Best of the East Bay - Shops & Services

Sweet treats, comfy sneaks, a helpful hardware store, and where to browse the good stuff.

Photograph by Cedric Glasier

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► Place to Get a Cheap Eco Car

► Candy Shop

► Place for Athletic Footwear

► Independent Auto Repair

► Way to Water Your Yard

► Hardware Store

► Bridal Boutique

► Magazine Heaven

► Tailor

► Place to Get Your Cartier Fix

► Way to Help Two Causes at the Same Time

► Recycled Roses

► More 2009 Shops & Services Readers Picks

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Hardware Store

Reader Pick

+ Diablo voters agree: Ace is the “helpful place.” There are 12 Ace Hardware locations in the East Bay, including a new Walnut Creek store. Although my DIY dad adored the crowded workshop dustiness of the old Kelway’s, I appreciate the cleaner, industrial chic look of the new 12,500-square-foot Ace. It has everything you need, from nontoxic paints to chrome bolts for your Harley, to plants and gardening supplies. The staff is eager to help, like the time I rushed in to buy a particular fluorescent bulb. The man greeting me at the door led me right to it, and I was on my way in five minutes.
acehardware.com. —martha ross

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Bridal Boutique

Editor Pick

+ East Bay brides are lucky to have Unveiled in the neighborhood. The little shop is a wealth of wedding what-have-yous, from favor boxes and unity candles to rhinestone-studded bride-to-be Ts. For my big day last fall, I picked up handmade thank-you cards for the bridesmaids, and the sales staff went out of its way to find and special order the perfect gift for a car-obsessed three-year-old ring bearer: an engraved pewter sports car bank.
1513 Cypress St., Walnut Creek, (925) 944-0132, unveiledeventsandgifts.com.  —Leeanne Jones

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Magazine Heaven

Editor Pick

+ Moleskine journals? Flying Burrito Brothers records? Cool David Bowie T-shirts? Strange coffee table photo books devoted to Mexican wrestling? Issues, a modern-day take on an old-time newsstand, has a quirky collection of goods, but its biggest draw is the magazines. The walls are lined with them, covering topics from Italian soccer to runway fashion. Oakland residents Joe Colley and Noella Teele, who opened the shop two years ago, are devoted to the idea that print is not dead, and, judging by the steady stream of customers one Wednesday afternoon, they might be right.
20 Glen Ave., Oakland, (510) 652-5700, issuesshop.com.  —Ethan Fletcher

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Tailor

Editor Pick

+ Just when you thought sewing was a lost art, you find Michael Hong, owner of Americlean Quality Dry Cleaners,  who used to make men’s suits. He has an artist’s eye with alterations and mending. Even his patches on jeans are amazing—applied on the inside and incorporated into the fabric, with meticulously even rows of stitches.
1545 Palos Verdes Mall, Walnut Creek, (925) 935-5720.  —Michaela Jarvis