Sprouts & Shutters: New 'Lifestyle' Store Opens, Namaste Yoga Merges, L'Amyx Tea Bar Closes

Wondering what new businesses are opening up in your town? Our new monthly “Sprouts & Shutters” column highlights restaurant, retail and other business news in the Piedmont area, Rockridge and Berkeley.

Earlier this fall Pimlico Place created a new “lifestyle” store, consolidating its two stores into one on Piedmont Avenue next to Barney’s. Owner Annette Benyamin says she’s expanded the store’s square footage and inventory, adding more fashion and home accessories and creating a small section for men (such as vintage cufflinks and barware). For more information about Pimlico Place, which sells vintage and contemporary accessories from around the world, visit pimlico-place.com.

After 12 years in business, L’Amyx Tea Bar closed its tea house last month on Piedmont Avenue.

The Piedmont area’s Namaste Yoga & Wellness and Berkeley’s 7th Heaven Yoga recently merged to form the largest yoga and wellness resource in the East Bay. The three centers in the Grand Lake district, Rockridge and Berkeley will all run under the Namaste name and offer more than 100 yoga and movement classes each week. Facilities will include more than six yoga and movement studios, two wellness centers and retail boutiques in each location. Learn more at namasteoakland.com. 

Fans of European-style brew will soon get a new hangout in Rockridge: Trappist Provisions is set to open the week after Thanksgiving a couple doors down from Wood Tavern on College Avenue. The new tap room and beer store, brought to you by the owners of Old Oakland’s popular The Trappist, will seat about 20 and feature nine beers on tap and 200 bottles for sale.

Did you miss the news Patch shared about San Francisco’s A16 opening in Rockridge? Read more about the new restaurant in the Inside Scoop via Rockridge Patch. 

What’s happening at Rockridge CVS Pharmacy? Will it stay open or close as part of the Safeway construction project? Get the details in Patch’s recent story.

Fans of Berkeley’s award-winning La Rose Bistro will have to travel to Concord to dine on the restaurant’s duck confit, salmon in saffron sauce and other popular dishes. La Rose moved last week to Concord’s Todos Santos and is now called La Sen Bistro.  

Opening Update: Belli Osteria, previewed in the last column, opened Oct. 16 on Shattuck in Green Papaya’s old space.

Several food awards were handed out last month and many local Berkeley and Oakland-area restaurants came out on top. Berkeley’s Corso, FIVE, Gather and eVe and Rockridge’s Wood Tavern are just a few that made the Michelin Bib Gourmand list of restaurants that offer “excellence on a budget."

The 2013 Zagat features Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, Comal and Cheese Board, and Piedmont Avenue area’s Commis was the East Bay’s sole representative in the Michelin Guide. Finally, Rockridge’s Oliveto and Berkeley’s Comal were featured in the 2012 Diablo Food Awards. See the full lists at michelintravel.com/michelin-selection/san-francisco-2012, zagat.com/sanfrancisco and diablomag.com/Diablo-Magazine/November-2012.

Want to find out what else is opening the East Bay? Sprouts & Shutters now covers 21 cities. Read the latest columns covering the Walnut Creek area, Tri-Valley and Fremont/Tri-Cities communities.

Did you miss Patch's last retail and restaurant roundup? Read about these and more in our last Sprouts & Shutters column:  

• Belli and Pasta-In-A-Box in Berkeley
• Oak Common in Piedmont area
• Ramen Shop and The Flower & The B in Rockridge

Know of a business opening or closing in the Piedmont area? Please tell Patch about it for a future Sprouts & Shutters column. Simply add it to this short form. Or send me a news tip at patchsprouts@gmail.com.

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