This Fall's Lafayette Closures Were Decided Far From Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The Errands Stayed Close.

Between the last day of August and the first days of November, three longtime stops on Mt. Diablo Boulevard closed. Lamorinda Weekly reported that Hank & Frank Bicycles at 3377 would close Aug. 31 after its building sold. The Starbucks at La Fiesta Square, 3547 Mt. Diablo, posted a closing date of Sept. 25, according to Bay Area Telegraph. Leslie's Pool Supplies at 3389 had already closed when Bay Area Telegraph reported it on Nov. 3.

All three are errand stops. If you live in Happy Valley, the bike tune-up, the chlorine run and the morning coffee have probably all brought you down the hill to this stretch at some point. But look at where each closure came from: a retirement and a building sale, a national chain in bankruptcy court, and a corporate closure notice posted inside a café. None of them was decided at the storefront. That's why every one of these errands is still within reach, mostly at locally owned shops that have been here for years.

Three closures, three different causes

The bike shop had the longest history. Lamorinda Weekly traced Hank & Frank back more than 100 years to East 14th Street in Oakland, where Hank Stahl and his partner Frank started the business in 1925. It spent its last 52 years in Lafayette. Owner Frank Dryer started learning the trade from his father, Dale, at age 9. He came on full time in 1985 and bought the shop in 1991. When he decided to retire, the building at 3377 had already sold, and he told the paper he still hoped a new operator would carry the business on. "Serving this community has been the honor of a lifetime," Dryer told Lamorinda Weekly.

Leslie's closed while the whole chain was shrinking. According to Bay Area Telegraph, the company filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 30 and announced 76 store closures nationwide. Its Walnut Creek and Concord stores closed earlier this fall. For a few weeks Lafayette was the nearby location that stayed open. Then it closed too. The company's closure notice gives no last day and no Lafayette-specific reason. The store had been at that address for more than a decade, since at least Leslie's 2015 catalog.

The Starbucks went the same way. A notice inside the café set Sept. 25 as its last day, Bay Area Telegraph reported. By Oct. 2 the windows were papered over.

Coffee never left La Fiesta Square

Of the three, the coffee stop was the easiest to replace, because the replacement was already in the same shopping center. Papillon Gourmet Coffee & Tea is at 67 Lafayette Circle inside La Fiesta Square. According to the center's directory, it has been part of Lafayette since 1983. The menu covers lattes, tea, smoothies, cold brew, mochas, bagels and beans to take home, and there's free Wi-Fi.

If you need coffee before most of downtown opens, Philz Coffee at 3597 Mt. Diablo Boulevard listed daily hours of 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in early October. It takes app orders, and there's outdoor seating next to the fountain. Papillon has been in town for 43 years, while the chain location closed with a posted notice. The coffee stop that stayed is the one with local roots.

The bike errand moves up the block or over to Moraga Road

Bikes are the bigger loss, because a shop that served one family for decades kept that family's history: who rode what, what got rebuilt, what was next. The service itself is still close, though.

• First Mile Cycle Works, 3566 Mt. Diablo Blvd., is on the same boulevard as the old Hank & Frank. The Lafayette Chamber lists it as a bike retailer, and the shop says it sells bicycles and services every category.
• Sharp Bicycle, 969 Moraga Rd., is listed with the Lafayette Chamber. Its own service page describes a full-service repair department that works on all makes and models.

In his interview with Lamorinda Weekly, Dryer described how the industry has moved toward e-bikes and how buyers now start their research online. He said that shift makes the advice a local shop gives "more important than ever." If a bike hasn't been in for service since summer, call either shop ahead. Both are on familiar errand routes out of Happy Valley.

Pool supplies come down to Golden Gate Way or Pleasant Hill

Of the three closures, Leslie's leaves the biggest gap for pool owners, since the next-nearest Leslie's stores in Walnut Creek and Concord had already closed. There are still two options.

In town, Coral Pools describes a retail store stocked with pool-care products. Its contact page gives the address as 3463 Golden Gate Way. For shoppers who want to stay with Leslie's, Bay Area Telegraph pointed to its Pleasant Hill store at 25 Vivian Drive, which still lists free water testing. The company has also said it will keep running its remaining stores and online business during the restructuring, and that it will honor gift cards and loyalty benefits.

On the same stretch, two shops changed hands and stayed open

This year two other shops on the same part of Mt. Diablo Boulevard passed to new owners and kept their doors open.

Ware Designs Jewelers, at 3645 A Mt. Diablo Blvd., held a grand reopening on Aug. 19 with a Lafayette Chamber ribbon cutting. Goldsmith Stephen Ware retired and passed the business to his apprentice, Melissa, according to the shop's Chamber profile.

Wine Thieves, at 3401 Mt. Diablo Blvd., sits close to the empty storefronts at 3377 and 3389. Daniel and Gennie Gorback took over the store in May, Lamorinda Weekly reported. The Chamber marked the new ownership with a ribbon cutting on July 9.

Hank & Frank's owner wanted the same kind of handoff. The difference was the building. With 3377 sold, there was no storefront left to pass along with the business.

The calendar that brings everyone back downtown

The next few weeks give you plenty of reasons to be on this stretch of town, at a time when the routine stops have shifted:

1. Friday, Nov. 20, 5 to 8 p.m. HOLISTIKA hosts a holiday open house at 3416B Mt. Diablo Blvd., according to the Chamber's event calendar.
2. Friday, Dec. 4, 4 to 6 p.m. It's a Wonderful Life in Lafayette brings the official holiday tree lighting to Lafayette Plaza at 3530 Plaza Way. The evening also includes free visits with Santa and free rides on the Lafayette Express train. East Bay Nursery supplies the tree and Light It Up handles the lights. The Lafayette Historical Society brings the Old Betsy firetruck for photos with Santa. Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary and Sideboard pour free hot chocolate. Sideboard and Brioche de Paris sell food, and Stanley Middle School Chorus and Acalanes High School Choir are among the performers. The Chamber suggests arriving early to see Santa arrive and staying downtown for dinner.
3. Wednesday, Dec. 9, 5 to 7 p.m. The Lafayette Chamber Holiday Mixer and Vendor Fair fills St. Perpetua Church's Great Hall at 3454 Hamlin Road, with local vendors selling holiday gifts.

The tree lighting is also an easy chance to stop by First Mile, Papillon or Wine Thieves while you're downtown.

If you're in Happy Valley and wondering how this fall's changes on Mt. Diablo Boulevard affect what your home is worth, Alexis Thompson can walk you through it with local, current numbers. Get a free home valuation and we'll talk it through.