Coming soon

First up, the long-empty restaurant space at 911 Main St. is finally getting a new tenant. Years ago, this location was home to one of my favorite restaurants, Aly’s on Main. But Aly’s closed in June of 2018, and the space has sat idle ever since. Off and on over the past several years I’ve perceived work going on inside, and, at least once, my public questioning of whether that activity would actually bear fruit prompted a message from one of the proprietors letting me know that they hadn’t given up. Finally, it seems, their efforts have borne fruit: this week the wrappers began coming off of what apparently will be a new incarnation of Ghostwood Beer Company.

Ghostwood’s prior taproom, you may recall, until August 2020 had been located on Brewster Street near the Caltrain tracks. Although that taproom has been closed ever since, the brewery itself has continued to operate from an industrial space on East Bayshore Road in Redwood City.

I went by 911 Main St. earlier this week, and saw that the storefront’s windows are now adorned with, among other things, Ghostwood’s logo and the words “Craft Beer,” “Cocktails,” and “Kitchen.” Although the actual name of the new venture had yet to be posted, I did a quick check of the location’s liquor license and noted that the business name on that document was “Ghostwood” (which may be a placeholder, and not the actual name that will grace the business’s new premises). That license, which is for an “on-sale general eating place,” backs up the word “kitchen” on the front glass and confirms that this new location will improve upon Ghostwood Beer Company’s Brewster Street taproom by ensuring a reliable source of food to go with the beer (and cocktails — another improvement).

Over on Broadway, on the block between Jefferson Avenue and Main Street currently closed to traffic to facilitate outdoor dining, the old Courthouse 2021 restaurant space is getting what should be an exciting new tenant. “Mazra,” a Mediterranean restaurant that has been doing gangbuster business in San Bruno for the past two years, has apparently gotten so popular (thanks to being named #2 on Yelp’s Top 100 list last spring; currently they’re #13 on “Top Places to Eat in the Bay Area”) that they’re opening this second location in the hopes it’ll relieve some of the pressure.

The folks behind Mazra have chosen well: not only did they snag a restaurant space with a large indoor dining area, they’ll have plenty of outdoor seating close to the outdoor dining spaces of some of Redwood City’s most popular restaurants, such as Zareen’s, Vesta and LV Mar. I suspect that Mazra will need that extra dining space: not only will they be serving their ever-popular falafel and charcoal-broiled kebabs (among other things), on weekends they’ll also be serving a Turkish breakfast.

Finally, the historic storefront at 901 Main St. that until last year was home to Lovejoy’s Tea Room has been leased. Soon it will be home to “Angel Looks Studio,” a “family owned business that provides all types of self care services.” Given the image of a pair of scissors on the recently installed awning, I presume that this means hair care, and, if the images on their Facebook page are any indication, nails. But their mission statement simply refers to “self care” and doesn’t mention any services in particular, so perhaps they’ll surprise us. Either way, we’ll find out rather quickly once Angel Looks opens its doors.

Downtown Redwood City will always have a few empty storefronts; that’s just one of the consequences of the normal business cycle. But Redwood City is soon to have three fewer, which is terrific news given our current economic climate. Now if we could just find tenants for the old Cost Plus storefront (at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Middlefield Road) and the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant space (at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Broadway) ... .

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.