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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
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Walgreens has been open for one week today at Green Valley Center on Diablo Road near I-680. The space has been vacant since 2006 when Albertsons closed its doors at that location.
“Everyone’s excited that we’re open,” said assistant manager Nancy Wong. “The first day we gave out free ice cream and water bottles with goodies back in the pharmacy.”
The store is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Employees said customers are waiting to come in when they open in the morning, and people also stop in during the evening for food items.
Hospice Shoppe, located in the center and run by Hospice of the East Bay, has seen a brisk increase in business since Walgreens opened, said store supervisor Carmen Siems.
“It’s been really good for everybody,” she said, “with more foot traffic and more sales.”
The shop is now also open on Sunday afternoons as are all the other Hospice Shoppes. There was no reason before, said Siems, since there was no one in the shopping center.
Store owners in the center have lamented the long vacancy at the location and some have closed their doors. The other half of the Albertsons space is being rented by Fresh and Easy, a British food store chain that has stores in Southern California. It focuses on organic produce, fresh sandwiches, meats and cheeses at low prices. Although it is paying rent, apparently no improvements have been made to its half of the premises.
Its Web site lists the location as a “future store,” along with sites in Walnut Creek and Concord and two in Hayward.
In your article about Walgreens opening at the Green Valley Center on Diablo Road, you mentioned the Hospice Shoppe next door. It says “Hope Hospice” operates the shop. It is Hospice of East Bay not Hope Hospice. They are different organizations.