North Bay Business Journal

Montgomery Village Copperfield’s building to be razed

SANTA ROSA – The building currently occupied by Copperfield’s Books in Montgomery Village is slated to be torn down and replaced by a restaurant. The bookstore will move to an 11,000-square-foot vacant space next to Ross. The building is 11,200 square feet with Copperfield’s occupying 10,000 and Cold Stone Creamery occupying the other 1,200.  Tom [...]

Local magazine launches online retail store

SAUSALITO – Marin Magazine co-founders Nikki Wood and Lisa Shanower launched The Marin Store, www.themarinstore.com, the first regionally focused online store in the U.S. associated with a magazine.

San Rafael approves Mi Pueblo

SAN RAFAEL — The San Rafael City Council unanimously denied two appeals against a proposed Mi Pueblo Foods Center ethnic-flavored grocery store. The San Jose-based grocer plans to open that location by early next year.

The City Council on Monday voted 5-0 against appeals of the May 20 city Zoning Administrator approval of the 36,000-square-foot store in the former Circuit City building at 330 Bellam Blvd.

All Star moves longtime Novato store downtown to larger location

NOVATO – Fairfield-based All Star Rents had to give up party rentals at its 46-year-old Novato store in a recent move, but the company gained a much larger, more accessible location downtown that will allow the company to offer a greater selection of equipment.

Marin’s Woodlands Market plans cafe, second store

KENTFIELD, TIBURON – After more than 23 years in business, the owner of Marin-based Woodlands Market has commenced the most significant expansion plans in the company’s history, including additional square footage, an off-site produce farm and construction on a second location and neighboring cafe.

Second appeal filed for Mi Pueblo store in San Rafael

SAN RAFAEL – Approval of a Mi Pueblo Food Center store in a vacant Circuit City building in the Canal area of the city has been appealed a second time, and a local nonprofit alcohol-consumption watchdog group also filed an appeal.

Appeal of approved Mi Pueblo grocery in San Rafael denied

SAN RAFAEL – The San Rafael Planning Commission on Tuesday night rejected an appeal of an approved Mi Pueblo Food Center in a shuttered Circuit City store in the Canal area of the city.

Smith & Hawken to shut down; 100 jobs in Marin

NOVATO – Novato-based lawn-and-garden retail chain Smith & Hawken will shut down by the end of this year, according to its Ohio-based parent, Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. Scotts Miracle-Gro Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Hagedorn said the company tried to find buyers for Smith & Hawken for the past 12 months but came to the [...]

Women in Business 2009: Entrepreneurship: Love of books, writers, community defines Elaine Petrocelli

CORTE MADERA – Elaine Petrocelli shines like a beam of light in the shadow of the big retail stores. Her Book Passage, the literary center of Marin County since 1976, is proof that independent book stores need not be snuffed out.

Mill Valley gets green mixed-use project

MILL VALLEY – The Tamalpais Commons housing and retail development under construction along the Miller Avenue major thoroughfare of this small southern Marin County city is set to be a certified green project.

Mi Pueblo moving into North Bay

SAN RAFAEL – A rapidly growing Bay Area chain of Hispanic grocery stores plans to open its first North Bay location in east San Rafael by this fall. Mi Pueblo Foods Inc. wants to convert the recently closed Circuit City store in the Canal district into a full-service grocery store with outdoor seating, according to [...]