Shopping on California Avenue

California Avenue is where Palo Alto shops when it is not in a hurry. The street runs east from El Camino Real to the California Avenue Caltrain station, about a third of a mile. Its central blocks have been closed to cars since 2020. Shoppers walk down the middle of the roadway past planters, cafe tables and bike racks, then duck into small storefronts on either side.

The mix is local. You will find a shoe repair shop that opened in 1940, a women's boutique from 1979, a natural foods store with roots in the early 1970s and a game store with hundreds of titles on its shelves. There are no department stores and very few chains. This guide groups the shops by area, explains how parking and the train work and points you to our directory listings for hours and contacts. For the street's history as the main street of old Mayfield, read the California Avenue neighborhood guide.

How the street is laid out

Think of California Avenue as three zones. The car-free blocks run from El Camino Real to Birch Street. East of Birch the street carries traffic again and continues past Mollie Stone's to Park Boulevard and the station. The side streets that cross it, including Birch, Ash, Park and Lambert, hold a second ring of shops, salons and offices. A fourth strip runs along El Camino Real itself, just north and south of the California Avenue corner.

Addresses can be confusing. Some businesses on the same block use "California Avenue" while their neighbors use "South California Avenue." Both refer to this commercial street, so do not let the prefix send you somewhere else. Mapping apps handle either form.

Shops on the car-free blocks

The heart of the street, between El Camino Real and Birch Street, mixes everyday errands with browsing. These are the shops we have verified for our directory:

• Leaf & Petal: an independent, women-owned boutique selling women's clothing, jewelry, accessories and gifts since 1979.
• The Cobblery: a family-owned shoe store and repair shop on the street since 1940, handling resoling, leather work and alterations.
• Gamelandia: a tabletop game store with an open play library of more than 600 games, trading card events and party rooms.
• Christian Science Reading Room: a small bookstore and quiet reading space run by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Palo Alto.
• Country Sun Natural Foods: an independent natural foods store with organic produce, supplements, body care and organic wine.
• Vin Vino Wine: a neighborhood wine shop and tasting bar with daily tastings, themed flights and a monthly wine club.
• Summit Bicycles: a bike shop focused on electric and commuter bikes, with repairs, suspension service, rentals and trade-ins.
• Palo Alto Eyeworks: an independent optical shop run by a registered optician, selling eyeglasses and contact lenses since 1992.

Two of these are useful beyond their main trade. The Cobblery offers free gift wrapping with any purchase and takes repairs by mail, returning them by UPS. Gamelandia doubles as a place to play, not just to buy, with kids programs, trading card events and party rooms. Vin Vino pours tastings, which makes it a natural last stop before dinner on the street.

Toward Park Boulevard and the station

East of Birch Street the storefronts thin out and the shops become more practical. This end works well if you arrive by train and need to run errands before heading home.

• Mollie Stone's Market: a full-service supermarket from a family-owned Bay Area chain, with catering, delivery and kosher food.
• California Paint Company: a Benjamin Moore dealer with stains, wallpaper samples and blinds, plus color consultations on Saturdays.
• FedEx Office Print and Ship Center: a full print and ship store with self-serve copying, packing, passport photos and Amazon returns.

The FedEx store is handy if you buy something too bulky to carry on the train. It can pack and ship it for you, a few doors from where you bought it.

On the side streets

A short walk off the main street turns up two shops that people cross town for.

• Gryphon Stringed Instruments: a music shop since 1969 for new, used and vintage acoustic guitars, mandolins, banjos and ukuleles, with repairs and appraisals.
• Real Produce International Market: a family-owned international grocery on Oxford Avenue with produce, halal meats, Middle Eastern and Indian staples.

Gryphon has been at the corner of Lambert Avenue and Park Boulevard since 1975, a few minutes' walk south of the station. Real Produce sits across El Camino Real on Oxford Avenue in the College Terrace direction. Both are easier to reach on foot than by circling for parking.

Along El Camino Real near Cal Ave

El Camino Real has its own cluster of shops within a few blocks of the California Avenue corner. They are spread out, so most people drive between them, but several have their own small lots.

• Village Flower Shoppe: a family-owned florist taking phone and web orders, with same-day delivery in Palo Alto for orders placed before noon.
• The Bike Connection: a shop that sells, repairs and rents bikes, including e-bikes and children's bikes.
• Cardinal Bike Shop: an independent shop selling road, commuter and electric bikes, with repairs and custom builds.
• Electric Bike Center: the Palo Alto store of a California e-bike retailer offering test rides, assembly and local repairs.
• Mancini's Sleepworld: the Palo Alto store of a Bay Area mattress chain founded in 1969.

With Summit Bicycles on the main street, that makes four bike shops within a short ride of each other. If you are shopping for a bike, you can compare several in one afternoon. Our bike shops and outdoor gear guide covers the rest of the city. The florist keeps an unusual model: in-person shopping is by appointment, so call before you drop in.

Shopping around the Sunday market

Every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round, the California Avenue Farmers Market fills the car-free blocks near El Camino Real. It changes the rhythm of the street. Foot traffic peaks in the morning and the cafes fill up. If you want to browse the stores in peace, come on a weekday. If you want the street at its liveliest, come on Sunday and pair the market with lunch and a slow walk past the shop windows.

A knife sharpening service sets up at the market on the first Sunday of each month, which is worth knowing if you are buying kitchen gifts. Our farmers markets guide covers both of the city's year-round markets.

Parking, the train and bikes

Because the central blocks are car-free, nobody parks in front of the shops. Instead, public lots and garages sit on the side streets behind the storefronts on both sides of the avenue. Street parking fills the blocks around them. Time limits and permit zones are posted on signs and they change from time to time. Check the City of Palo Alto parking page before a long visit. Our Palo Alto parking guide explains the permit system.

The train is the easiest option. The California Avenue Caltrain station is at the east end of the street, so you step off the platform and start shopping. Bikes are welcome on the car-free blocks at a slow pace. The council set an 8 mph limit and racks are spread along the street. The city's page on car-free streets has the current rules.

A simple Cal Ave shopping loop

1. Arrive by Caltrain or park on a side street near Park Boulevard.
2. Start with Gryphon on Lambert Avenue if you play an instrument, then walk back to the station end.
3. Head west along California Avenue, stopping at Summit Bicycles, Gamelandia, The Cobblery and Leaf & Petal.
4. Pick up groceries at Country Sun or Mollie Stone's last, so nothing sits in a hot bag.
5. Finish with a tasting at Vin Vino Wine or a meal at one of the restaurants on the car-free blocks.

Allow two hours, more on a Sunday. If you want to see more of the area, the residential blocks of Evergreen Park start just north of the street. For a weekend nearby, you can compare hotels in Palo Alto along El Camino Real. The Palo Alto shopping guide covers the city's other districts.

Frequently asked questions