The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: Do you feel safe shopping at the Sunvalley Mall with the recent murder, robberies, etc. or do you try to avoid it?
Talk about it….
I haven’t been in there in years. Why take any risk going somewhere that has nothing useful to offer?
Scum Valley is officially a no-go zone for us. It is one of many in the area.
Most of CA is too.
Remember when you could pull up to the 7/11 at 1:00am and leave your girlfriend in the car, running and unlocked, when you ran in for some scooby snacks? I miss those days. Take me back…
I go there sometimes to get shoes and last minute gifts. It is filled with ghetto people and half the stores are closed. Maybe the city should have reinvested in the mall rather than allow the Veranda to go in (which is also quickly becoming ghetto).
Nothing in that mall for me. I avoid it.
Never go there anymore
Haven’t been there since the days of Orange Julius and the Ice rink. Probably 45 years? Last time I was there Paul from the Diamond Center winked at me as we passed each other on the escalator. Weird! Even weirder that this is my last memory of the place.
I saw Paul driving in Willow Pass Rd. He was in a red Mercedes convertible with the top down. He stood out because of his large head sticking out of a small car.
I loved Orange Julius, Especially back when they could put a raw egg in.
Now that’s funny! I just wish I knew your gender though. Either way, that guy was weird.
Don’t know what Paul’s intentions were but I’m rolling with the XY chromosome combo.
I used to frequent Sunvalley but haven’t been there in about three years. I *might* stop in quick if necessary but definitely not at night. It’s very sad to see what Concord as a whole has turned in to and the mall is no exception.
I took my son shoe shopping there to Foot Locker. I used the time as a teachable moment—always be aware of your surroundings. We walked out of the store having spent a few hundred bucks. I admittedly felt intimidated by our surrounding.
I rarely go to the mall. A couple of weeks ago I went for the first time in a couple of years, looking for Levi’s jeans. It seems Sears, Penny’s, Macy’s and Kohl’s are the only stores in the area that sell Levi’s, so I don’t have much choice. Levi’s 501 are the only jeans I’ve ever worn, and I like the fit.
As for feeling safe, I felt safe, and I’m always aware of my surroundings. I parked in the underground lot near Penny’s, walked from store to store looking at Levi’s. When I couldn’t find my size, I left. My car was still in one piece and nobody bothered me.
Sometime next week, I will check out Stonridge to see if they have a larger selection of Levi’s 501.
I refuse to shelter my life because of crime, it’s ridiculous. Life is a risk, do I avoid driving because somebody may run through an intersection and smack right into me?. Do I avoid walking because a drunk may drive up on the sidewalk and kill me?
Dawg,
The Walnut Creek Target sells 501’s.
Hilsons in Concord, my first pair of 501s. Except for the saddle shops Hilsons was the only place in the area that carried Levi’s in the 50s, if I remember correctly. You can’t wear any other kind with your Roy Rogers hat and neckerchief, 6-shooter and boots.
Thanks for the tip.
I never go and my wife never goes. We pretty much feel that way about most of Concord – period.
The punishment for committing a gun crime should be long enough and tough enough to make perps think twice. Use the fed and state money to build more and larger prisons. Anyone robbing or shooting someone with a gun should not have the right to live in a open society ever. They can’t be fixed.
.. no way… I avoid it – if I need something that might only be there I’ll still do without…. unfortunately unsafe and past its prime … maybe bulldoze it and attract some big business / commercial building user with special pricing? Good access to freeways, local airport, local businesses would benefit.
I have been to that mall maybe 2-3 times in the last several years. None of the stores hold any interest to me. Last time I was there, prior to these frequent events, there was a good mix of the population, families, young and old. Was not concerned about safety, then. Now, I definitely warn my children when they go (very infrequent) to keep alert. I do not think the situation will improve there, due to lack of consequence for all the crimes that have been occurring. Word gets around how easy it is to get what you want, do what you want, without any repercussion; maybe get chased, or even arrested, and then you are back home, ready and able to plan for the next job. But, I do not think in general the mall is too unsafe to visit, yet. I do try to avoid it, but not for safety, I avoid any kind of shopping, like a vampire to garlic.
I feel save at Sun Valley, of course I’m carrying and pepper spray, I’m HR218.
The Evil One
Avoid
Election year… vote the appointed DA out.
Haven’t been there in years. Outfitted my house with appliances from Sears and furniture from Macy’s and enjoyed shopping there 20 Years ago. It’s not that I feel unsafe there, it’s that I remember how nice it used to be and how trashy it seems now. Sad.
I feel perfectly safe because I haven’t been there in years. I think the last time I went to Sun Valley, it still had that pond/fountain thing in the middle.
No. Haven’t been there in quite awhile. They should just tear it down.
Housing/mixed-use retail in 10 years. Mark my words.
@Sun Valley Homes – Hope you’re right. We have a glut of commercial buildings (excess supply vs demand) and a dearth of residential buildings (excess demand vs supply). Allow the market supply function to absorb excess demand to establish a market clearing price so lower middle class families (defined as those earning less than $120k) can afford to rent a place without the need for housing subsidies and other handouts. As a side benefit, we’ll have less blighted commercial space attracting criminal maggots.
I haven’t been there in years.
No plans to go near there.
Soft on crime doesn’t work.
Tough DA and more prisons are needed.
Nope. Don’t feel safe at the Veranda either, quickly becoming ghetto. Thank you Soros funded DA Diana Becton , nobody gets charged with anything. We are quickly going back to the Wild West days!
I feel the same. The malls and streets are open game for criminals and regular citizens(taxpayers) are being targeted. I need to go to mall for some things but so true the DA has to be voted out. She is useless. If she or a member of her family were victims of street crime DA would think differently. Wonder what motivates the DA. She probably thinks she is untouchable.
Still shop there…actually, less “ghetto” than veranda and downtown walnut creek. Speaking of which, saw a delivery guy having to park & shlep boxes from blocks away since wc genius solution to crime is to block off broadway plz & inconvenience every honest citizen now that criminals have pegged wc as the woke Idiots they are.
Yes, Walnut Creek has taken a major dump due to inept and delusional public officials. Their stated goals for 2022 list “Equity” as number one and “public safety” as number four. That pretty much shows you where their heads are……
Our family has not been there for a long time. My husband loved the tool section in Sears and we bought appliances and electronics there as well. The last I recall being at the SVM was right before Christmas of 2019 and things seem to be safe.
Unfortunately, the SVM has been going downhill for over a decade now. I used to work there back in 2008-2009 and that’s about the time I noticed the decline of the mall. I was there about 6 months ago and it was looking bad. Many of the retail spaces were vacant and the majority of the stores that were open were like those “hood” type stores that resell hip-hop/urban inspired clothing that they get in bulk from wholesalers online and in downtown LA. The mall is not what it used to be and online shopping and retailers like Amazon are mainly to blame, but things can’t stay the same forever.
Now here’s an idea:
Convert the SV mall to a combination hip hop club/shooting range!
Throw in a check cashing window, craft malt liquor, parking lot drifting, and you’ve got a one heck of a business!
It’s gonna be a great decade!
Word!
It’s gobe too far downhill, Does not carry anything worthwhile and overpriced.
Overpriced, depends where you shop. I sold jeans today for around a dollar. Bought a sleeper for my grandson 1.96 nothing wrong with it, good brand 100 percent cotton. You can find nice tops and pants anywhere from around $10.00 to $30.00 some you can use coupons on. Even the more expensive brands that sells for $50-80.00 you can often use a 25 percent coupon, and often on special days they are on sale 25 to 40 percent off, and coupon might work on top of the sale price.
.
Reality check. Back in the’60’s, Concord was pretty rough. Remember the Enean Theater? Todos Santos before the rebuild? Richard’s lounge? The hotel by the airport? All places where you could find trouble, or more likely, trouble would find innocent people just out on a date, etc.
Yes, it’s bad now, but it wasn’t ever very good.
@J tickner….Don’t forget the Starlite Room in Park ‘n Shop…..Ohh, you were being sarcastic….nevermind.
I think the drive-in movies are still there – the place where all the car prosties hang out.
Really haven’t shopped there more than a couple of times since the 1980s, mostly Macy’s housewares. In terms of clothing and style, they just don’t carry anything that appeals to me at Sun Valley Mall. It all looks sort of trashy to me.
What happened to Random Task???
Do not feel safe nor care for most of the products!
I do not avoid it as I do use the parking lot as short cut to avoid lights on CCB. My wife and I will patronize Hallmark, BJs and Macys!
Wouldn’t go there if my life depended on it………oh wait……. my life would depend on going there….. no thanks .
I was thinking of going there to see how bad it is. Haven’t been there in years.
I am surprised there are stores still in there, the gang bangers don’t spend any cash there, they just go there to congregate…when folks glorify the gang banger mentality with the “music” and cars associated with the lifestyle then you will continue to see the take over from the gangs 20 miles away. They have nothing nice in Antioch, Brentwood and Oakland so they must ruin everyone else’s stuff as well. NOW we have Veranda…its starting to look like the corner hang outs in Antioch as well.
Nope, we avoid the mall, don’t care much for the clientele or stores these days. Never has felt very safe, but it has certainly gone downhill and I would much rather go to the Veranda (even though they just had a shooting as well!), downtown PH or WC. Sh** is so nuts right now, its just sad.
… forgot to mention… last time I went there was to Sears Tool Dept – forgot what I needed – shelves were 80% bare – they didn’t have what I needed…said they can order it for me… told them that’s why brick & mortars are going out of business.. I need it now – if I wanted to order it I would do that from home… they didn’t care… it’s their own demise
I went to get something I needed quickly a few weeks back, and the next nearest location was SF. My wife won’t set foot in it and won’t let me take the kids though, no fly zone.