"It leaves the center with no places to eat!" a local resident wrote on Nextdoor in June, when Thep Lela, a family-owned Thai restaurant, closed at Strawberry Village after 33 years. Four days after the June 21 closing, Club Pilates opened. Less than two months after that, Tartine and Cholita Linda were serving across the roadway from each other.
The center had a rough stretch in early 2026, and some residents called it a "ghost town." Most of the vacancies behind that name already had tenants lined up. The empty months were mostly the wait between one set of tenants leaving and the next set moving in. By October, that changeover is largely finished.
The Spring Count Already Predicted the Fall
In March 2026, The Ark counted 5 vacant spaces out of 55 at Strawberry Village. Once the openings already in the pipeline landed, 3 would remain empty: the former Pizza Antica, Spanish Table and Mike's Camera spaces. In the same report, EDENS named the businesses it expected to open that year: Tartine, Cholita Linda, Hydration Room, Club Pilates and LuLu Dae's, plus two retailers it hadn't announced yet, one in wellness and one in interior design. EDENS is the Washington, D.C.-based firm that bought the center in October 2022.
The center missed its spring target for the restaurants. Both were still described as "on track to open this spring" in March, and both actually opened in August. Every named tenant on that list is now open, though.
| Tenant | What it is | Opened |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Yoga Republic | Hot yoga studio | Feb. 14, 2025 |
| Hydration Room | IV therapy and injections | June 12, 2026 |
| Club Pilates | Pilates studio | June 25, 2026 |
| Tartine | All-day bakery and cafe | Aug. 19, 2026, after an Aug. 13 soft opening |
| Cholita Linda | California Latin restaurant | Mid-August 2026 |
| LuLu Dae's | Açaí, matcha and soft serve | Open now, date not published |
LuLu Dae's took the space Woody's Yogurt held for 20 years. Woody's closed in 2020, under the previous landlord. The three newest studios join a fitness group that already included Pure Barre, Orangetheory and StretchLab.
Tartine's Return Runs Through Downtown Mill Valley
Tartine has a longer local history than most of the new arrivals. Founders Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt started out as Bay Village Bakery in Point Reyes Station in 1995, in the cottage that now houses Brickmaiden Breads. They moved the bakery to downtown Mill Valley in 1999 and closed it in early 2002 to open the first Tartine in San Francisco's Mission District. So the Strawberry Village cafe is a return to Marin nearly 25 years later.
Bread comes over daily from San Francisco. Pastries, cakes and savory dishes are made on site. The Marin IJ's review covered the morning buns, a morning bun latte, a soft-scramble tartine with labneh and smoked trout roe, and a double grass-fed smash burger on a sweet potato bun. The 3,091-square-foot space was designed by Studio BBA and seats 120 indoors and out. Tartine is in Suite 125 and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cholita Linda covers the hours after Tartine closes. Vanessa Chavez and Murat Sozeri started the business in 2008 at the Jack London Square farmers market in Oakland. Strawberry Village is their sixth location and their first in Marin. The menu includes Baja fish tacos, a Cubano and pescado frito with plantains, along with house-made aguas frescas and wine-based margaritas. The restaurant seats about 70 indoors, with more tables outside. It is in Suite 801 and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Between the two, there is food at the center from breakfast through dinner every day of the week, which is what a resident said the center lacked in June.
The Departures, and the Disagreement Over Why
Residents have been tracking the closings in Nextdoor posts:
- Woody's Yogurt, closed in 2020 after 20 years, citing rent increases under the previous landlord
- Pizza Antica, 2023
- Mike's Camera, 2023, after five decades and failed lease negotiations
- Spanish Table, 2025
- Woodlands Pet Food & Treats, 2025, relocated to The Cove shopping center
- Bella boutique, early 2026
- Thep Lela, June 21, 2026, after 33 years and failed lease negotiations
Several current and former tenants told The Ark that rents rose significantly after EDENS took over. Rob Hansen, owner of Woodlands, said his move to The Cove came from both cost and a directive to vacate his longtime space, which is going to Barry's Bootcamp. Thep Lela had been operating month to month since its lease expired the previous December, following a rent-increase notice earlier that year. It was one of the few businesses at the center owned by Strawberry residents. EDENS has said the property is performing well. Its development lead, Alexander Ragonese, called the new tenants and art commissions "tremendous complements to the vibrant community hub that Strawberry Village has provided this community for decades."
Both accounts fit the numbers. Longtime independent tenants left, and replacements were signed fast enough that the March vacancy count was already heading back down. In August, the San Francisco Business Times described the center as "nearly full."
What Stayed Put
Some things at the center have stayed the same through all of this. The Strawberry Village Farmers Market runs every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., in conjunction with Marin Community Farmers Markets. California's market registry lists it as year-round, with Lynn Bagley as manager. EDENS launched the market in 2023, along with a renovation that added new lighting, landscaping, outdoor seating, signage and a reworked central plaza. The plaza is now used for live music and community events. In August, three public art installations by local female artists went up there.
Tenants added since 2022 include Bluemercury, CP Shades, Spot Pet Care, Modern Animal and Citizens Bank.
The Short List of What's Left
Only a few pieces of the changeover are still open as of early October:
- Barry's Bootcamp. Its Marin studio page says "Coming Winter 2026" and gives no opening date.
- Baan Thai Reserve. EDENS lists it at 615 Strawberry Village, space 290, a 2,050-square-foot space marked "Coming in 2027!" The operator and opening date have not been announced. When it opens, Thai food will be back at the center for the first time since Thep Lela closed.
- The two unnamed tenants. EDENS has not publicly named the wellness and interior-design retailers it mentioned in March.
- The three long-vacant spaces. These are the former Pizza Antica, Spanish Table and Mike's Camera storefronts. The spring projection left them empty, and no tenants have been announced for them.
The Business Times put the full wave at nine tenants opening between June 2026 and the end of 2027. Most of them have already opened. For a weekday plan, Tartine runs 8 to 4, the farmers market is there on Tuesdays from 10 to 2:30, and Cholita Linda serves dinner until 9.
Shopping centers like Strawberry Village are one of the things that shape daily life in a neighborhood, and they come up often when I talk with Southern Marin owners about their homes. If you'd like to know how changes like these figure into what your home is worth, Pat Kelly offers a free home valuation or market consultation. I'll give you a clear, local read on your situation.
