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.
Opening West Berkeley
High-intensity Pilates are coming soon to Berkeley courtesy of Plank + Power
The future home of Plank + Power in West Berkeley features high ceilings, poured concrete floors and a light filled mezzanine. Credit: Plank + Power
Plank + Power, an El Cerrito-based Pilates studio, is expanding into Berkeley with its second location inside the space formerly occupied by Keetsa on San Pablo Avenue.
The studio is known for its “high intensity” Pilates, according to owner Megan Gressel. But she doesn’t want that term to scare anyone away.
“I grew up in a time when exercise really felt like punishment,” she said. “And our goal is to kind of rewire everyone to find exercise as a celebration of everything that our bodies can do.”
Gressel began teaching Pilates in 2015 after years at a corporate job. As a new mom, she relished the flexibility the work gave her, and thoroughly enjoyed the work. But she wasn’t satisfied with the types of Pilates studios in her hometown of El Cerrito, so in 2023, she decided to open one herself.
But two and a half years in, the studio reached capacity and was unable to take on more members. So Gressel began the hunt for the right space to open a second location.
When she saw the space in West Berkeley, she was immediately drawn in by its high ceilings, concrete floors and sun-filled mezzanine.
“ I took one look at it and I was like, ‘Oh, this is where we’re meant to be,’” she said.
Plank + Power takes inspiration from classic principles of Pilates, but also incorporates cardio and strength training. Each class will get your heart rate up and push your muscles to failure, but they are also low-impact, according to Gressel, meaning easy on the joints.
Megan Gressel opened the first Plank + Power location in El Cerrito in 2023. Credit: Plank + Power
Plank + Power offers several membership options, which will be good at either studio, including eight classes for $189 per month, 12 classes for $219 per month and unlimited memberships for $299. Drop-in classes are $35 per class, with discounts for class packs. Beginners can take advantage of the Newbie Special of two classes for $35.
And while the Berkeley location won’t open until later this spring, Plank + Power will be offering special rates for its first 50 “founding members,” with unlimited classes at its Berkeley studio for $199 per month, $100 cheaper than the regular unlimited membership.
Gressel and her team can’t wait to be a part of the community of businesses in the area.
“We’re so excited to join the neighborhood,” said Gressel. “We can’t wait to make it our new home.”
Plank + Power Pilates, 2117 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. Connect via Instagram.
Open Thousand Oaks
Finding Vettey brings a bit of Mexico and Guatemala to Solano Avenue
Yvette Perez and her family during the grand opening of Finding Vettey in January. Courtesy: Finding Vettey
In 2016, Yvette Perez quit her job, sold her cherry red Mustang, packed a backpack full of clothes and bought a one-way ticket to Panama. She traveled through six countries in Central America, and was wowed by the local artisans she met along the way. She also met her future husband in Guatemala.
She dubbed the trip “Finding Vettey” (Vettey is a nickname for Yvette) and in 2020 used the name to start a business selling traditional goods from Mexico and Central America at local craft markets and online. And now, Finding Vettey is a brick-and-mortar shop on Solano Avenue.
Perez, who grew up in Berkeley, said she always dreamed of having her own store, inspired by her grandparents who had their own business in Mexico. When she met a group of Otomi women in Mexico making embroidered face masks, she knew she found something she wanted to sell.
“ And from there everyone kept recommending other artisans,” she said.
A selection of handmade kitchenware from Oaxaca on display at Finding Vettey. Courtesy: Finding Vettey
Finding Vettey sells a wide variety of handmade goods: pottery, glassware, jewelry, art, ornaments, clothing and more. There are pillows made by women artisans in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, using traditional waist loom weaving techniques; playful ceramic cups and mugs made by a family in Oaxaca; handwoven bucket bags made out of recycled plastics in Veracruz.
Perez said her business is bringing “a little bit of Mexico” to the community. During Finding Vettey’s grand opening on January 24, that community came out in force, including teachers and the principal of Sylvia Mendez Elementary School, where her young sons are part of the Spanish immersion program.
The store is also a way to teach her sons about their Mexican and Guatemalan heritage. She’s even begun taking them on work trips with her.
“Probably one of my favorite things is that they’re learning how the artisans work, hearing their stories, and getting to know the families,” she said. “It’s just a whole big family now.”
Finding Vettey, 1533 Solano Ave., Berkeley. Hours: Tuesday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Wednesday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Connect via Instagram and Facebook.
Closed Fourth Street
Cotopaxi closes after ‘ram-rod’ robbery
The former Cotopaxi storefront at 1915 Fourth St. Credit: Nathan Dalton for Berkeleyside
Cotopaxi, the outdoor gear and apparel company known for its splashy colors and “gear for good” mission, has closed.
The closure of the store has closed its Fourth Street location after less than three years and follows a “ram-raid” robbery in January, when burglars drove a pickup truck through the large front window, and made off with more than $20,000 in merchandise.
The store, which was located inside a section of the former Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto, never reopened after the incident.
In an email, a company spokesperson wrote that “Cotopaxi is prioritizing the continued success of its Hayes Valley location while thoughtfully exploring future retail opportunities across the broader Bay Area market.”
The company, which is based in Salt Lake City, has more than 20 store locations in the U.S., mostly in the Western states, along with five locations in Japan, according to its website.
The company’s other Bay Area store, in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley neighborhood, closed after a series of break-ins in 2022, with Cotopaxi CEO Davis Smith calling San Francisco a “city of chaos.” Later that year, the shop reopened and Smith apologized for denigrating the city.
Cotopaxi’s neighbor inside the former Spenger’s space, Vans Shoes, also recently closed without fanfare.
Cotopaxi, 1915 Fourth St., Suite 104, Berkeley. Connect via Facebook and Instagram.
Moved Telegraph
Whelan’s smoke shop reopens, expanded
Whelan’s, the 125-year-old smoke shop, has reopened on Telegraph Avenue.
After moving from its longtime home on Bancroft Way to make way for a forthcoming Raising Cane’s location, Whelan’s, the 125-year-old smoke shop, has reopened in the space recently vacated by Mars Mercantile space on Telegraph Avenue.
The new space, which opened in November, is nearly double the size of the former location, which closed last spring, and gives the store more room to sell cigars, pipes, bongs, lighters and other assorted smoking paraphernalia, as well as a variety of gift items like posters, wall art and clothing. Shoppers can also pop in for packaged drinks and snacks.
The space is also in a prime shopping spot, on the highly trafficked corner of Telegraph and Channing Way, and moves the shop away from Bancroft Way where construction has long hindered customer access, according to a longtime employee who identified himself as Ray.
He said that many longtime Mars Mercantile shoppers have dropped by and have appreciated the “Berkeley hippie atmosphere” of the new location, which is something the store was going for.
“It was important for us to honor the shop that was here before us,” he said.
Whelan’s Smoke Shop, 2398 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. Phone: 510-549-3218. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Connect via Instagram and Facebook.
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