A Japanese Market and a Bookstore Bring the Stevens Creek and De Anza Corner Back This Fall

"I'm from New York," Ava Liu, head of operations at Hashi Market, told SFGATE on opening morning. "We have lines, but not like this."

She was talking about Friday, Oct. 9. People started lining up at 7:30 a.m. outside the old Sprouts building at 20558 Stevens Creek Blvd. By the 10 a.m. opening, the line filled the whole parking lot, and the store had about 1,700 visitors by the end of the day. SFGATE reported that cashiers rang up 300 transactions an hour for most of the morning. A line was still waiting to get in at 11 a.m.

The crowd will thin out. The bigger change is the corner itself. One of Cupertino's largest empty storefronts has reopened as a grocery that stays open until 11 p.m. every night. On Nov. 4, a short walk down the boulevard, a Barnes & Noble is scheduled to open. Two weeks after this post, the intersection of Stevens Creek and South De Anza goes from two empty spaces to two full ones.

Two big rooms, four weeks apart

The Mercury News placed Hashi Market in the Crossroads Center at Stevens Creek Boulevard and South De Anza Boulevard, in the former Sprouts market. In its Sept. 30 City Manager's Newsletter, the City of Cupertino said the space had been vacant since 2023. That means a 20,000-square-foot grocery building sat dark for roughly three years in the middle of the city's main commercial street.

Barnes & Noble's store locator lists a Cupertino store at 20740 Stevens Creek Blvd., under the name Cupertino Crossroads, with the note "Opening November 4th 2026." As of this Thursday, that is about two weeks away.

Once the bookstore opens, the corner will have two big draws instead of none, and Hashi alone already covers breakfast through late evening. Hashi opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. every day.

What fills the old Sprouts now

Hashi is a New York chain with six stores in New York City. Cupertino is its first West Coast location. The Mercury News described it as part supermarket and part department store, and the company calls the format a "mini department store." Here is what that means once you're inside, based on SFGATE's opening-day reporting:

• Imported groceries. Japanese snacks, produce, seafood, meat and sake, with a large Hokkaido section that includes beef, rice, cheesecake, premium chocolate, and melons priced at $59.
• Seafood counter. Hairy crab imported from Hokkaido was on display. The opening-day tuna cutting used a 200-pound bluefin.
• Grab-and-go. Three large kiosks sell chicken katsu bentos, curry bowls, salmon teriyaki, and A5 wagyu rice bowls for $26.
• Sushi wall. An entire wall on the far right of the store holds sushi rolls and boxes of nigiri.
• Bakery. Bread and sweets are baked fresh every day.
• Beauty and lifestyle. Two large aisles carry brands such as Senka, Canmake and Bonbory, plus kitchen appliances.

Operations director Justin Li told the Mercury News where the fresh products come from:

"Our seafood is sourced directly from Japan, and our beef comes directly from Hokkaido, allowing us to bring the quality and authenticity of Japanese food closer to our customers."

Li gave that quote to the Mercury News, which reported ahead of time that the grand opening would include a ribbon cutting, a tuna-cutting demonstration, vendor demos, prizes, and opening-weekend deals. Opening day also featured Uzumaru, a local Yosakoi dance troupe, performing out front.

Why the late hours change the corner

Most of the shopping centers on this stretch of Stevens Creek empty out after dinner. Hashi stays open until 11 p.m., and its grab-and-go and sushi sections are built for people eating at odd hours. SFGATE pointed to nearby tech workers and to De Anza College students "just down the road" as the likely regulars at the kiosks.

There is also a late-evening discount in the works. Liu told SFGATE that all sushi will "soon" be 30 percent off after 8 p.m., as it already is at the chain's New York stores. Hashi had not given a start date as of the opening-week coverage, so check at the counter before you plan around it.

Liu gave a simple reason for choosing Cupertino: "it's a central place for California. Apple is here. Everyone knows it." SFGATE also places the store in a year of large Asian grocery openings around the Bay Area, including T&T Supermarket in San Jose in June and H Mart's Dublin location in March. Within that group, Hashi is the one on Stevens Creek, in a building neighbors had passed empty for three years.

The brand is also showing up nearby. According to SFGATE, Hashi has acquired Marina Grocery stores in Milpitas, San Mateo and Union City and is stocking them with Japanese products to see what sells. Those stores may become Hashi Markets or another brand in the Toyo Group portfolio. For now, Cupertino is the only full Hashi store in California.

The rest of the boulevard is refilling too

Hashi is the most visible reopening, but it isn't the only one. Over the past few months, the City's newsletters have tracked one long-empty Stevens Creek storefront after another getting a new tenant. In the table below, "empty since" comes from those newsletters, and "now" reflects status as of mid-October 2026.

Some details behind the table. The Preferred Bank space at 20803 is 3,280 square feet and sat empty from 2019 until the bank opened its Silicon Valley Regional Office there. Jingege & YaoYao is a Chinese restaurant in a 4,370-square-foot space at Marketplace, open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Specialty's Café & Bakery will take about 6,550 square feet in the former Le Boulanger. The City says tenant-improvement plans have been submitted but hasn't announced an opening date. In July, the City announced that EE Sushi plans to take over the former Yummee Sandwiches space in Stanley Square.

Earlier this year, BonBon Matcha opened on June 19 at 19900 Vallco Parkway, Suite 170, and Local Kitchens reopened at 21666 Stevens Creek Blvd. after renovations, with customers back on June 18.

The pattern is easiest to see on the map. Hashi, Barnes & Noble, Preferred Bank and Specialty's all sit within a few hundred address numbers of the Stevens Creek and De Anza intersection. Three of those four spaces were empty or between tenants a year ago.

What's on the calendar around town this fall

The new stores are opening in a season when the City's own calendar is busy. Here are the events from this Thursday through mid-December, in date order:

1. Hidden Treasures, Thursday, Oct. 22, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Cupertino Senior Center, 21251 Stevens Creek Blvd.
2. Monster Mash, Saturday, Oct. 24, 5 to 8 p.m., at Quinlan Community Center, 10185 North Stelling Road.
3. Cupertino Community Service Awards, Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Quinlan Community Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the program starts at 6 p.m.
4. Fall Jazz Fundraiser for the Cupertino Historical Society & Museum, Thursday, Oct. 29, 5:30 p.m., at the Cupertino Hotel, with live jazz, food from Pineapple Thai, and a silent auction.
5. Barnes & Noble opening, listed for Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 20740 Stevens Creek Blvd.
6. Community Tree Lighting, Friday, Dec. 4, 6 to 8 p.m., at Quinlan Community Center. The City lists it as free.
7. Breakfast with Santa, Saturday, Dec. 5, at Quinlan Community Center, with seatings at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.
8. Signing Santa, Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to noon, at Quinlan Community Center.
9. Holiday Sing-along, Monday, Dec. 14, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., at the Cupertino Senior Center.

The City also offers Santa Visits Your Home, 15-minute home visits on Dec. 11 to 13 and Dec. 18 to 20, with time slots between 5 and 8:30 p.m.

Between Oct. 9 and Nov. 4, the old Sprouts building and the Barnes & Noble space at 20740 both reopen, and the Specialty's and EE Sushi spaces are still waiting on opening dates. If you'd like to talk through what the new activity along Stevens Creek means for your part of Cupertino, Julio Orozco is glad to help. Let's Connect.