Sprouts & Shutters: J. Crew, New Cheese Steak Shop, Chef Wu Restaurant and More

Wondering what new businesses are opening up in your town? Our new monthly “Sprouts & Shutters” column highlights restaurant, retail and other business news in Milpitas, Fremont, Newark, and Union City.

MILPITAS

Milpitas now has two Bambu Dessert & Drinks cafes: Bambu, which specializes in popular Vietnamese desserts such as sweet soupy “che,” opened this summer on Park Victoria across from Ocean Supermarket. And a Bambu Dessert & Drinks replaced New Bambu on North Milpitas Boulevard. Bambu is expanding with new locations throughout the Bay Area. Browse the menu at drinkbambu.com.

J. Crew comes to the Great Mall Oct. 17. The American-based clothing retailer sells classic, casual women’s and men’s apparel and accessories and operates nearly 300 retail stores and 100 factory stores nationwide. The new J.Crew will be located near Chipotle and Fresh Choice. Learn more at jcrew.com.

FREMONT

Fremont cheese steak fans no longer have to venture to Milpitas: A Cheese Steak Shop opened Sept. 11, replacing Quiznos on Fremont Boulevard next to Round Table. According to the company, Cheese Steak Shop is a California-based chain that has been serving “Real Philly” cheese steaks since 1982. It also serves French fries, salads and even vegetarian sandwiches. Learn more at cheesesteakshop.com.

Fremont’s new Twinkle Boba Café is like a serve-yourself frozen yogurt bar: You partially fill your cup with boba and other “sinkers” and then staff tops it off with your choice of drink. The new Twinkle replaced Quickly on Sept. 25 next to BBQ Factory in the Fremont Times Square on Warm Springs. Hurry in—drinks are 15 percent off during October.

For more recent Fremont business news, read Patch coverage of the new Suju’s Coffee, Aniki’s Sushi and AT&T store.

NEWARK

Newark’s new Chef Wu Restaurant specializes in Taiwanese and Mandarin cuisine, including Taiwanese breakfast fare like. The new restaurant, formerly located in Cupertino, opened on Sycamore Street on Oct. 6. You can read reviews of the closed Cupertino eatery (Chef Woo's) here — fans raved about the Chinese donut and hot sweet soy milk. 

A new women’s clothing store called Envy opened earlier this month in the NewPark Mall. Envy, which sells women’s apparel, shoes and accessories, is located near Site for Sore Eyes and Ms. Field’s Cookies on the lower level.

UNION CITY

Union City has a new all-you-can-eat sushi buffet: Mizuumi Buffet opened last month in Hometown Buffet’s old space on Decoto Road near BART. For $11.95 for lunch and $17.95 for dinner, you can load your plate with sushi, dim sum, crab, stir fry dishes, desserts and more. See what locals think on Yelp. 

HK Top, a new Chinese restaurant with a short name and long menu, opened in August in Union City. The new eatery, short for Hong Kong Top, serves wonton soup, dim sum, chow fun, and Kung Pao chicken and other familiar dishes. HK Top replaces Banyan Tree on Decoto Road next to another Chinese restaurant, Zhiwei.

Sad news for many Union City businesses: A four-alarm fire destroyed or severely damaged ten businesses in the Alvarado Place Shopping Center on Oct. 10. For a full report, see recent coverage in Union City Patch.

Want to find out what else is opening in Milpitas and the East Bay? Sprouts & Shutters now covers 21 cities on 18 Patch sites. Read the latest columns for the Central Contra Costa, Berkeley/Oakland and Tri-Valley communities.

Did you miss Patch's last retail and restaurant roundup? Read about these and more in our last Sprouts & Shutters column:  

• Nirvanaah and Staples in Fremont
• Kabob Kitchen and Mahout Thai in Newark
• New York Pasta & Pizza in Union City
• Grocery Outlet and Uotomo Sushi in Milpitas

Know of a business opening or closing in the area? Please tell Patch about it for a future Sprouts & Shutters column. Simply add it to this short form. Or send me a news tip at patchsprouts@gmail.com.

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