the marketing pitch doesn't work when everyone else is going out of business too.

Tam Junction has no pretensions. It's not trying to be a tuscan village. It doesn't pretend to want people to walk around or take any pleasure in the surroundings. It's a good old American strip mall, where you drive up to the store front, get what you came for and drive off again. It's got a Subway, Starbucks, Dominos, chinese food, hair salons, nail salons, beauty salons, massage parlors, more massage parlors and yes even more massage parlors. There's a bike shop, a surf shop, a dentist, dance studios and karate studios. There's a Walgreens and a DeLano's market, dog kennels, building supplies, a coin store and a psychic. There's piles of trash, vacant lots, signs everywhere and the sky is full of wires and pylons. Enjoy the photos: