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The San Antonio District has been the largest and most important shopping area in Mountain View since Sears opened here in the 1950s. Since then, the area near the intersection of San Antonio Road and El Camino Real has gone through a variety of incarnations. Malls like the Old Mill and the original San Antonio Center have come and gone, as well as grand plans to transform the area into one cohesive super regional shopping center.
Today, the shopping and dining is centered in the San Antonio Center bounded by El Camino Real, Showers Drive, California Avenue, and San Antonio Road. The center was remodeled in 1994 into a discount shopping center after the original plans for a two story outdoor mall fell through. Wal-Mart opened in the center, and the parking lot for Wal-Mart wiped out the center of the old mall. Even before Wal-Mart knocked out the central mall, the shopping center was already disjointed due to a variety of separate ownerships.
But the remodeled shopping center is even more disjointed and hard to navigate. The tenant mix is a unique combination of stores you would see in discount shopping center, and stores you would see in a normal mall. The portion of the center along Showers Drive and California Avenue has been remodeled to at least look cohesive. But the portions along San Antonio Road still look as they did when Sears opened in the late 1950s. The area around the center is also home to a variety of smaller shopping areas. It may not be the nicest shopping area, but it fulfils Mountain View shoppers' needs with its wide variety of stores and restaurants.
Below you will find a map, and a listing of stores and restaurants. But first, I want to high light a few stores that make this shopping center unique. I am not associated with any of the businesses mentioned here.
One Memory Lane One Memory Lane is a new store in the shopping center. The store is a small independently owned scrapbook store, where you can buy anything you could possibly need to create your next photo album. This small retail store is an anomaly in a shopping center that mainly has large discount retailers and service oriented tenants.
San Antonio Hobby Shop The San Antonio Hobby Shop is a Mountain View institution. It's been in the shopping center since the 1960s, and is one of the few stores that has survived the mall's redevelopment. The Hobby Shop is a huge store, and carries products for all types of hobbies including, trains, model cars, model planes, and much more.
Milk Pail Market The Milk Pail Market is also a Mountain View Institution. It's located on the outskirts of the shopping center on California Street. Originally, the Milk Pail was a drive through dairy, later it became a drive through grocery store. Now, it's an independently owned open air grocery store and European-style market.
Burger King Located in the unremodeled portion of the shopping center, this Burger King is unique due to its 49er theme. Painted murals of the 49ers' history, large photos of the team playing, and 49er memorabilia decorate the dining area. |
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The above map illustrates the San Antonio Area. The numbers of stores listed below correspond with their locations on the map. |
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Anchor Stores |
Restaurants |
Stores |
Services |
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14) Walmart 15) Rite-Aid 16) Sears 17) Ross 18) Albertson's 19) Mervyns's
1A: Tower
2A: Safeway
4A: Target
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1) Subway 2) Buenobueno 3) Fresh Choice 4) Chili's 5) Burger King 6) Savor Mexico 7) Star Rocket's Diner 8) Sonia's Deli 9) New Tung Kee 11) McDonald's 12) Lucky Express 13) Dairy Queen
5A: Crossings Cafe
4A: Pizza Hut (inside Target) Taco Bell (inside Target)
3A: Taqueria Marlene |
20) Shoe Pavilion 21) Sportsmart Express 22) Hollywood Video 23) Standard Optical 24) Pen West 25) Trader Joe's 26) GNC 27) Neutral Ground 28) One Memory Lane 29) San Antonio Hobby Shop 30) Gospel Books and Music 31) Beverages and More 32) Jo-Ann Fabrics 33) Funcoland 34) Crescent Jewelers 35) Radio Shack 36) Payless Shoes 37) Mail Boxes Etc. 38) Sally Beauty Supply 39) Norwalk Furniture 40) "Silicon Valley Birthplace" 41) Barron Park Supply 42) Milk Pail Market
1A: Tower Records-Books-Video Long's Clothestime Peninsula Beauty Supply
2A: Safeway
3A: Marlene's Bakery-Grocery
4A Target
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43) Quality Tune-Up 44) (name?) Beauty Salon 45) California Yoga Center 46) Tropical Tan 47) 24 Hour Fitness 48) Sears Automotive 49) offices 50) Fantastic Hair 51) Kumon Learning Center 52) Alta View Animal Hospital 53) San Antonio Dental 54) Grateful Head Salon 55) San Antonio Nails
2A: Wells Hair Salon
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