I've driven past "Miki's Farm Fresh Market" on Alma street many times but I never felt an invitation to enter that shopping center. To me, the fact that you can't see into the center from the street makes it uninviting. It's an unfortunate design choice that I'm seeing repeated at the shopping center at San Antonio & El Camino - and presumably it's becoming more popular. It seems to me that these recent shopping center developments have become very unfriendly in their appearance to pedestrians & vehicle street traffic - a pattern I hope will not become the norm.

What you are seeing is the community not involved in certain planning processes along with the City. There should have been bike planning and pedestrian planning there at the site connecting the neighborhoods across Alma. The development funds for transportation and improvements for new developments should be used for the actual development themselves and not transferred to another project out of the area.

Glad to see more family-oriented businesses opening up in midtown. We don't go downtown any more now that they are replacing all the family-oriented businesses with yuppie businesses.

Craig-- if you drive on San Antonio you can clearly see into the center. There is a big open parking lot n front of Safeway.
Also the center is large so,seeing everything frm the street is not an option. This center will be a welcome edition to decent-shopping-hungry palo alto residents.

@Not an issue: if you drive, bike, or walk by the new shopping complext at El Camino Real & San Antonio on the El Camino Real, the most that you'll see is the back of several stores. Only "The Counter" burger joint is visible to a passerby, and that primarily because they have outdoor seating (fenced-in outdoor seating) that sort of faces the street.

None of the other shops (Verizon, Fidelity, etc.) have anything but signs on their El Camino Real-facing exterior. You have to actually enter the parking lot to even see what other stores are present at that location.

If you pass by the complex on San Antonio, you can see into the parking lot and then see the Safeway store, as you note, but I think Craig's point still holds.

And his point _definitely_ holds regarding the friendliness of the street-facing facade of the old "Miki's" soon-to-be Grocery Outlet.

That location is going to struggle to draw sufficient traffic even with a cut-rate grocery store because of his critique. Also, the parking lot is small. (There's also some underground parking, but half of it is reserved for building residents, not for shoppers.) In addition, the entrance is just north of an intersection at Alma & Meadow that is always backed up during the morning and afternoon rush. And if the train happens to trundle by, then traffic gets jammed up even worse.

Opal'z soap making shop didn't close, it moved to Mountain View and is now open by appointment only for parties, classes, etc.

So Nathan, do you want the stores facing outward, if you want that you would have to move them inside and put parking spaces close to the street. Since obviously if you the stores facing outwards and by the sidewalk, people would have to park inside and then walk around to enter the store.
For me shopping centers do not look " un inviting" or " unfriendly" . If there is a store that I am nterested in, I will go to shop there. Does not matter what is facing out.
I think the cut rate grocery store will do quite well. Though if they do too well, there will be the usual complaints about traffic ( though in this case it will be an example of the neighbors not being careful for what they wished for) . Mikis was another in a long line of boutique palo alto stores that most people could not do their everyday shopping at

The new Safeway and shopping center at San Antonio is uninviting and difficult to access. The ground level parking area is tiny. And a good bit of the parking is designated for electric cars only. Not one of the electric car spaces had a car parked there. What a joke. I drove through the shopping center on two occasions, and then just left. I like to park in front of a grocery store, on the ground level.

Kate-- there are at least 4 entrances to the center on San Antonio and at least two from elcamilno. There is parking for about 100 cars in front of the Safeway. There are a few electric car parking spots on the side of the building.
There is also a large upper level parking area as well.
Have you tried parking at the midtown Safeway or exited onto middlefield? Not only is access and parking better at the San Antonio store, but you have a bett selection in a bright, well lit store , as opposed to the small, dingy midtown Safeway

CONGRATULATIONS DAD!!
Urban Style is going to do well in Midtown.
Although it too is tucked inside the parking lot, I'm sure many people young and old will find it.

HOORAY FOR URBAN STYLE BARBER SHOP!!! Get Faded Stay Faded!