Pam Marino here, with fond memories of exploring the Barnyard Shopping Village as a teen back when it was still new in the late 1970s. My grandparents lived in Carmel Meadows at the time, just a couple of miles away. My family watched as the “barns” of the shopping center were raised as we drove past on Highway 1 during weekend visits.
I remember shopping many times at the Thunderbird Cafe and Bookstore with my grandparents, where we would wander among the stacks of books and occasionally enjoy lunch on the deck.
The Barnyard had an almost magical feel to it back then, with its rustic raw wood buildings and beautiful flower-lined pathways that meandered between buildings. It was a unique and beautiful outdoor mall, at the height of an era when shopping malls ruled the U.S. commercial shopping scene.
That era was about done in the early 2000s, right about the time the beloved Thunderbird closed in 2004. Like many malls, the Barnyard has struggled.
This week my colleague Katie Rodriguez details some of those struggles in her news story about how restaurants there are finding it challenging to stay in business.
Lugano Swiss Bistro is in the process of being sold, to the dismay of many of its local fans. Owner Marco Chavelas, who purchased the restaurant in 2019, shared with Rodriguez the challenges, including the pandemic and rising food and labor costs.
In 2023 the Barnyard was purchased by another company and Chavelas’ rent shot up, due to the doubling of Common Area Maintenance fees, paid by the tenants to cover overhead and operating expenses of the shopping center. He’s expecting a sale to go through in about a month and a half.
A couple of other restaurants have closed in recent years and another unnamed eatery is listed for sale online.
While there are bright spots at the Barnyard—From Scratch remains a super popular brunch spot on weekends—walking through the center doesn’t have the same spark it did when it was newer. There are too many empty shops and offices that are essentially black holes to shoppers.
Check out Rodriguez’s story for more details. In the meantime, I’d enjoy hearing your own memories of the Barnyard Shopping Village over the decades.
(1) comment
I lived in Carmel when.all of that.was.a field.
Flip Hatten once owned it. He used to fix my car when I was in high school. All gone now too many people.
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