Construction Brings Hope in the New Year
The fences are down, the lights will be online this weekend, and two or three new shops will soon open on the former site of Wend’s Vietnamese Café and Fearless Martial Arts Academy.
Up and down Castro Valley Boulevard, companies are preparing for 2025 with the promise of a fresh start. However, some are making bold changes that will be noticeable from the outside and the inside. Here are a few businesses in construction mode right now.
The most obvious changes are coming to Wendy’s fast-food site between Strobridge Avenue and Stanton Avenue (also known as Hamburger Island). According to papers filed with Public Works, the home of the “Baconator” and the “Frosty” is redesigning its outside area by reducing parking stalls from 38 to 33. They are adding two short-term bicycle parking spots near the entrance and rebuilding the trash enclosure to be larger with additional landscaping to hide it better. The construction also included the recent breakup of the asphalt on Stanton Avenue to improve drainage and utility service to the building.
Changes on the inside include updating seating areas with new fixtures, slightly larger bathrooms, a fresh coat of paint, and more efficient heating and cooling systems. Behind the scenes, the kitchen will be getting mechanical upgrades. The mascot’s smiling face and namesake will still be on two sides of the building but will be more modernized. The project is expected to be finished in February.
Further down the road, Loard’s Ice Cream has been closed since December 17. A sign on the classic scoop shop says it should be reopened in two months (late February or March) with an improved eating experience. Gold Medallion Commercial Builders was hired as the main contractor.
Founded by Russ Salyards in 1950, Loard’s debuted in Oakland but quickly expanded to San Leandro (where all of its ice cream is made) and Castro Valley in the early 1960s. The Castro Village Shopping Center's original site was where Phulkari Indian Cuisine currently sits. The ice cream shop moved across the parking lot to its current location in the 1980s.
Ownership also recently passed hands from parents Wa and Chung Lung to their daughter Charlene, who promises to keep the original pink and white color scheme and fun artwork on the walls designed by Paul Matson.
Across the street, the chain-link fence along the Paseo has been taken down at the Castro Valley Marketplace. Main Street Property Services, which manages the site to the east says they are preparing for a lot of changes in 2025.
Spokesperson Craig Semmelmeyer tells the Forum that the property, which includes Knudsen’s Ice Creamery, Unincorporated clothiers, a couple of insurance properties, and the now-closed Joyful House, will be known as “Marketplace Shops.”
He adds that the spaces that used to occupy Wend’s Vietnamese Pho Café and Fearless Martial Arts are preparing for two or three businesses, of which at least one will be a sit-down experience dining restaurant that opens to the Paseo.
Whether anyone can eat out there is another story. The Paseo is still the subject of litigation, with the property owners on both sides claiming rights to open seating arrangements. The disruptive chain-link fence was installed last fall to help upgrade some utilities and allow PG&E a space to review.
The Main Street property group is preparing a lighting ceremony on Thursday, January 9, to extend the holiday season and acknowledge the changes, Semmelmeyer said.