LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA – A few years after the pandemic, the Clocktower shopping center in downtown Lafayette, California seemed to be down on its luck.
Patxis pizza, which had anchored the small shopping district on Mount Diablo Blvd for over a decade, closed in 2022. Lafayette’s homegrown local (hipster) goods store Venture moved out of its original Clocktower storefront to a bigger location next to Philz Coffee.
Meanwhile, towards the back of the shopping center, a little store that had provided the heart and soul of the shopping area–Bell and Bunna Books–closed as well.
The stores on the corner at Clocktower closed, too. By 2023, there was only one store left.
This could have been a story about the failure of retail in yet another East Bay downtown.
But it’s not. Clocktower has staged an amazing comeback. Just two years later, the little Lafayette shopping center is almost entirely full.
The rebirth began when Breakfast Club at Midtown announced that it would take over the former Patxis location. Breakfast Club completely renovated the interior, and built two lovely outdoor patios that spill into the little walking area within the Clocktower center.
This perennially popular restaurant appears to have brought in the foot traffic needed to kickstart several other stores. Vintage Vida opened on the corner (and just celebrated its one-year anniversary in Lafayette), and Stretch Lab took over two storefronts in the interior of the center.
Makers Market came in to fill the vacancy left by Venture, and two beauty salons (Wax a Peel and Level Up) now fill the Bella and Bunna location and another store at the back of the Clocktower.
Today, the Clocktower Center appears to be thriving. Its success even seems to be spilling over into surrounding areas, with multiple new places (Abe’s Cafe, El Talpense and Crosswater Creek) opening directly across the street.
We’re not sure what prompted this remarkable rebirth. But it’s an encouraging tale. In a time when many downtown shopping districts are being hollowed out by online retail, high rents and post pandemic shifts in how people buy things, Lafayette’s downtown appears to be on the upswing.
