Who remembers Whole Earth Access?
They sold everything, from electronics to kitchen items to shoes.
They were located where the UFC Gym is currently located in the Willows Shopping Center on Diamond Blvd. in Concord.
ABOUT THE CLAYCORD ONLINE MUSEUM: The Claycord Online Museum is made up of historical photos, documents & anything else that has to do with the history of our area.
If you have any old photos or items that you’d like to place in the Claycord Online Museum, just scan or take a photo of them, and send them to the following address: news@claycord.com. It doesn’t matter what it is, even if it’s just an old photo of your house, a scan of an old advertisement or an artifact that you’d like us to see, send it in and we’ll put it online!
.. it was like a Sears or J. C. Whitney catalog back then
I bought a very nice knife sharpener there in the 80’s, still have it and it sharpens knives like a razor. I also bought a Kenwood reciever there, and a turntable. Still have those too.
I loved that store and the San Mateo location. It broke my heart when they closed their doors.
I bought lots of stuff there. Neat store and concept.
I too bought stuff there, they even had nice clothes for women. I lived in Foster City back then, as far as I remember the store on the Peninsula was in South San Francisco. I would often stop by on my way to the City.
Yes! It was always an adventure!
Also I remember a Famolare shoe store being just across the sidewalk which led to the top of the “courtyard stroll”. Loved that center the way it was when it first opened.
They had a main store, as well as a computer store, across from each other. I thought it was a cool place to browse.
Right there front and center. Still have my Onkyo 6-CD carousel. Over 30 years old now. Still play all my CDs on it.
Ahhh remember them well. Loved that store. Blew a month’s pay on a couple of camera lenses there. Still using those lenses today on digital cameras.
Wish I could buy some of the audio gear in that ad. Today’s gear are crap until you spend a couple of thousand bucks.
Yep, I’m old.
I remember shopping there, it was a fun experience. It was two levels as I recall.
There was a restaurant along Willow Pass close by that offered Sunday brunches too. You could order any custom omelette and they would cook it for you as you waited in line. Life was good back then!
I may or may not have visited that one. We did buy many things from the Berkeley store which was about a mile from home. When I was pregnant and my feet grew a whole size, I stopped by after work once and got a pair of Rockports. They were the only shoes I could wear for a few months till my feet went back to normal. We got a nice desk and a chair for the kiddo, and a Sony TV that came with a free blender. Still have the desk and blender. They just kept getting bigger, and expanding all around, then POOF! Gone.
That was a great store. It was a hold out from when things were still real. From before evil giant box stores and online corporations ruled the land
Fun store, unusual business model for the time. I bought my Advent Legacy speakers there. Wasn’t Atilla’s Falafel on the upper level?
I loved Whole Earth. Lived in Concord but drove out to the one in Berkeley and then, yahoo, the Concord one opened up in the Willows. Still have a giant chopping block from there which gets a lot of use.
I bought lots of great stuff there. Mostly wedding gifts. Great quality back then.
I remember going to that store as a kid with my family to look at “IBM-compatible” computers.