Santa's Corner on Castro Valley Boulevard Has New Neighbors This Year

"We'll miss all the birthday parties, the get-togethers, having Santa for the kids, and everybody in the community."

Shay Knudsen said that to The Pioneer on the last day of Knudsen's Ice Creamery, a Saturday at the end of January. By about 3 p.m. that afternoon the shop had sold out of ice cream.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Castro Valley Light Parade returns to the Boulevard. The theme is "Holiday Sweet Street Spectacular." This is the first holiday season since 2004 that the Boulevard has gone without its ice cream shop. Santa's parade-night spot is still on the same short stretch of Castro Valley Boulevard, near Santa Maria Avenue. A taproom now operates a few doors from the dark ice cream storefront, and a burger restaurant has been announced for the storefront itself. The holiday tradition Knudsen's kept inside its own walls for two decades now happens on the sidewalk, and new tenants line the block where it used to be.

Fifty-Eight Years of Sweets, Twenty-Two on the Boulevard

Knudsen's sat at 3323 Castro Valley Blvd. Its family history goes back well before that address, and that history explains why the closing hit the town as hard as it did:

1. 1968: Dave and Kathy Knudsen open an ice cream shop in San Francisco.
2. 1973: They buy a 650-square-foot candy store in Hayward's Southland Mall, and the business grows into an 18,000-square-foot candy factory and a 20,000-square-foot distribution center, both in Hayward.
3. 2001: The family sells the candy business and goes back to ice cream.
4. 2004: Knudsen's Ice Creamery opens in Castro Valley.
5. 2024: The shop marks 20 years in Castro Valley after a renovation that cut its floor space in half.
6. January 2026: Shay Knudsen, the founders' granddaughter, closes the shop at the end of the month.

In its announcement, the Castro Valley Forum reported that Knudsen was retiring. The paper described the shop as a place for after-school treats, Little League celebrations and first jobs. It also served burgers and hot dogs along with the homemade ice cream and candy, according to The Pioneer. Visiting Santa there was part of the routine for many local families, so the Boulevard has lost a December stop as well as a dessert counter.

The property's leasing firm told the Forum in January that it would look for an operator who understood what the spot meant to the community. The tenant it named is Campus Burgers, now announced as "opening soon" in the former Knudsen's space. The chain already has locations in Berkeley, around San Jose and in Gilroy. That puts a burger menu back at an address that already served burgers next to its sundaes.

The Taproom Next Door Opened a Month Before the Parade

A few doors down, at 3315 Castro Valley Blvd between Santa Maria Avenue and Rustic Drive, Pour House Restaurant & Tap Room was serving soft-opening dinners by Oct. 16. It was first planned for a June debut, then held a preview evening with the Castro Valley Rotary on Aug. 18. It ended up opening in the middle of football season and the World Series.

The concept is a self-service taproom with more than 30 rotating taps, a full-service bar and California comfort food. The restaurant describes itself as a place for handcrafted cocktails, craft beer and American-style comfort food in a "cozy, nostalgic atmosphere," and one October review on Yelp mentions plenty of seating both inside and out. Posted hours run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The parade falls on a Saturday, when Pour House's posted hours run an hour past the street event's 9 p.m. finish.

Pour House is part of The Marketplace Shops, and that matters on Nov. 14. The block that had the ice cream shop and now has the taproom is the same block the Chamber charges the most to stand in front of.

Why Every Vendor Wanted the Same Curb

The Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce priced this year's vendor booths in three zones measured from the Marketplace. All 2026 spots are sold out.

A non-member pays about two and a half times as much for a Zone 1 booth as for one in Zone 3, and a member pays about three times as much. Those prices show where the Chamber expects the crowd to gather, and it is the Marketplace frontage. The parade's Santa stop sits on that stretch, on the same block as the new taproom and the former ice cream shop.

Parade Night, Hour by Hour

The event is free. Here is how Saturday, Nov. 14 is set up:

• 3 p.m.: The street fair opens with bands, food and kids' activities. The Chamber suggests arriving early to get a good spot.
• Road closure: Castro Valley Boulevard closes from Lake Chabot Road to Redwood Road, with detours on Norbridge Avenue or Somerset Avenue.
• Stages: Performance areas featuring local musicians are set up along the Boulevard between San Miguel Avenue and Redwood Road, according to the 510 Families listing.
• Santa: He is at Santa Maria Avenue and Castro Valley Boulevard.
• 5:30 p.m., at dusk: The lighted parade starts. It includes floats from local service organizations and churches, entries from Castro Valley schools, antique vehicles, service dogs and motorcycles, and it ends with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
• After the parade: Dancing Christmas trees walk the Boulevard.
• 9 p.m.: The event ends.

With the Boulevard closed between Lake Chabot and Redwood, anyone driving in from either end will end up on Norbridge or Somerset. For families who want to see Santa and stay for the floats, the corner at Santa Maria puts both in the same spot.

Two Fridays Frame the Parade

The parade is the biggest night on this block in November, but it is one of several events at the Marketplace this season. Castro Valley Marketplace holds a First Fridays Community Night on Friday, Nov. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. It features a makers market, live music and DJs, food tastings and craft activities, and admission is free. The next one is Friday, Dec. 4, also from 5 to 8 p.m., with local makers, food and live music.

Between those dates, the Rotary's November Mixer is at Cordial Cellar and Lounge inside the Marketplace on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Members and guests pay $20.

More tenants are on the way. Workroom Pilates has signed a lease for a Reformer Pilates studio at The Marketplace Shops and plans to open in the first quarter of 2027. Urban Matcha is listed as leased there for its first Bay Area location. With Pour House already pouring and a burger restaurant, a fitness studio and a matcha bar lined up for the same stretch, a Saturday near Santa Maria Avenue next year will look different from the one Knudsen's customers knew. The Light Parade's 2026 vendor map already puts the busiest part of the night on this block.

Many Castro Valley homeowners chose their street partly because a night like Nov. 14 is a short walk away. If that's you and you're thinking about what your home is worth as the Boulevard's newer tenants open, The Sidhu Team can walk you through it with a clear, local home valuation and a practical plan for any updates that would pay off before a sale. Get your home valuation, and we'll see you on the Boulevard on parade night.