Shop talk

Retail Scoop

LAFAYETTE IS a hot spot on the East Bay’s retail radar. The Lafayette Mercantile, a 50,000-square-foot restaurant, retail, and office complex (pictured below), is slated to open on Mt. Diablo Boulevard this summer. Retailers will include Jos. A. Bank Clothiers men’s shop, two women’s boutiques, and a 6,000-square-foot Lavande Nail Spa.

(Courtesy of Main Street Property Services)

Lafayette Book Store owner Dave Simpson has closed his Mt. Diablo Boulevard location to concentrate on his smaller bookstore around the corner, next to Postino. In addition to selling used books, the store will offer a $10-per-month membership that gives members a 40 percent discount on new books. He hopes this business model will let him compete with big retailers, such as Amazon.com and Costco. Simpson says the membership plan is the first of its kind in the nation for an indie bookstore.

Pleasanton’s Acc’sentials clothing and accessories boutique has found a new home at 520 Main St. The location, formerly an antiques dealership, is three times the size of the former store and has a backyard that will accommodate owner Bennie McKay’s cocktail soirees and charity events.

Belinda M Designs opened a second clothing and accessories boutique in March at 1364 N. Main St. in Walnut Creek. The new store is more than four times larger than the original location, which is now dubbed Belinda M Designs, Too.

West of the Caldecott, Berkeley clothing boutique Dish recently launched Dish Home on the store’s second floor. It stocks eclectic accessories for the bedroom and nursery.