"We were curious to see it," one San Jose shopper told SFGATE on October 9. He and his co-workers had taken an early lunch to stand in line outside a grocery store on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
He had a lot of company. Hashi Market opened at 10 a.m. that Friday, and the first people had been in line since 7:30. By the end of the day about 1,700 customers had come through. SFGATE reported that the line went out the door and filled the whole parking lot, "snaking like a TSA queue," and that cashiers rang up 300 transactions an hour for most of the morning.
That was half of what changed at Cupertino Crossroads this fall. Barnes & Noble scheduled its opening for Wednesday, November 4, at 10 a.m., a few doors down. That store sits in the building Party City used to occupy. The center had two large empty storefronts at the start of the season. Now a Japanese supermarket chain with its first West Coast store and a national bookseller have opening dates less than four weeks apart in those spaces, and each one is the kind of store people drive to from other cities.
Two Big Spaces, Two New Tenants
The two spaces are almost the same size, and they're next door to each other by address.
| Hashi Market | Barnes & Noble | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 20558 Stevens Creek Blvd. | 20740 Stevens Creek Blvd. |
| Previous tenant | Sprouts | Party City |
| Size | About 20,000 sq. ft. | 19,200 sq. ft. |
| Opening date | October 9, 2026 | Scheduled for November 4, 2026 |
According to the City of Cupertino's announcement, Hashi picked Cupertino for its first California location. Mayor Kitty Moore welcomed the store in coverage that ran in both SFGATE and USA TODAY. Barnes & Noble, for its part, is building a full-size store at a time when it has closed several others in the South Bay. More on that below.
What 1,700 People Lined Up For
Hashi started in New York City, where it has six stores. The Cupertino store isn't a smaller test version. SFGATE describes a 20,000-square-foot store with Japanese snacks, produce, seafood, meat, sake and Hokkaido foods, plus big lifestyle and beauty aisles. The beauty brands it named include Senka, Canmake and Bonbory.
The prepared food is what has people stopping in for lunch. At opening, the grab-and-go area had three large kiosks offering:
- Freshly made chicken katsu bentos
- Curry bowls
- Salmon teriyaki
- A5 wagyu rice bowls at $26
KRON4's look inside before the opening described sushi rolls and nigiri and a daily selection of fresh breads and sweets. Some of the baked goods carry Hashi's own label. USA TODAY listed daifuku and onigiri among the imported favorites. It also described sashimi-grade seafood, with chefs "cutting fresh tuna right in front of you." The Mercury News reported a tuna-cutting demonstration as part of the grand opening. USA TODAY also mentioned a department-store section with Japanese and Korean skincare and collectibles.
On opening day the store also booked Uzumaru, a local Yosakoi dance troupe, to perform out front.
Stevens Creek Boulevard Now Has Two Japanese Markets
Before October, Cupertino residents already had a big Japanese grocery on the same street. Tokyo Central, the former Marukai, is at 19750 Stevens Creek Boulevard. Its store page lists fresh sushi and bento, Japanese groceries and snacks, sake, beer, and beauty and home goods. Hashi didn't move into an empty market. It opened as a second option on the same boulevard.
The clearest everyday difference between them is how late they stay open.
| Store | Address | Daily hours |
|---|---|---|
| Hashi Market | 20558 Stevens Creek Blvd. | 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., as reported by SFGATE and KRON4 |
| Tokyo Central | 19750 Stevens Creek Blvd. | 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
Both open at the same time in the morning, but Hashi's reported hours run two hours later. That makes it the Japanese market on this street that's still open after a late dinner or a late commute home. SFGATE also reported that Hashi planned to mark down sushi by 30% after 8 p.m., a plan the store described as coming "soon."
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Tokyo Central posts holiday hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Hashi's own expansion map suggests the Cupertino store won't be the only Bay Area location for long. USA TODAY reported that Hashi lists three California sites as "renovating": 25 N. Milpitas Blvd. in Milpitas, 1791 Decoto Road in Union City, and 2992 S. Norfolk St. in San Mateo. For now, Crossroads has the only Hashi in California, and that helps explain why the opening-day line included people from out of town.
A Bookstore Bigger Than the Ones the South Bay Lost
The second space tells a similar story. San José Spotlight reported in April that the Cupertino Barnes & Noble is part of a national push to open 60 stores in 2026. The plan called for a 19,200-square-foot store with a modern layout and curated books and toys.
That size makes more sense next to what the region lost. Spotlight noted that Barnes & Noble had closed its stores at Almaden Plaza and Eastridge Mall in San Jose and at The Pruneyard in Campbell. When the chain came back to Los Gatos in 2025, it opened a 7,000-square-foot store. The Cupertino space is close to three times that size. Spotlight also reported that Barnes & Noble acquired Books Inc. in 2025, a Bay Area chain with four stores in Santa Clara County.
The city wanted the old Party City building filled. In the spring, City Manager Tina Kapoor told Spotlight, "We look forward to seeing this retail space serve the community and contribute to the vibrancy of the area." In the same article, Audrey Guo, an economist at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, pointed to "a segment of the market" that is "intentionally trying to support bookstores rather than online marketplaces."
There's a local audience close by, too. La Voz, De Anza College's student newspaper, covered the store as a major bookseller "within walking distance from De Anza College." Its photo from October 28 shows the storefront facing the Crossroads parking lot.
One Parking Lot, Two Stores That Draw Crowds
Taken together, the two new tenants change how Crossroads works. Sprouts and Party City were ordinary errand stops. The stores replacing them pull people from farther away. Hashi is the chain's only California store. Barnes & Noble is a full-size store in an area where the company has closed others. Both depend on people willing to drive across town, and both front the same lot along Stevens Creek Boulevard. That same lot was full of Hashi's opening-day line before the doors opened at 10 a.m.
Other national tenants were already there. T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods are listed among the center's stores. What's new is two anchor stores with their own followings, with opening dates less than four weeks apart, heading into the busiest shopping weeks of the year.
The city's holiday season starts nearby. Cupertino's free Community Tree Lighting is Friday, December 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Quinlan Community Center, 10185 North Stelling Road. It includes a local choir and photos with Santa.
When a well-known store moves into an empty space near where you live, it can change how buyers see the surrounding blocks. That's worth understanding before you decide when to sell. If you own near Stevens Creek and are thinking about a sale in 2027, Anita Salas can walk you through how timing, pricing and capital gains planning affect what you actually keep. Request your free Net‑Proceeds & Capital‑Gains consultation.
