The storefront next door to the former Sur la Table has been a P.F. Chang's, then a jeweler's temporary showroom, and is now waiting for Sur la Table itself. Four years after leaving Broadway Plaza, the kitchenware chain is set to come back in that space, as Beyond the Creek reported on September 8.
That one storefront explains much of what is happening at the plaza this fall. Many of the names on construction barriers and "Coming Soon" signs are not new to Walnut Creek. Some had stores here before. Some have spent months or years in a space they always called temporary. Some are leaving a pop-up for a permanent address a few blocks away. Broadway Plaza's change this season has less to do with new arrivals than with stores settling into spaces after time in holding patterns.
One Storefront, Three Tenants in Two Years
The former P.F. Chang's space has rarely stayed in one role for long. Here is its recent history, along with the store next door, as local reporting tracked it:
- March 2022. Next door, Sur la Table announced it would close its own Broadway Plaza store at the end of that month, or sooner if inventory sold out.
- September 2024. Davidson & Licht said it would move into the former P.F. Chang's space while its downtown store went through a remodel of roughly ten months.
- February 2025. The jeweler opened in its temporary Broadway Plaza location.
- December 2025. Davidson & Licht reopened in its remodeled store at 1329 N. Main St., and the plaza space was empty again.
- September 2026. Sur la Table was announced as the next tenant. As of mid-October, no opening date had been published.
For a while, a former restaurant space let a 1329 N. Main St. business keep selling within walking distance of its own customers. Now it is bringing back a retailer that had left the plaza entirely. Sur la Table has its own Bay Area history too. The company opened its first shop in Seattle in 1972 and waited 23 years to open its second, in Berkeley in 1995.
The North Face's Three-Year "Temporary" Store
The clearest example of a temporary space turning into a long stay is just a short walk away. In November 2023, The North Face opened a one-floor store at Broadway Plaza. An employee told Beyond the Creek at the time that it was a temporary pop-up, and that the brand planned to move eventually to a permanent spot somewhere in the center.
Almost three years later, that move has a confirmed address. Bay Area Telegraph reported on September 2 that The North Face is relocating from its current store near Nordstrom to 78 Broadway Lane, the former White House Black Market space. Broadway Plaza lists the store as "Coming Soon" and signage says Fall 2026, but no exact opening date has been announced.
That space opened up only this year. White House Black Market had been at Broadway Plaza for more than ten years before it closed in May 2026. So one longtime boutique's exit gave a three-year pop-up its permanent home. Once the move is done, the store near Nordstrom becomes the next space to watch.
The Plaza Is Set Up for This
Short stays at Broadway Plaza are part of how the center is leased. Macerich's Broadway Plaza leasing page says "Short-Term Leasing is now available at this property." It also links to specialty-leasing materials and an application. The owner's QuikSpace listings have included first-floor suites, such as a 3,350-square-foot space labeled Suite 1028.
With that setup, a brand can try the market for a season, a jeweler can keep its customers through a long remodel, and an existing tenant can step out for a renovation without going dark. State & Liberty did exactly that this month. The menswear store temporarily moved near the former SoulCycle location for a renovation, and on October 13 Beyond the Creek reported it back in its original space, four days after the first report.
When the Pop-Up Leads Back to Main Street
The same flow also runs the other way, out of the plaza and onto the downtown street grid. VICI, a clothing shop that started in Walnut Creek, first opened at The Mercer apartments downtown, then ran a Broadway Plaza pop-up from September 11 to October 26, 2025. On September 4, Beyond the Creek reported that VICI is returning downtown at 1366 N. Main St., with no opening date given yet.
Davidson & Licht followed the same path, from its plaza stopgap back to North Main. To a resident walking downtown, the plaza and the streets around it work as one shopping district, and stores move between them more often than store signs suggest.
What's Open, What's Coming, What Closed
With so many moves at once, it helps to separate what you can visit now from what is still on a sign.
Open now
- 7th Avenue, the modular furniture brand first announced for Broadway Plaza late last year, has opened as of August.
- Läderach Chocolatier Switzerland held a ribbon cutting on August 14 for its shop next to the Macy's food court, according to the City of Walnut Creek.
- The BOBA Lounge opened at Broadway Pointe in September, the latest in a series of boba shops in that spot.
- Saatva opened at 1619 Mt. Diablo Blvd., in the former Sleep Number space.
- State & Liberty is back in its original Broadway Plaza space after its brief renovation move.
Announced, no confirmed opening date
- The North Face at 78 Broadway Lane, signed for Fall 2026.
- Sur la Table in the former P.F. Chang's space.
- Rowan, an ear-piercing studio and jewelry brand, in the former Aveda space.
- VICI at 1366 N. Main St.
- Salt & Lime at 1521 N. Main St., the former Oyama Sushi location. Bay Area Telegraph reported on October 2 that Diablo Valley College culinary alum Chelsea Ozuna will lead the kitchen, with made-to-order Mexican dishes, scratch sauces and salsas, and rotating specials.
Closed
- Starbucks at 1663 N. California Blvd. closed after Saturday, September 26. The Walnut Creek Record called it the second downtown Starbucks to close in about a year. The location at 1340 N. Main St. is still open.
The Holiday Calendar These Openings Are Racing
Fall 2026 has only a few weeks left, and the dates below are set whether or not the new storefronts are ready by then.
- Friday, November 20, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The free Holiday Tree Lighting at Civic Park, 1375 Civic Drive, with cocoa, carolers and an appearance by Frosty, presented by the City and the Downtown Walnut Creek Association.
- November 20 through January 18. Walnut Creek on Ice runs at Civic Park, 1365 Civic Drive, with skating and an ice slide. Tickets are listed at $20 each for skating and for the slide, and the rink is cashless.
- Saturday, November 21, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. "Once Upon a Street: Evergreen & Elegance" at Broadway Plaza, according to the Downtown Association calendar.
- Thursday, December 3, 6 to 8:30 p.m. The Broadway Plaza Holiday Parade of Lights & Tree Lighting, with a parade through the center and a tree lighting led by Santa.
On parking for those evenings, the City lists downtown-core meters at $2 an hour with a three-hour limit. City garages cost $1.25 an hour with the first hour free, and special-event parking at the Lesher Center Garage can run up to $5, per the City's downtown parking page.
If the Parade of Lights arrives with The North Face open at 78 Broadway Lane and Sur la Table back next door to its old address, December's walk through the plaza will pass two stores that took years of temporary arrangements to settle.
If you'd like to talk about how Walnut Creek's walkable core fits your plans, Emon Komeily is glad to help. Let's Connect.
