Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org.
In the Spotlight UC Berkeley
Barnes & Noble College takes over UC Berkeley’s student stores
Barnes & Noble College is now running the Cal student stores. Courtesy: Cal Student Store
Barnes & Noble College is now running UC Berkeley’s student stores, including the Cal Student Store on Bancroft Way, the store inside the Helen Diller Anchor House, and the new California Memorial Stadium Store, as well as e-commerce operations.
The partnership was forged after a “highly competitive process,” according to a press release, and will allow the company “to modernize and elevate campus retail, leverage best-in-class technology to enhance the customer experience, improve affordability and access to course materials, and deepen engagement across the Golden Bear community.”
Other key benefits outlined in the press release include a “modern layout, improved flow, and a more customer-friendly environment,” as well as an “elevated merchandising assortment,” including exclusive items from Ebbets Field, the athletic apparel brand known for their throwback caps and jerseys.
The partnership went into effect on Jan. 20. The press release did not mention financial arrangements between the partners.
Barnes & Noble College operates more than 1,160 physical and virtual stores across the country. It is a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble Education, which Barnes & Noble spun off into an independent public company in 2015.
Cal Student Store, 2495 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Open Fourth Street
Free People brings boho fashion to Fourth Street
Free People, the boho fashion brand, has opened a new store on Fourth Street. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside
Free People, the women’s apparel brand with a bohemian bent, has opened a new store on Fourth Street. The shop, which opened on Jan. 30, carries a wide variety of pants, tops, dresses, sweaters and outerwear, as well as accessories like leather bags and belts. Its beauty and wellness line features natural perfumes, lip oils, lotions, candles, diffusers and more.
The Berkeley location is one of more than 200 Free People locations across the United States. The line is also carried in more than 1,400 specialty stores worldwide.
Free People was founded in West Philadelphia in the early 1970s by Dick Hayne. When Hayne opened a second shop, he renamed the company Urban Outfitters, a brand that became synonymous with young people’s fashion. In 1984, Urban Outfitters resurrected the Free People name with the launch of its wholesale line. The first Free People boutique opened in Paramus, New Jersey, in 2002.
Hayne is also the founder of Anthropologie, the women’s clothing and home goods store, which has a location on Fourth Street.
Free People, 1799 Fourth St., Berkeley. Phone: 510-495-0017. Hours: Sun-Thur: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Fri-Sat, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Connect via Instagram and Facebook.
In the Spotlight Elmwood
Do you want to take over Elements on College Avenue?
The owners of Elements on College Avenue are retiring and selling their store after more than 30 years of business. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside
The owners of Elements, the family-run apparel store on College Avenue, are retiring after more than 30 years in business and are looking for someone to take over the shop, according to Jason Wayman, who runs the store with his wife, Melissa Schappert.
Wayman repeatedly emphasized that Elements is not closing because of lack of business, and that business has been “buoyant” even during the pandemic, but after more than three decades, and because of health reasons, the couple is ready for retirement.
“You get to a point where you’re saying, what am I waiting for?” said Wayman. “Am I going to travel and see the world or am I just going to allow myself to keep working until I’m buried in a coffin?”
Elements is like a “mini department store,” according to Wayman, with a wide variety of clothing, lingerie, shoes and accessories. All of these items are currently 30% off as part of the store’s retirement sale.
The store also carries handmade, one-of-a-kind jewelry, which is sold on consignment, and is currently 20% off.
Wayman said that he and Schappert have had many parties interested in taking over the business, but they are holding out for just the right person.
“If they’re not capable of doing the kind of business we’ve been doing, we probably won’t take their offer,” said Wayman. “We want to keep this business alive for the community.”
That community has greeted the couple’s impending retirement with strong emotions, according to Wayman, with some longtime customers even breaking into tears at the thought of them leaving.
“The retirement represents a blessing for us,” said Wayman. “But it’s also very tough on us because we have an emotional connection to so many people and to the community in general.”
Elements, 2937 College Ave, Berkeley. Phone: 510-548-6876. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday-Tuesday, noon-5 p.m. Connect via Instagram and Facebook.
Open Fourth Street
Aiken returns to Fourth Street after 3-year pause
Aiken has returned to Fourth Street after a three-year absence. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside
Aiken is back. The clothing and homegoods store was a Fourth Street mainstay for 13 years, occupying the space that now houses Eileen Fisher until 2023. Randy Brewer, who owns the store with Fred Whitefield, has spent his years away from the shop consulting and repping a few clothing lines, but leaving Aiken made him realize how much he missed it.
“ I missed Fourth Street,” he said. “So I decided to open back up when a space became available.”
The new space, located inside the former CP Shades location, is much like the last, with a focus on sustainability, and an array of international items: clothing from Peru and India, Swedish jeans, Australian bags, as well as shoes, accessories and a variety of home goods.
“I just want it to be easy and fun this time around,” said Brewer, who has worked in the fashion industry for four decades. “ I want to focus on working with brands that I love and admire.”
The store reopened on Valentine’s Day, and Brewer said so far the community has welcomed him back with open arms.
“ I could not be more pleased with the reception,” he said. “A lot of people are new and a lot of people remember me from three years ago and are really happy I’m back. It just feels like home.”
Aiken, 1842 Fourth St., Berkeley. Phone: 415-654-2704 Hours: Sunday-Friday, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Saturday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Connect via Instagram.
Moved Gilman District
Inclusivity is the name of the game at Stella Carakasi Designer Outlet
Stella Carakasi designs clothing with all body sizes in mind. Courtesy: Stella Carakasi
Stella Carakasi, the direct-to-consumer clothing brand that caters to women of every body size, has moved its outlet store from its longtime location on Ninth Street into the space recently vacated by R. Kassman Piano on Gilman Street nearby.
The new space, which opened in January, is “smaller and much cozier,” according to a Facebook post, “but it is filled with the same great deals and the same friendly faces you know.”
The brand was founded more than 30 years by fashion designer Stella Carakasi, with inclusivity in mind.
“My collections are designed to flatter a diverse range of body shapes and sizes,” said Carakasi in a video on Instagram. “Because I firmly believe that women wearing a size 22, should be able to have the same shopping experience as women wearing a size 2.”
The brand sells a wide variety of tops, bottoms, sweaters, jackets and coats, as well as a selection of Kantha jewelry. The outlet also offers “exclusive special weekend deals,” according to the company’s website.
Stella Carakasi Designer Outlet, 843 Gilman St., Suite B, Berkeley. Phone: 510-559-1692. Hours: Friday-Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday & Thursday by appointment. Connect via Instagram.
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