Something happened to Castro Valley Boulevard while everyone was busy complaining about the empty Rite Aid. The building sat dark from August 2023 until, more than two years later, it reopened as the largest Cantonese restaurant in the country. Next door, a full Asian market moved in. Two blocks west, the food hall that opened in 2021 is now running First Friday nights with live music. The Saturday farmers' market at the BART lot still does its steady business. For the first time in a while, downtown is a place you can spend an afternoon in, not just drive through on the way to Trader Joe's.
This is a guide for people who already live here and want to know what's actually worth the trip out of Palomares or off Redwood Road this summer. Not a "discover Castro Valley" pitch. A rundown of what's new, what's on, and where to go when the Boulevard gets crowded.
The Rite Aid Is a Banquet Hall Now
The most-asked question in local Facebook groups for the better part of two years finally has an answer. After Rite Aid closed in August 2023, speculation about a replacement business included everything from a Sprouts grocery store to a car wash to a furniture and appliance store, and in August 2024 Alameda County Public Works approved the restaurant and grocery store project submitted by Castro Valley resident Ming Y Li with an endorsement from the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council.
What actually opened is bigger than anyone expected. H.L. Peninsula Restaurant at 3868 Castro Valley Blvd, located next door to the new Mei Mei Market, is a 28,000-square-foot banquet hall offering an extensive menu of Cantonese-style dishes. Seating is available for more than 800 guests in the main room, with nine private VIP rooms that can accommodate up to fifty people each, bringing the total to 1,250. For context, Kowloon Restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts, claims it can seat up to 1,200 people, which puts the Castro Valley location in a bracket with a New England institution most Bay Area diners have never heard of.
The practical version for residents: lunch runs 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM on weekdays and starts at 10:00 AM on weekends, and dinner is 5:00 PM to 9:15 PM daily. Handmade dim sum, live seafood tanks, and enough parking that you don't need to circle. If you have out-of-town family in July and you want somewhere within ten minutes of home that seats fifteen without a month of planning, the answer changed in October.
The Marketplace Has Found Its Rhythm
Castro Valley Marketplace at 3295 Castro Valley Boulevard is open daily 8am–9pm, with individual merchant hours that vary. The building has been open since 2021, but it's the calendar that has matured. First Fridays run 5–8 PM on the first Friday of each month and feature local vendors, live music, and family-friendly activities. It's the closest thing downtown has to a regular street festival, and it's free.
The merchant mix has settled in a way that rewards regulars who know where to go for what:
- Akemi Sushi on the ground floor for fresh, made-to-order rolls, daily 10:30 AM to 7:30 PM
- Baron's Meats & Seafood, the neighborhood butcher, closed nowhere on Saturday when you want a ribeye
- Seven Hills Baking Co. for bread and, seasonally, Irish soda bread that regulars watch for
- Amphora Nueva for olive oil and vinegar tastings, daily 9 AM to 7 PM
- Beard Papa's, the cream puff bakery, whose local operator is from Castro Valley and opened the store in her hometown
- The Cannery Kitchen & Tap for indoor and outdoor dining on the Paseo
- Night Owl and Oculto for evenings when you want a drink without driving to Hayward
Two functional details worth knowing. Parking is free in the west and south lots plus street parking in front, and the building sits about two blocks from Castro Valley BART. And a caveat for anyone who's brought the dog: health code regulations don't allow pets inside the food hall, though service animals are always welcome. The Paseo is the workaround.
Saturday Morning at the BART Lot
The farmers' market has been the constant while everything else on the Boulevard shifted. It's held at the corner of Redwood Rd. and Norbridge Ave. in the Castro Valley BART Station parking lot, and it's one of the few markets in the East Bay where the pricing works for a wider range of shoppers. EBT customers receive a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $15 free, to spend on fruits and vegetables, and the market also accepts WIC, Veggie Rx, and Beet Bucks.
Pair it with a walk two blocks down to the Marketplace for coffee and you have the Saturday morning that transplants keep asking about and long-timers already know.
On the Calendar This Summer
The events cluster in June and July. A short list of the ones worth putting on the fridge:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Jun 7, 2026 | 42nd Lake Chabot Trail Challenge Half Marathon & 5K | Lake Chabot, 17404 Lake Chabot Rd |
| Sat Jun 20, 2026 | Castro Valley Car Show 2026 | Castro Valley Blvd, downtown |
| Fri–Sat Jun 26–27, 2026 | MDX 21st Annual Dance Recital | Castro Valley Center for the Arts |
| Fri–Sat Jul 10–11, 2026 | Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo | Rowell Ranch Rodeo |
| Sat Aug 22, 2026 | Splendor of Sitar with Purbayan Chatterjee | Castro Valley Center for the Arts |
A few notes for residents who've been to these before or want to try them for the first time.
The Castro Valley Car Show returns to downtown for a full day of classic, custom, muscle, and specialty vehicles with live music, food, beverages, and local vendors, and it's free for spectators. Park at BART if you can and walk in.
The Lake Chabot Trail Challenge is the serious runner's morning. The Half Marathon starts at 8:00 AM and the 5K at 8:30 AM, and organizers recommend arriving early for parking and bib pickup. Registration is $40 for the 5K and $65 for the Half Marathon with a June 6 deadline, race-day registration is $45 and $70 with cash, check, or Venmo only, and there is a nominal parking fee around $5. The Castro Valley Sports Foundation is an all-volunteer nonprofit that puts race proceeds directly toward youth sports and athletics in Castro Valley, which is the answer to why a small-town half marathon has lasted 42 years.
Disney's Newsies runs at the Castro Valley Center for the Arts, 19501 Redwood Rd, and it's the venue that will surprise anyone who hasn't been. The programming this year jumps from Newsies to a classical sitar performance in August without blinking.
When the Boulevard Gets Loud, the Lake Is Ten Minutes Away
Downtown gets busy on First Fridays and car show weekends. Lake Chabot is the pressure valve. The park offers over 20 miles of hiking trails that connect to an additional 70 miles in adjoining Anthony Chabot Regional Park, and the paved 3.52-mile West Shore and East Shore trails provide access to the south and east shores. The Lake Chabot bicycle loop covers 12.42 miles via the Live Oak Trail and 14.41 miles via the Honker Bay Trail.
For families with young kids, the paved shore trails are the easy answer. For anyone training, the ridge trails climb fast. The eucalyptus groves at Anthony Chabot keep temperatures noticeably cooler than surrounding Castro Valley, and reviewers note the campground has run roughly 10 degrees cooler than town on hot summer days. On a mid-July afternoon when downtown is 92, that's the difference between a hike and an ordeal.
One trail note worth keeping in mind before you plan a route:
The Goldenrod Trail at Anthony Chabot Regional Park between Jackson Grade at the south and its intersection with Jalquin Trail at the north will be closed for fuels reduction work 24 hours/day and 7 days/week from May 18 to November 20, 2026.
The Marina café still has bait, tackle, kayak rentals, and a snack menu that saves the trip when the kids run out of steam at mile two.
The Bigger Picture
Add it up. A 28,000-square-foot restaurant that pulls diners from three counties. An Asian grocery in the same building. A food hall two blocks away running a monthly free event. A farmers' market at BART. A regional park with 20-plus miles of trails a ten-minute drive from all of it. That collection didn't exist in 2019. It didn't fully exist in 2023. It exists now, and this is the first summer where you can plan a Saturday around it without leaving a 94546 zip.
If you've been in Castro Valley long enough to remember when the answer to "where should we eat" was Redwood Canyon or a drive to Hayward, the new answer is worth trying at least once this summer. The Boulevard has earned the visit.
If you're thinking about what any of this means for your home's value, or you're weighing a move within the East Bay, The Sidhu Team lives and works in these neighborhoods and is glad to talk it through. Get Your Home Valuation when you're ready.
