Castro Street Has Almost No Empty Storefronts, So the City Is Lending Out the Street

The next Mountain View Makers Market sets up on the 300 block of Castro Street on Friday, Oct. 23, from 3 to 8 p.m. The first one, on Sept. 18, brought more than 50 local artisans and small businesses to the block, and more than half of them were based in Mountain View, according to the city's October 2026 Downtown Digest. Two more follow on Nov. 20 and Dec. 18.

The same city newsletter says downtown's retail vacancy rate is below 2%. Put those two facts together and the market looks less like a seasonal craft fair. A downtown with almost nowhere left to open a shop has found a way to add one, on a schedule, without needing a lease.

Why the 300 block, and why Friday at 3

The city picked the location for a practical reason. The 300 block has more room for programming than the rest of the pedestrian mall, where restaurants have moved their outdoor dining into the street, the Mountain View Voice reported in June. In practice, the dining build-out has already used up most of Castro Street's open space, and the market goes into what is left.

The timing is just as deliberate. Amanda Rotella, the city's economic vitality manager, told the Voice that booth space is free so that artists and small sellers who can't afford pricier markets can take part.

"It's right around the happy hour time frame. Come shop at the maker's fair, then grab a bite to eat at one of our great restaurants."

The idea is to bring shoppers downtown before they head to the restaurants and retailers already there. The city contacted nearby businesses, the Downtown Business Association, and its own Downtown Committee before the launch.

One detail has changed since the first announcement. The June story listed hours of 2 to 8 p.m., but the city's Makers Market page and the October Digest both say 3 to 8 p.m. Plan around 3.

A downtown with almost nowhere left to open

The vacancy figure explains why the market matters. In its October 2026 issue, the city says new concepts are filling storefronts on Castro Street and highlights three recent arrivals.

Ry's Poke Shack, 340 Castro Street. The Hawaiʻi-based poke shop, started on Oʻahu's North Shore in 2020 by Ryan and Khannie Ching, opened its first Bay Area location inside Ava's Downtown Market. The menu includes bowls, poke by the pound, and its signature Tsunami Nachos. Palo Alto Online reported that it started serving Sept. 3, held a grand opening Sept. 25, and took over the space Poke Bar used to occupy.

VELUX Experience Center, 312 Castro Street. A formerly vacant building is now the company's first immersive showroom in North America. The 3,000-square-foot space has working skylights, smart-home controls, and solar-powered shades set up in real rooms.

Bloom & Vine, 110 Castro Street. A full-service restaurant from the team behind Mian, a Sichuan noodle concept founded in Los Angeles. It serves Peking duck, dim sum, and Sichuan dishes, with a cocktail menu built around botanicals.

Two of the three are on the market's own block. Ry's is next to the booths, and VELUX is a few doors away. Each of the three also needed a storefront to come free first: a closed poke counter, an empty building, an available restaurant space. A ceramicist or a jewelry maker working at the kitchen table can't wait for that. The Makers Market gives them the street for five hours on a Friday.

What a market Friday walks past

Because the booths line the 300 block, the market sits in front of some of downtown's longest-running storefronts. The Mountain View Chamber of Commerce's 2025–26 directory lists these businesses on the block. The directory was published in January 2025, so the list below combines it with the city's more recent notes.

The mix matters. With two bookstores, a florist, and a cosmetics shop on the block, the city isn't putting makers next to empty windows. It's adding a temporary layer of retail on top of a block that already has a full set.

Who is behind the booths

The city's market page lists more than fifty makers and says more than half of them are new to the market scene. Free booths were meant to attract exactly those sellers, and the June vendor call asked for jewelry, ceramics, textiles, clothing, paper goods, fine art, bath and body products, housewares, and plants, with Mountain View-based applicants given priority.

The published roster shows that range.

• Ceramics: South Bay Ceramics, Isabelle Ceramics, Chu Chu Pottery, samac ceramics
• Jewelry: Girls Curls Jewelry, Jeweliana Studio, Uniquely Different Designs In Jewelry, Mrs. Sparkles Designs
• Textiles and sewing: Christine Tsai Textiles, Stitches By Tiff, Sew Mel Handmade, Soul to Seam, Magic Yarn Garden
• Fine art and print: Patricia LaFleur Fine Art, Gabrielle Heilek Studio, YC Cho Art, Shreya Paints, Blocks that Print Inc, PrintCycle
• Plants and florals: Baby Succulents, Florals by Maya, Dirty Pistil
• Games and paper: Lioness Games, Cute Comics, Stickereations, Parcel Pigeon

The roster covers the whole series and doesn't say who will be there on which date. Girls Curls Jewelry is one confirmed seller for Oct. 23, since its own events page lists both the September and October markets. For other makers, check their own channels before going to find one specific booth.

On how the debut went, the city reports that vendors described strong sales and new customer connections, and that shoppers came through the afternoon and evening. The Digest doesn't give an attendance number.

The fall calendar around the market

The market's purpose is to send people from booths to dinner tables, so its dates make the most sense next to the rest of downtown's fall schedule. Here is the run of dates through December, from city and museum listings.

1. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10–11, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. The 11th Annual Mountain View Oktoberfest, presented by the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, takes over Castro Street with a 200-foot tent, German-inspired food, beer and wine, and live entertainment.
2. Friday, Oct. 23, 3–8 p.m. The second Makers Market. The city calendar also has Dracula and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at 7:30 p.m. that evening, so you can shop in the afternoon and still make an 8 p.m.-ish dinner or a show.
3. Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Monster Bash at Rengstorff Park, 201 S. Rengstorff Ave., a free fall festival open to everyone. The same afternoon, from 1 to 4 p.m., the Computer History Museum holds one of its hands-on XR demonstrations.
4. Sunday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. The year-round Mountain View Farmers Market at the Downtown Caltrain Station lot, 600 West Evelyn.
5. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 5:30–7:30 p.m. An artist talk and reception with East Bay artist Zoe Caron, whose biology-inspired work hangs in the lobby gallery of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
6. Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Día de Muertos at Civic Center Plaza, 500 Castro St., with community-made ofrendas, cempasúchil, papel picado, and sugar skulls.
7. Friday, Nov. 20 and Friday, Dec. 18, 3–8 p.m. The last two Makers Markets of the pilot.

Across all of these, the Computer History Museum at 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. is running Extended Reality: Visions of the Future through March 28, 2027. It has more than 100 headsets, smart glasses, and wearables, from 1960s prototypes to current AI-enabled devices.

Getting there on a market Friday

The city recommends transit. The Downtown Mountain View Transit Center, with Caltrain, VTA Light Rail, and local buses, is a short walk from the 300 block, and there are bike racks along Castro Street. Drivers can use the city's map of Castro Street garages and surface lots. On Oct. 23, plan for the hours between 3 and 8 p.m. to be busy on the block, as shoppers from the market overlap with the dinner and theater crowds.

This is still a pilot. The city's Downtown Digest describes the four markets as a "four-event pilot series," and the market page invites makers to sign up for updates "if new events are planned." Whether Castro Street keeps lending out its 300 block after Dec. 18 will depend on how these fall Fridays go.

A downtown with vacancy below 2% is a fact that also shows up in Mountain View home values, and Ryan Gowdy follows both closely. If you want to understand what a walkable, nearly full downtown means for your own Mountain View property, request a complimentary home valuation and consultation.