Cool new retailers entering Marin in 2011

There have been quite a few new store openings (including some very cool regional retailers), and some closings over the last couple of months. Here's a partial list of what's new and what's on the way:

• First, at Marin Country Mart, James Perse and Poppy Store are now open, but Tam Cellars is closing. San Francisco retailer Unionmade  ($225 vintage Levis) has also signed up for a store
• At Strawberry Village there is a new chocolate store, Chocolatier Blue. Also at Strawberry, the ex-Smith and Hawken store has been leased to Bliss Home Design ("sophisticated, dramatic settings for the bedroom")
• Up at Vintage Oaks, DSW Shoe Warehouse has taken over the space previously occupied by Benjamin Franklin Crafts. Other new stores at Vintage Oaks include Subway, Justice and Southern Pacific Smokehouse.
• In Corte Madera, new stores at The Village include Free People, Ann Taylor Loft (relocating from the Town Center) and Restoration Hardware Baby & Child. Coming soon to the Village are Tommy Bahama, J-Crew's Madewell and North Face.
• Lastly, and possibly a victim of the gourmet fro-yo craze, Baskin Robins in downtown Larkspur has closed.

Target gets a grocery store

I finally got a chance to visit the new grocery store that opened quietly earlier this year - the one inside of Target at Vintage Oaks. I expected to find an expansion of their existing packaged food section with some added fresh food and baked goods. But they have totally moved the food section to one side of the store so it more resembles a market. The expansion is part of a nationwide roll out as Target continues to battle Wal-Mart for market share.

The grocery section was larger than I supposed, with some 10,000 - 12,000 square feet dedicated to food, and set out along 10 short aisles at the far end of the store. The design was as expected, with clean, simple signs, bright displays and well-stocked shelves .

The product mix was also simple, based around packaged goods and mass-market brands. Target's own brands were also on display: Market Pantry is their discount brand, while Archer Farms is the premium alternative. The fresh food section (photo above) was quite small. As you would expect from Target, the emphasis is on price and convenience. There was a lot of processed food on display, though I didn't spot the wall of shredded cheese.

I can't see many people using this as their main grocery store. Traffic was light, with 10-12 people shopping the grocery section. Target is clearly relying on the convenience of picking up some cheap groceries while shopping for other household goods or clothing to make this a productive use of space.

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.