Last Tuesday, I took my ten-month-old nephew to Easy Street Cafe. The plan had come together after I'd heard from my editor that Easy Street, a San Anselmo haven for lazy breakfasts and big families, would be shutting its doors for good on Sunday. The walls were pasted with blow-ups of a letter written by the cafe's owners to their patrons and the community. The note read, in part: I am a father of 5 kids and grandfather of 4. I still live in my old condo in the canal and I will still continue to dream [of having] a place that people like me with kids can come and have a healthy meal while …

  Fresh Eyes the Focus at New Optomertry Clinic After practicing in Berkeley for 30 years, Dr. Larry Harrison sold his practice and went into an early retirement. But the work bug had bitten Dr. Harrison, and it was only a few years into his retirement that he decided to open a new clinic in San Anselmo. "We decided on San Anselmo because of the community feel," fellow optician Royce Kakar explains. Dr. Harrison has lived in Marin County for over 25 years. The new clinic, located at 634 San Anselmo Avenue, will provide patients will complete eye exams, contact lenses and treatment for many …

  San Rafael Racquet Club Gets Major Makeover As the rain (hopefully) starts to recede and the sun remembers to show itself, the swimming season will once again be upon us. What great timing for the Rafael Racquet Club, which will unveil its new $3 million remodel this month. Board member Jeff Hopkins emphasized that along with the remodel, the club is offering a Partners in Education promotion, where $250 is donated to schools and foundations for every new member that joins. Click here to see a photo diary of the remodel process, and be sure to register for the coming summer before the …

Greetings Georgi & Willow In less than a month, 647 San Anselmo Ave. will be home to a new fashion-forward boutique. Georgi & Willow is set to open to their doors on April 15. Inside, patrons will find a wide variety of "priced-down high-end merch...tailored specifically for the discerning 20-to-30-something crowd". The property is quite larger, melding two storefronts to offer an impressive 3,620 square footage.  If you weren't sold already, all the sale proceeds from the store will go toward supporting career assistance programs at our local chapter of Goodwill. G & W will also be offering …

  Greenfield Avenue: Greenfield Ave. has really brought its A game to the retail world of San Anselmo.  From Elan Fitness to the Yellow Emperor the buildings are filling in left and right.  Now 14 Greenfield will take on a new life in the back with Lea Couture moving around the corner from Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.  Lea is the designer of the most beautiful ready to wear and custom made clothes and gowns.  Wearing something made by Lea is like wearing whispers.  The best part is she is having a huge sale and things are marked down 40-70% off, which is an absolute steal, so head down to the…

  Good Traffic for Good Earth The new Good Earth store has been packed since it opened and there is no end in sight for the hugely successful new location. Big, clean, crisp, fantastic -- these are the words this writer is hearing about the new digs, and from what I’ve seen from the outside (and the great Patch video!) it is clearly a hit with more than a few. I keep saying I’ll wait until the crowds disperse to hit the aisles, but that isn’t happening any time soon. Congratulations on a job really well done! Any business that moves in across the street can’t help but do well with all of the …

  Great News for Good Earth The doors of the new Good Earth Grocery will be officially opened at 11 a.m. on Feb. 15, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Patch will have a sneak preview video up next Monday, and if the peek through the front doors I got this morning is any indication it is going to be an amazing place. What an incredible addition to Fairfax and perfect that it is as close as it could possibly be to San Anselmo. Let the organic begin! New Baker I was thrilled to learn that a fellow colleague in food will be one of the new bakers at Sweetlife in San Anselmo. Laura, they…

  This Is Going To Be Good Not only is Good Earth due to open in mid-February now (the parking lot is, as I type, getting gussied up with plants and lighting), but I just learned that a great new restaurant will be opening right across the street in the Fair-Anselm Plaza. Avatars Restaurant has already begun work on the space that housed the Chinese restaurant Saigon Village and though we don’t know exactly when they’ll be opening up, we do know that it will be a fantastic fit for this spot. A handful of Avatars are scattered throughout the North Bay Area with locations in Sausalito (the …

  Livijan Has Left the Building The quirky little art and clothing boutique, Livijan and Lopez Art Works at 632 San Anselmo Ave. has packed up and shipped out and the little space is looking for some love. This has been a tough little spot to fill for long. Folks have tried swimsuit and beach wear, a lovely gal opened a clothing boutique just before the flood six years ago but couldn’t stay, Red Door Yoga gave it a shot, and Lilijan tried her best.  What will fill its shoes? Maybe a little shop filled with modern and antique French wares to accompany L'Appart? Or maybe a home goods place for …

Calling All Old Dudes Fairfax Health Club, located at 713 Center Boulevard in the Fair-Anselm plaza, is gearing up to start “Boot Camp for Old Dudes”.  Sore joints?  Bad knees? Have no fear, the owner will guide you along in a 45-minute cardio and strength training regime to get your body moving and the blood flowing.  It all begins on January 16 at 6 a.m. so tighten up those laces and set your alarm if this sounds like the work out for you. Just Opened From Smith Anderson North, the great framing shop located on Greenfield Avenue in San Anselmo, comes “The Lab”, located at their 2240A Fourth…

  Lincoln Park The little neighborhood tucked behind the corner of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Greenfield Avenue is known as Lincoln Park, and it will be getting an eating and drinking establishment thusly named. A license is pending with ABC and with a full restaurant ready to go after Dream Farm departed we may be enjoying another great place to wine and dine in downtown San Anselmo in the near future. City Cycles Cycles Over to Corte Madera San Anselmo has lost one of its bicycle shops to Corte Madera. Paradigm Cycles became City Cycles last April, and their last day in downtown San …

  I have already ordered my coffee cake for Christmas morning from the Royal Sweet Bakery in San Anselmo and will be picking it up at the end of the day on Christmas Eve for two reasons. The first is that the Royal Sweet will be closed on Christmas Day and the second is that I do not intend to leave the house on Dec. 25 if I can help it. But maybe you don’t celebrate Christmas, or maybe you are one of those crazy folks who go for a run or bike ride and need that cup of joe after, or possibly Santa drank all of the egg nog and life wouldn’t be the same without a glass on the big day. Whatever …

Beautiful Hair in December Hairfax Studio on Bolinas Avenue in Fairfax is up and running with scissors. You’ll find ammonia-free products and a natural approach to the art of color and cuts. We wish them all the very best in the new digs. A little further afield in Greenbrae, The Style Bar has opened its doors as of today and will be offering nothing but blow outs for that beautiful blow-dried smooth soft shimmery look. Sproos of San Anselmo’s co-founder, Cyndi Havard, has followed the trend-setting cities of New York and San Francisco and opened a shop right here in Marin that offers “no …

  Egg Nog is Everywhere 'Tis the Season for trees, candles, lights, wreaths, and Egg Nog -- and coffee shops throughout town are making every sort of concoction with the thick yummy goodness. So head over to any coffee shop in both towns and grab an Egg Nog Latte, or a steamer, or just a cold, cold glass of the good stuff. We take it straight at our house and buy it by the gallon. Holiday Cookies If you’re not a baker, but want to give sweet gifts for the season, head over to Comforts for a beautiful array of sweet things for the hostesses with the most(esses) or just to spread some holiday …

  It’s a Sweet Life The Grand Opening of the much anticipated (at least by me!) Sweetlife bakery, located at 101 San Anselmo Ave., has finally arrived. The sun hadn’t quite fully risen in the sky, but the doors were open and even at 7:02 a.m. I wasn’t the first person in line.  Cinnamon-sugar-covered donut muffins, lemon and raspberry bars, tangerine and currant scones, croissants, almond, croissants, chocolate croissants, quiche, crème tarts and more filled the crystal clear cases and more was being brought out at every turn. Fresh-baked bread filled the back racks and crates, an extra-large…

  Thanksgiving is a time to be with family and friends and, of course, it is all about the food, but what if you don’t cook or like to cook or don’t want to cook? Or maybe it’s the cleaning part you hate? Then again, maybe you’re a vegetarian and don't enjoy Turkey Day. Or maybe you like to cook but you realize on Thanksgiving Day you forgot the nutmeg and your pie wouldn’t be the same without it? What are your options?  We've got all your Thanksgiving answer's a today's special Thanksgiving Scoop column. Ordering In If you are hosting, but don’t want to do all the cooking keep Comforts, Good…

Don't Shoot the Messenger I know last week I said that it looked like the new Sweetlife Bakery, located at 101 San Anselmo Ave., would be opening up in mid-November, but it looks like now things won't be happening until the end of November. Sorry pastry and bread lovers, we'll all have to wait a little bit longer for the sweet things at Sweetlife. More Sweets Coming Soon Adriana Sweets is going to be opening up in the Red Hill Shopping Center very soon. In between Safeway and CVS, where the chocolate shop lived for many years, Adriana Sweets  will be specializing in candles, chocolates, sugar…

Monarch is Flying Away The lovely Indian import store, Monarch, located at 647 San Anselmo Ave., is closing its doors in two weeks! Thankfully, their store in Mill Valley will remain open (27 Throckmorton), but now would be the time to take advantage of the incredible sale throughout the entire store.  Clothes are marked down 20 percent, holiday ornaments 25 percent and furniture is 50 percent off. This is the store that has the simply beautiful shirts and tops in their windows and it seems as if there is never the same one up for more than a day. It is still early in the season, but this …

They’ll be Dancing Soon Studio C is swathed in pink and almost open for business. The soon to be sweet little ballet and dance studio located in the School Street Plaza in Fairfax has lovely flyers out front for those with little dancers raring to go this fall and the inside is getting the final touches of paint and looks just great. Can’t wait for the Grand Opening, which will be soon! Sunday Salvage While I was admiring Studio C’s progress I couldn’t help but ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over the simply darling little shop next door that calls itself Sunday Salvage. Step down from the parking lot into a…

Beauty on the Boulevard Why travel to the big shopping centers for your beauty products when you can now stay in town and keep it organic and natural. Oberon is a beauty line of cosmetics, lotions and products geared toward sensitive skin with 100 percent natural ingredients and they just today opened up shop in town today.  Over 10 years ago, Bridget O’Brian Edwards, a Dior-trained make-up artist, partnered up with Lora Leavenworth in Oregon and opened a cosmetic store next to a cancer treatment facility. But when patients would enter looking for soothing lotions to calm chemo and chemically…