:^/ Was hoping for more food options in T&C vs. more empty expensive clothing stores...

Disappointed with the type of new stores filling the Scott's Seafood location. I bet they don't last.

Well, with less food options, you'll look FABULOUS in all the expensive clothing you'll be able to afford! :-)

Do we really need another fitness clothing shop at T and C? It would be nice if there was a better balance of shops especially for the over 40 folks. Just saying . . .

Sigh, how I long for the past when T&C had shops I could afford, such as Pendleton and Stuarts, among others. I don't know how these high end boutiques stay in business, and mostly they don't.

It is obvious that whoever does the planning for T&C doesn't do any market research.

As previously stated, more unaffordable clothing stores are neither wanted or needed. It isn't practical or practicable.

What ARE desired and needed would be more dining selections.

Oh, well, just one ore reason to drop our money in Mtn View.

T&C is near Stanford (the school) and Pally
Do modern students have that king of money to burn?
What are they thinking. An almost captive audience that would not shop a Stanford Shopping Center, but still within an easy bike ride.

I've yet to see a single shopper in the newish L'Occitaine store that opened a few months ago. (It's a few doors down from Peet's.)

OH NO MORE HIGH END FITNESS TO GO OUT OF BIUSINESS !!! Who are these people making these decisions? I agree with other comments. How about bringing back the extremely popular Hobee's, or The Creamery, or Scott's. You know, not everyone wants to eat kale. We all need fish, turkey, meatloaf and milkshakes and pancakes, to say nothing of COFFEECAKE. Talk about discrimination. GET IT TOGETHER. You'll see I'm right.

It's for the same people who buy one cupcake for $3.50.
And expensive ice cream cones.
I've seen tech workers congregating near the icecream shop, also executives, and rich students, that's who it is for. Ostentatious (and mindless) spenders.

@MEEMS wrote:

"Who are these people making these decisions? I agree with other comments. How about bringing back the extremely popular Hobee's, or The Creamery, or Scott's."

You are free to assemble the necessary capital and staff to open up any of those businesses at Town & Country and present your business plan to the landlord.

Who are the people making these decisions? The shop owners and the shopping center management company, who else? If you haven't noticed, Palo Alto is a free market economy, just like Mountain View, Menlo Park, Atherton, and Salina, Kansas. Remember, the landlord has a vested interest in having profitable tenants with long-term futures.

Scott's Seafood closed because they didn't generate enough business to remain profitable.

Town & Country is considered premium commercial real estate suitable for high-end retail because of property improvements that the landlord has invested in. The landlord can charge high rent. Homeowners do the same thing: renovate, redecorate, improve landscaping, and some day perhaps hope they can sell the place for more than they paid.

Some of us liked the homey T&C from decades ago, but that time is long past and you're going to have to accept it as it is. If you don't like it, you have every right to spend your money elsewhere. That's the American way. No one is forcing you to patronize any of these T&C businesses.

Parent, you make good points but it's more complicated.

I'll never forgive the T&C management for not letting its long-time tenant Prestige Boutique move back to its original smaller store when the recession hit and then wouldn't let it move into a smaller store when the recession hit even though a) Prestige was still generating lots of revenue from loyal customers, b) the business was more than 50 years old and was on its second-generation owner and c) it ignored customer petitions to let Prestige move into a more affordable space.

Hundreds of loyal customers came out to say good bye to Barbara and Joanne. The City even sent some very junior "retail preservation" guy who was surprised at suggestions the city should shown an interest BEFORE the business was forced out, not later.

Instead, Prestige's former "big" store is again sub-divided.

(apologies for my poor editing above but I still get riled by this.

In fact, I used to joke "Like what I'm wearing? Good. I'll be wearing it for the next 10 years because there's no place else to shop.)

There was a similar brouhaha when they forced out The Cookbook restaurant, a moderately priced place which had long been a breakfast tradition for many people.

Yes, it is getting more and more impossible to find reasonable priced anything in Palo Alto. Taking a family out to eat at a sit down restaurant with knives and forks is getting harder to find even in Mountain View. Kids' clothes are too expensive in Palo Alto. In fact, American style restaurants are getting harder to find too unless you want breakfast for lunch.

And there is absolutely nothing I would want to go to in T & C, or downtown, and very little in Stanford any longer.

"Kids' clothes are too expensive in Palo Alto."
And that is what the city wants. They do not want a Target or a Wal Mart in Palo Alto. This is,palo,alto only upscale non-chain stores are welcome in the city. And if there were reasonable priced stores in Palo Alto that would generate too much traffic and traffic is evil also.
The city is just reaping what it sewed. That is why most people shop outside of palo alto. The city does not really care about tax revenue-- it is all about image.

Maybe I'm a dreamer but I was hoping Ming's would have moved into the old Scott's Seafood spot. Dim sum, chicken salad, mai tais. Instead, we get socially responsible and sustainable yoga pants. Palo Alto, sigh...

When homes are too expensive for middle-income people to move in, the shops will cater to the high-end crowd who can afford to. We put in place the limits that made building new housing expensive decades ago, and we've tightened them ever since.

We made our bed, now we have to lie in it.

>> Do we really need another fitness clothing shop at T and C?

You know how in a certain neighborhood or area you have no gas stations, and then you get 4 stations on a certain corner all jammed together. That seems to be some safety principle in business, if business is good for one store type, they must be able to support another.

Prana makes some comfortable casual stuff, but it's pretty expensive, so probably tailor made for Palo Alto ... though I am not sure it is really expensive enough. Perhaps that is for high school kids walking T&C at lunch time.

>> T&C is near Stanford (the school) and Pally
>> Do modern students have that king of money to burn?

Judging by the teens driving around in expensive cars,
I'd say, that and more. take a look in the Paly Parking lot
sometime.

I just go to T&C for Trader Joe's, Books Inc. and Douce France. The rest of the shops don't sell normal, regular and reasonable price items. For Stanford shopping mall, I only go there to see the dogs on weekends. Traffic is hectic to go downtown. Plus nothing to see in the start-up and VC offices.

It's sad in Palo Alto.

@Sarah:

Downtown Palo Alto is fun, I visit about once a week via Caltrain when I get tired of Mountain View's more diverse restaurant scene. We have better sushi, pho, dim sum, Vietnamese and Indian food than Palo Alto. The thirty beer taps at Steins are great, and I don't think downtown Palo Alto has a burger as good as Bierhaus'. Palo Alto admittedly has better Greek (Evvia) and pizza (Delfina) as well as a traditional American-style diner (Peninsula Creamery).

Mountain View has its own Trader Joe's (open an hour later, until 10pm) and a Books Inc. downtown. We don't have Douce France, but we have Alexander's Patisserie and La PanotiQ.

Come by and visit Mountain View someday!

Oh, and how can I forget Mountain View's Mexican restaurants?!? We got some good places here, pretty affordable compared to Tacolicious (which is commendable in its own right).

Hey, the Mountain View farmers market is slightly cheaper than the California Avenue one in Palo Alto, too!

Anyhow, we'd love it if you would visit someday.

Cheers!

Given the years of congestion around Town & Country, I've painfully learned it's faster and to drive all the way to the Menlo Park Trader Joe's than to fight the Embarcadero traffic even though I live near Embarcadero and T&C is much much closer.

I wonder how much sales tax revenue Palo Alto has lost in the years it's taken to fix this mess. I figure we spend about $100 a week at Peet's and Trader Joe's combined.

Groceries are not subject to sales tax....

As for the overall comments of no longer patronizing TC....As Yogi Berra once said, "It's so crowde, no one goes there any more."

"crowded"

CPD
Lots of stuff in Grocery stores IS taxable.
Some of it is, unless you use food stamps (FED trumps State)

(Actually, it is amazing the staff gets as much Tax and CRV right seeing how convoluted the rules are)

That's why I said "groceries". Alcohol, sodas, junk food/snacks are taxable. Cleaning supplies are taxable. But meats, dairy, produce, etc. are not. Thanks

@SteveU:

Grocery stores sell tons of things that aren't groceries like cleaning products, kitchenware, toiletries, etc. All of those are taxable items.

However, most groceries are exempt from sales tax. There are some exceptions like candy, maybe soft drinks, and for sure alcohol.

All chain stores. No more Mom and Pop.

I don't shop there at all. Parking lot is way too crowded. Wish they'd bring back a diner like Stickney's.

Stickney's closed in 1999.

Let it go.

The Mayfield restaurant has very good food but the interior needs a
complete makeover- visually with removal of the mirrors and inclusion of noise reduction measures.

Wow - glad you grumpy people aren't walking around Palo Alto. Wondering why Downtown, Cal Ave, T&C and Stanford have been so pleasant lately.

And what is an "American Style Restaurant?"

. . . Marie Callender's

An American style restaurant is the kind that used to be in Palo Alto, when everything was so wonderful. You could eat at an American style restaurant and then go to Luttikens. Then , unfortunately, modern times came to Palo Alto and many pine for the " good old days" before things started going downhill.