Cupertino's Long-Empty Storefronts on Stevens Creek Are Filling In, Just as the Wolfe Road Ramp Closes for a Year

The storefront at 20803 Stevens Creek Boulevard sat empty from 2019 until this fall. Sprouts Farmers Market's old space at 20558 Stevens Creek was empty from 2023. On Friday, October 9, the second of those addresses reopened as a Japanese supermarket, and USA TODAY reported a line out the door.

The tenants signing for Stevens Creek and the Wolfe Road side of town are mostly specialty food operators, and many of them are Asian-themed businesses. The City of Cupertino now lists each one by address and square footage in the City Manager's newsletter. The national chains these tenants replace include a grocery chain, a vitamin retailer, and a bakery-café. A cookie franchise that came in during 2025 is already gone.

Who moved into which empty space

Each recent arrival on the corridor took over a space that a different kind of business had left.

The bank's space is 3,280 square feet, and it is open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jingege & YaoYao, a Chinese restaurant, took 4,370 square feet at Marketplace and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The largest of the four is the former Le Boulanger at about 6,550 square feet, which the City's September 30 newsletter lists as the future home of Specialty's Café & Bakery.

The one storefront on the list that isn't food is the bank. The other three are a grocery, a sit-down restaurant, and a bakery-café.

Hashi Market is the anchor, and Cupertino got the first California store

Hashi Market started in New York City and picked Cupertino for its first California location, according to the City of Cupertino's announcement. SFGATE describes the business as a fresh-food supermarket, a mini department store, and a catering service all in one, located at Cupertino Crossroads.

USA TODAY's description makes the case for a stop on the way home. The shelves carry imported snacks, Asian seasonings, Japanese and Korean skincare, and collectibles. The seafood counter sells sashimi-grade fish and cuts fresh tuna. The prepared-food case has sushi and onigiri, and the sweets include daifuku. USA TODAY also spoke with a Sunnyvale shopper on opening day who praised the ingredients and the fresh and ready-made food. That suggests the store's draw already reaches past Cupertino. According to SFGATE, Mayor Kitty Moore welcomed the market and said the City looked forward to its becoming part of the community.

Cupertino won't keep the only California Hashi for long. USA TODAY lists planned stores at 25 N. Milpitas Blvd. in Milpitas, 1791 Decoto Road in Union City, and 2992 S. Norfolk Street in San Mateo, with no opening dates yet.

The next group is lining up at Nineteen800, on the Wolfe Road side

Hashi's opening came as several other Asian-themed businesses were working through Cupertino's permitting process. SFGATE, citing the City, named Kunjip Express, EE Sushi, CoCo Ichibanya Curry House, and DuoDuo Snacks.

The City's October 14 newsletter gave one of those names an address and placed it in a group of four new tenants headed to Nineteen800. All four had submitted tenant-improvement plans:

• CoCo Ichibanya Curry House, 2,804 square feet, 19900 Vallco Parkway, Suite 100
• LX Fitness, 1,600 square feet, 19900 Vallco Parkway, Suite 150
• More Yogurt, 1,567 square feet, 19900 Vallco Parkway, Suite 160
• Baby Café, 3,615 square feet, 10088 North Wolfe Road, Suite 100

The City called the mix "dining, wellness, and family-oriented amenities." Three of the four serve food or families, which matches the pattern on Stevens Creek. All four addresses are on Vallco Parkway and North Wolfe Road, the road VTA is rebuilding where it crosses I-280.

A cookie chain that came and went

The tenant pool isn't only growing. In October, the Mercury News reported that Cupertino's Crumbl had closed earlier in 2026. The shop opened in February 2025. It was part of a nationwide pullback by the chain. The paper reported 57 Crumbl closures so far in 2026, seven of them in California, and Cupertino's was the only one reported in Northern California.

The Cupertino store closed because of decisions made at the chain's headquarters, across many markets at once. Hashi made the opposite bet when it chose Cupertino as its California entry point.

The drive to Wolfe Road changed on October 2

Anyone driving Wolfe Road to reach Nineteen800 will see the construction before the new storefronts. VTA's I-280/Wolfe Road Interchange Improvements Project is building a new Wolfe Road bridge over I-280, new ramps, and bicycle and pedestrian upgrades. VTA puts the project's funding at $80 million to $90 million from 2016 Measure B.

The biggest change for daily driving started at 6 a.m. on Friday, October 2. The Wolfe Road on-ramp to northbound I-280, near the Marriott, closed so crews could build the foundation for the new bridge and put up retaining walls along I-280, according to VTA's project page. The City says the closure is expected to last about one year. Northbound drivers on Wolfe Road who want northbound I-280 are sent to the existing loop on-ramp.

Shorter closures are being added on top of that one. VTA scheduled weekend work for November 7 and 8, with closures of the northbound I-280 off-ramp and the southbound Wolfe Road turn pocket set to run from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon, along with overnight work near the Hampton Apartments. VTA posts new notices on its project notices page, which is the place to check before a Saturday trip to Wolfe Road.

So the newest group of tenants will open into a construction zone. For the next year or so, getting to Nineteen800 by car means more planning than it used to.

The rest of the fall, on the City's calendar

Away from the commercial strip, the City's calendar for the rest of the fall centers on McClellan Ranch Preserve and Quinlan Community Center:

1. November 13: Join-A-Ranger night hike and flashlight tour at McClellan Ranch Preserve, 22221 McClellan Road.
2. November 14: Paper Shredding and Environmental Recycling at De Anza College Parking Lot A, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd.
3. November 28: Baer Blacksmith Shop Demonstrations at McClellan Ranch Preserve.
4. December 4: The free Community Tree Lighting, 6 to 8 p.m., at Quinlan Community Center, 10185 North Stelling Road.
5. December 5: Breakfast with Santa at Quinlan Community Center, with seatings at 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30 a.m. Advance registration is required.

The shredding event is the only one of these on Stevens Creek itself.

Changes like these on a commercial corridor eventually show up in how buyers see the homes nearby, whether that's a new grocery within walking distance or a year of detours on the way to the freeway. If you own near Stevens Creek or Wolfe Road and want to know how these openings and the interchange work might affect your plans, Nick Delis is glad to go through it with you. Schedule a private Peninsula market consultation.