Opinions
by Around Dublin Team on April 16, 2012 | 
3 Comments | Topics: Announcements · Local Businesses · Opinions
Late last month, Best Buy announced that it would be closing 50 stores in 2012. Since that bombshell announcement, residents in and around Dublin, CA had been wondering if the Best Buy store at Hacienda Crossings would end up on the chopping block. Best Buy has now finalized the complete list of the 50 stores it plans to close this year, and the Dublin location is safe. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Best Buy’s stores in Pittsburg, East Palo Alto, and Manteca.
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by John M. Zukoski on April 13, 2012 | 1 Comment | Topics: Opinions · Restaurants
The Habit Burger Grill in Pleasanton, CA has quickly become the star of the new Pleasanton Gateway shopping center on Bernal Avenue off I-680. With the Tri-Valley’s latest Safeway as its anchor, Pleasanton Gateway has already attracted many well known tenants including Wells Fargo, Union Bank, Panda Express, Baja Fresh, and Great Clips. According to The Storefront, a blog dedicated to retail commercial real estate in the Tri-Valley, the “new center is fetching rents in the $4 per square foot range.” Based on the occupancy rate and the number of visitors, Pleasanton Gateway appears to be doing much better than Dublin’s Grafton Station with Lowe’s as its anchor.
Open since late February, The Habit Burger Grill at Pleasanton Gateway launched to a huge crowd who learned about the chain’s new location mostly through word-of-mouth. The long lines and packed house at The Habit are the result of the beloved burger chain’s commitment to premium ingredients, gourmet flare, and incredibly reasonable prices. Succulent burgers charbroiled to perfection sell for under $5. Sandwiches with tender marinated breasts of chicken, tri-tip, albacore tuna, or veggie patties on artisan bread cost between $5 and $6. Shakes run for about $3, and ice cream cones are just one buck. No wonder so many throughout the Tri-Valley have already developed The Habit, as a family of four can eat like royalty for under $40 in Pleasanton.
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by John M. Zukoski on April 11, 2012 | 4 Comments | Topics: Opinions
Residents living in and around Dublin, CA are breathing a collective sigh of relief as the Bay Area job market heats up in response to a recovering economy. Jobless claims are at a four-year low, the USA unemployment rate fell to 8.2% in March, and the American private sector has added over four million jobs in the past two years. At a time when IT professionals can practically write their own paychecks, Yahoo!’s recently announced layoff of 2,000 employees must have seemed like an unexpected windfall for recruiters in the social media, niche marketing, research, and e-health sectors. Many recruiters have more job openings throughout the Bay Area than they can fill and have long salivated over Yahoo!’s incredible talent pool.
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by Around Dublin Team on April 9, 2012 | 25 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Development · Opinions
The blank and very prominent waymarkers on the northern borders of the long-vacant parcel at the Promenade in Dublin, CA have stirred up quite a buzz among the nearby residents. One of the two waymarkers is close to the traffic lights across from the Cottages at Dublin Ranch Villages, and the other is near the traffic lights close to Courtyards at Dublin Ranch Villages. According to city documents attached to the currently empty signage, the waymarkers will point to future residential development in East Dublin. In light of the City’s current plans to cram 82 homes with no driveways into a part of the Promenade that had always been designated as retail and public/semi-public space, the locations of these two waymarkers have raised eyebrows among homeowners who bought homes in and around Dublin Ranch Villages.
For a decade, Dublin residents have been promised a high-end retail experience at a walking distance from their homes in the heart of the Dublin Ranch Villages. According to its official website, the Promenade “is the perfect combination of retail, dining, entertainment and office space.” Marketing the City of Dublin, CA as “one of the most desirable locations to live and work in the Bay Area,” the land owner Charter Properties describes the Promenade as “a village center that offers a wide variety of shopping experiences. The leasing opportunities are spectacular with 230,000 square feet of retail, dining, entertainment, and office space. Even though this new shopping area is quite large with the latest amenities, it still retains the charm and intimacy of an old-fashioned main street.” Ron Tong, one of Promenade developer Jim Tong’s sons, is listed as a contact on the Promenade’s official website.
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by John M. Zukoski on April 5, 2012 | 21 Comments | Topics: Local Businesses · Opinions · Restaurants
Johnny Garlic’s made a tremendous splash when it became the new anchor restaurant at Hacienda Crossings in Dublin, CA last year. The crowds have seemingly remained robust despite receiving a ghastly 2.5 out of 5 star rating from over 300 Yelpers, with more than 50% of the reviews under 3 stars. What is there not to love about Johnny Garlic’s? Johnny Garlic’s features great food from a menu designed by foodie legend Guy Fieri, a terrific location right next to one of the top movie theater complexes in the Bay Area, and a super friendly wait staff, yet it is having a tremendous time getting love from everyday Yelpers.
The Around Dublin Team visited Johnny Garlic’s on a recent Saturday for an early lunch before catching The Hunger Games at Regal Hacienda Crossings IMAX. The menu offered some clues to why Johnny Garlic’s Yelp reviews have been so rough.
The prices on most items are simply too high. Johnny Garlic’s raises the bar high by charging Ruth’s Chris Steak House prices for an above average Applebee’s experience. We ordered a plate of Brick Wings for $10.95, a rack of Baby Back Ribs for $26.95, and a Seared Yellow Fin Ahi Ciabatta for $15.50. The Seared Yellow Fin Ahi Ciabatta is $3 more than the price listed on the website. Our total lunch bill with an iced tea came to $61.28 after tax.
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by John M. Zukoski on April 4, 2012 | 36 Comments | Topics: Local Issues · Opinions · Schools
Residents in Dublin, CA will have a chance to vote for another bond measure proposed by Dublin Unified School District (DUSD). The $99M school bond measure will appear on the June 5th ballot. At $29 per $100,000 of the assessed property value, a Dublin home with an assessed value of $500,000 will have to pay an extra $145 per year. The new $99M measure is in addition to the $184M Measure C bond approved in 2004.
Dublin resident and taxpayer advocate George Williams has formed a group to oppose the DUSD’s latest tax levy. The following is an open letter from Mr. Williams:
The taxpayers in Dublin, CA are again being asked to tax themselves with another $99M School Bond. According to the District Superintendent, DUSD will “need” another $200 Million in the near future.
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by Judith Henderson on March 28, 2012 | No Comments | Topics: Local Businesses · Opinions · Things To Do
When entering the home of associate Chef Noel Keller, I was offered a beautiful peachy-pink hued Raspberry Sparkling Brut-Wine from the Ryhan Estate Vineyard of Livermore, CA. Served in a frozen champagne flute, the chilled wine was refreshing and made the term, “we eat with our eyes,” a reality. I am not usually a bubbly kind of person, especially when the word “Brut” is included on a label; however, in the case of this estate bubbly, the term Brut is used to define the level of dryness in the wine during the development of residual sugars formed from by the grape and fruit fermentation.
This evening, the domestic Ryhan Estate sparkling wines tickled my nose and curled my toes in the fashion of a good Parisian Champagne. With nose buried deep in the glass, my mouth gushed in a syrupy ripe muddling of ripe raspberries, unfurling a ribbon of citrus zest, enrobing the tongue in a clean crisp snap. This wine is definitely made for spring.
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by Around Dublin Team on March 26, 2012 | 30 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Local Businesses · Local Issues · Opinions · Restaurants
After its very public dispute with the Afghan-owned Sahara Market over the market’s plan to expand, the City of Dublin, CA seems to have its sight set on another minority-owned small business within its borders. Phillip Chin, an octogenarian Chinese American who has owned and operated the Chinese restaurant Willow Tree for over 30 years, is the latest victim.
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by Tyler Moxley on March 24, 2012 | No Comments | Topics: Opinions
If you are looking at different neighborhoods in Dublin, CA, please visit our Dublin Ranch Neighborhoods page. This page features information on schools, parks, floor plans, and an interactive neighborhood map of Dublin Ranch Neighborhood.
The number of detached homes sold in Dublin, CA decreased by 4 in February 2012. A total of 13 homes sold in February compared to 17 in January. The highest sale price for homes in Dublin was $836,265 on Brandini Drive. That home sold at $258 a square foot. The lowest sale price for Dublin homes was $360,000 on Sunwood Drive. That home sold at $323 a square foot.
The average days on market for Dublin homes was 29 with an average list price of $562,674 at $278 a square foot. The average sale price was $561,789 at $279 a square foot.
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