Downtown Walnut Creek could get immersive food, wine, design hub on former Neiman Marcus site

WALNUT CREEK — A retail, food, wine, art, and design “experience” could sprout inside the shuttered Neiman Marcus store site in downtown Walnut Creek, according to public documents and real estate officials.

RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, has signed a lease to occupy the one-time department store building, which is located in a section of the Broadway Plaza retail and dining hub at the corner of South Main Street and Mt. Diablo Boulevard.

The proposed RH complex would occupy two buildings in Broadway Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek, including 1401 Mt. Diablo Blvd.

The RH Gallery hub in the East Bay bears significant similarities to a RH dining complex at Stanford Mall in Palo Alto that opened in 2024.

The lease for the new downtown Walnut Creek RH site was revealed by officials with real estate titan Macerich, which owns Broadway Plaza, while details of the revamp were contained in planning documents on file with Walnut Creek city officials.

“The RH lease is fully executed and will be replacing the former Neiman Marcus site at Broadway Plaza,” Broadway Plaza general manager Shelly Dress stated in an email she sent to this news organization.

The new RH complex is expected to total 50,000 square feet and be contained within two buildings at the old department store property, according to Dress.

Macerich officials initially signaled that RH was planning a unique new location in downtown Walnut Creek during a conference call in December 2024 to discuss quarterly financial results.

“RH Gallery will be an inspiring integration of food, wine, art, and design with an immersive retail experience,” Douglas Healey, a Macerich senior executive vice president for leasing, said during the conference call with Wall Street analysts.

The Neiman Marcus store in downtown Walnut Creek shut its doors in 2021 in the wake of the bankruptcy filing in 2020 by the Neiman Marcus luxury retail store chain.

The prime site, perched on one of the Bay Area’s most prominent commercial intersections, has been empty ever since.

The new endeavor is a reminder that investors still hunger for excellent locations despite difficult times for the retail sector, Healey said during the conference call.

“This is just another great example of transformational leasing and the repurposing of a vacant anchor store within our portfolio,” he said.

The new concept for the site was sketched out in the call with analysts.

“The design is being finalized but will include six contemporary Venetian-plastered Mediterranean buildings,” Healey told the analysts. “These buildings will be connected by four gated courtyards leading to a 30-foot-high glass atrium garden restaurant surrounded by fireplaces, fountains, and an outdoor wine experience.”

Dress said construction on the new RH Gallery site is slated to begin “mid-year 2026,” with an anticipated opening in early 2028.