There’s suddenly a lot more traffic on the 500 block of Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo – foot traffic, at least.
The Creamery Marketplace’s new-found popularity comes after a major development by Covelop Inc.
The space was originally the Central Creamery and later renamed Golden State Creamery in the 1920s.
“A lot of the insulated doors for the refrigerated production facility we kept,” said developer Damien Mavis of Covelop Inc.
In 1925, more than a million pounds of butter were produced at the creamery, according to the History Center of San Luis Obispo County.
When Golden State Creamery shut down in 1974, it became a retail space. It has housed many longtime local favorites including Mama’s Meatballs, Goshi Sushi, Spike’s Pub and Ciopinot.
San Luis Obispo native Jim Hamari remembers when The Creamery was primarily a parking lot.
“It’s much more accessible now and I’ll be here more with the renovation for sure,” Hamari told KSBY.
The marketplace is also home to Bikram Yoga, Picking Daisies, Cider Bar SLO,Foremost Wine Co. and La Esquina Taqueria, among others.
“Yoga, ice cream and beer,” said Hamari. “What more do you want?”
After a year and half of renovations, the re-imagined Creamery is open for business and oh “SLO Irresistible.” The colorful mural at the marketplace’s entrance is becoming a popular Instagram backdrop.
“I think if you want a flavor of San Luis Obispo, it’s an easy place to go and eat and shop,” Mavis said.
Look out for elements from the creamery’s past like the unique doors outside Seabreeze Cupcakes.
“These doors are actually the original doors where they would pass through the milk jugs back and forth,” Mavis said. “When you go into the shop you can see the walls are a foot and a half thick because they were all insulated with cork from the early 1900s.”
Nite Creamery takes dairy into the future, scooping up decadent nitrogen ice cream in puffy waffle cones.
“The renovations are awesome,” said Nite Creamery co-owner Nino Eng. “It’s a beautiful place for families and friends to hang out.”
“It’s really awesome how it’s like, really close to downtown but it’s not technically considered downtown,” said Cheryl Eng, co-owner of Nite Creamery. “It’s like this little hidden gem.”
Most businesses in the Creamery Marketplace open in the afternoon and close by 11 p.m. It is located at 570 Higuera St.
If you visit the Creamery, share your photos with #beonksby.
