The BART Car on B Street Came for the Neighbors

"Nobody has ever brought a 75-foot BART train car onto a downtown commercial zone," Joel DiGiorgio told the San Francisco Chronicle in June. He was describing the restored 1973 car that is now the centerpiece of Arthur Mac's Big Snack at 1060 B St.

DiGiorgio and his wife Jordan spent two years looking for an empty commercial lot big enough to hold a train car. They looked in Martinez, San Leandro and Castro Valley. According to the Chronicle, one reason they chose downtown Hayward was the neighboring businesses, and the two they named were Buffalo Bill's Brewery and the craft beer pub The Bistro.

What sold an outside operator on B Street was the businesses already on it. That same pull shows up again in nearly every other change on the street this year.

Five years and nearly $2 million for one train car

The cost of the project shows how much the location was worth to the owners. According to the Chronicle, getting the car to 1060 B St. took:

1. A 2021 proposal to a BART program that repurposes the system's original retired cars.
2. A crane move of the 65,000-pound car five miles from a storage yard. The move cost more than $30,000 and needed U.S. Department of Transportation approval.
3. A 45-day review by the air traffic control facility at Hayward Executive Airport.
4. A foundation built on real train tracks and a custom concrete fire wall around the property, which together cost more than $100,000. BART's engineering and safety data covers powered trains, not a parked car used as restaurant seating.
5. A total budget that grew to nearly $2 million. DiGiorgio had expected to open in two years, and it took five.

Most of that weight sits in the undercarriage, in the hardware and propulsion equipment. Architects and engineers advised keeping it in place to protect the car's structure, so the restaurant now sits on a train that still carries its original mechanical parts.

A business doesn't take on a five-year permitting effort for a block it isn't sure about. The Martinez, San Leandro and Castro Valley lots would have needed the same crane, the same fire wall and the same reviews. Hayward won because of what was already around 1060 B St.

What's going in at 1060 B St.

The space covers 7,000 square feet. Along with the BART car seating, the Chronicle reported plans for fire pits, a large pergola and a full bar with 20 beers on tap. Cocktails will use fresh-squeezed juices and house-made cordials and bitters. The main menu follows the existing Arthur Mac's lineup of cold-fermented pizza, wings, salads and snacks.

The car gets its own shorter menu. DiGiorgio said it will focus on "what many of us have snuck onto BART in the past, tallboy cans of beer and slices of pizza." The original seats, signage and handrails are staying. The conductor's station, chair and control panel included, will be open for photos and will double as a children's play area.

On timing, the Chronicle reported in June that the Hayward opening was planned for October. In August, the Downtown Hayward Improvement Association's column in the Tri-City Voice described it only as coming "this fall." As of mid-October, the Arthur Mac's website still lists only its Oakland and Emeryville locations, and we haven't found a published opening date. Until the owners announce a date, think of it as coming soon and not yet open.

DiGiorgio told the Chronicle how he sees the move: "We still feel like being in Hayward is an extension of Oakland. It's really about building out the entire East Bay."

The rest of the block got there first

Arthur Mac's isn't arriving on an empty street. Most of this year's B Street openings are within a few doors of each other on the 1000 block.

Con Azúcar is a coffee chain that started in San Jose. The Tri-City Voice names its founders as Alejandra Gonzalez, Alan Jimenez and Ruben Jimenez and reports that they went to school in Hayward when they were younger. Food and Flea describes the owners as siblings with Hayward roots and reported in July that the downtown shop had celebrated its grand opening.

Dali Tea's start date is harder to pin down. Food and Flea called it "now open" on July 22. The DHIA column a month later said it was getting ready for a soft opening. In either case it's operating in the former Once Tea space at 1081 B St., so tea drinkers on that block lost one shop and gained a new one.

Revere Tattoo's move matters for the same reason. The DHIA calls it a long-standing downtown fixture, and when it relocated it stayed on B Street and ended up beside the new beer garden.

Buffalo Bill's, one of the two neighbors DiGiorgio named, dates its original brewery to 1983. That history is what a newcomer is betting on. Here it means more than four decades of people already coming downtown for a pint.

Taste of Hayward puts the whole street on one ticket

The clearest look at what downtown has right now is on Thursday, October 22, from 4 to 8 p.m. That's when the Hayward Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Hayward Improvement Association run Taste of Hayward. Tickets are listed at $35 plus a service fee. Check-in is near the fountain at Hayward City Hall, 777 B St., from 3:45 p.m. until 7:15 p.m. Each ticketholder gets a Taste Passport for tracking favorite bites and drinks along the route, and there's live music along the way.

The organizers don't agree on which year this is. The Chamber's page calls it the inaugural Taste of Hayward, and a Downtown Hayward listing calls it the 2nd Annual. Either way, here's the posted participant list:

• Full meals: Aama's Kitchen, Aqua e Farina, Casa del Toro Cocina & Tequila, Golden Safari, Gurkha Kitchen, Khao Hom, Metro Taquero, Teriyaki City Grill, BobJip, Tang Jip, Storybook
• Beer and drinks: Buffalo Bill's Cerveceria, The Bistro, World Famous Turf Club
• Cafes and delis: Erik's Deli Cafe, Nomi's Cafe, Snappy's Café, Sourdough & Co., The Old City Roastery, Tram Cream Coffee
• Tea, sweets and treats: Dali Tea, Butter Pecan, Cold Stone Creamery, Sugarmama Sugarcane, T4

Both neighbors DiGiorgio named, The Bistro and Buffalo Bill's, are on the list. So is Dali Tea, one of this year's new arrivals at 1081 B St.

If downtown is mostly part of your weekday errands, our guide to everyday living in downtown Hayward covers the basics. This is the evening that shows the food and drink side of the same blocks.

The parking rules changed this summer

More reasons to come downtown means more cars, and the City of Hayward changed how downtown parking works this summer. In a June 9 announcement, the city said it would start enforcing time limits on downtown streets and in city lots and garages on July 1. Parking is still free. Overnight parking isn't allowed in city lots and garages. The city's instruction is to follow the posted limits, so the sign at your space is the rule that applies.

According to the city, its downtown facilities total 1,689 spaces. They include the City Hall/Downtown Library Garage at 22625 Mission Blvd., the Cinema Place Garage at 22695 Foothill Blvd., and a series of numbered municipal lots. On a night like Taste of Hayward, a garage is probably an easier bet than circling B Street for a curb spot, as long as you check the posted limit when you park.

The city has said a parking permit for people who live and work downtown is the planned next step. We haven't found a published rollout date. Until one is announced, downtown residents and workers follow the same posted limits as everyone else.

What the BART car says about the block

Each change on the 1000 block of B Street supports the same point. A tattoo shop that has been downtown for years moved and stayed on B Street. A tea shop opened in the space another tea shop left. A San Jose coffee chain run by siblings with Hayward roots opened a few doors down. An East Bay operator compared four cities, picked this street because of a brewpub dating to 1983 and a craft beer bar, and then spent five years and nearly $2 million to bring a train car to it.

For more ways to spend a free day in town, see why Hayward's best weekend spots never show up on the same list, or browse our Hayward neighborhood page.

Hayward is where Dixit Properties is based, and we follow B Street because we spend time on it too. If you own near downtown and want to know how new businesses and changes like the parking rules affect what your home is worth, Vik is happy to walk you through it. Request a free consultation, and we'll go over the numbers together.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.