Town staff estimate that the storefront at 1599 Tiburon Blvd., next to CVS, has been empty for at least 20 years. On Oct. 14, the Tiburon Planning Commission approved a new tenant for it 4-0, and nobody stood up to speak during public comment.

That tenant is a fitness studio. Two months earlier, the same commission approved a full gym for a former office space at 1620 Tiburon Blvd. that has been empty since 2022. Over the summer, a bike shop replaced a gift shop at The Boardwalk, and a coffee trailer at the Point Tiburon end of the Boulevard now lists a 6 a.m. start. Some of these spaces sat empty longer than almost anything downtown, and the businesses taking them are built around exercise and early mornings. As those openings arrive, the Boulevard's day will start earlier and run later than its retail ever did.

Twenty Years Next to CVS

The Ark reported that Pelican Pro Fitness plans a 1,800-square-foot studio at 1599 Tiburon Blvd. It will be membership-based and by appointment, offering one-on-one personal training and a limited number of weekly group classes. Owner Nick Price told commissioners he subleases the space from CVS and has held that lease for some time. He also said the building's owner, Zelinsky Properties, approved the sublease. Zelinsky also owns Ark Row and other downtown buildings.

The approved hours show what this kind of tenant does to a block. The studio will run 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, inside the hours of the CVS next door, which is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Price told The Ark he wants to open as soon as the town's permitting process allows.

According to The Ark, Pelican Pro is the second fitness business the Planning Commission has approved in two months.

A Two-Floor Gym Where Offices Used to Be

The first was Five Points Fitness. On Aug. 12, the commission voted 3-0 to give it a conditional-use permit for an 8,090-square-foot gym on two floors at 1620 Tiburon Blvd. That storefront has been vacant since 2022 and was most recently used as offices. The Ark noted that recreation and entertainment uses are allowed in the property's mixed-use zone only with a use permit, which is why a gym needed a hearing that a shop would not have.

The plans call for free weights, cardio equipment, self-adjusting strength machines and a recovery area with two kinds of saunas. Co-owners Tom MacDonald and Bryan LeFebure already know Marin. MacDonald told the commission they bought the Corte Madera gym from World Gym about 21 years ago and have run the Novato gym for 11 years. Tiburon would be their third location. On its website, the company lists strength and cardio equipment, small-group and one-on-one personal training, and group classes including yoga, Pilates and cycling at its existing gyms.

MacDonald has said they are aiming for a February 2027 opening, depending on construction permits and schedules.

The Boardwalk Shop With an Espresso Bar in Back

Of the four, the bike shop is the one already open, and it shows how the others might fit into the Boulevard. Peter Lucas opened Marin Service Course at The Boardwalk shopping center on July 25. It is the second location for the shop he founded in Fairfax in 2019, and it took over the space left by Diana's of Tiburon, the gift shop that closed in April 2025 when its owner retired.

Lucas is a Tiburon resident who grew up on Centro West Street. In The Ark's profile, he described his childhood ride to school:

He says he used to "bomb down the hill" that descends from Old St. Hilary's Landmark. Then it was time for tricks.

The shop sells and services bikes, carries nutrition products for cyclists, and offers bike fitting, coaching and organized community rides. Lucas built it around a bar at the back, where customers can have free espresso and watch races. Diana's sold gifts. Marin Service Course is set up so people stay a while, and the town's two approved fitness tenants follow the same idea of businesses people visit regularly.

The Plaza End Opens at 6 a.m.

Paradise Coffee opens earliest. The grab-and-go trailer at 1775 Tiburon Blvd., next to Point Tiburon Plaza, opened in late April. Its owners are Sam Cook, William Caamal and William's brother, Juan Carlos, and they serve coffee, sandwiches and breakfast items. When the town approved it in March, The Ark called it a first-of-its-kind mobile coffee trailer for the plaza. Its online ordering page lists service from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Here are the posted and approved hours, from the earliest opening to the latest closing.

1. 6 a.m. Paradise Coffee opens at the Point Tiburon end.
2. 7 a.m. Pelican Pro Fitness's approved hours begin next to CVS.
3. Midday Marin Service Course's espresso bar and service counter at The Boardwalk.
4. Until 9 p.m. Pelican Pro's approved closing time, matching CVS's Sunday hours.

Once Five Points opens in a two-floor space with saunas, another long-closed storefront will have members coming and going on a regular schedule.

Main Street's Changes Are About Food

Downtown's other half has been changing too, and almost all of it involves food and drink. The Caviar Co. announced it would close its tasting room at 46A Main St. after service on Oct. 18, ending more than five years on lower Main Street. Owner Petra Higby of Belvedere said local delivery would continue, and orders are still available through the company's website. In June, The Ark reported that Petite Left Bank had closed on June 22 when its parent restaurant group shut down.

At 5 Main St., Clive Collective took over Bungalow Kitchen on June 1. The restaurant kept its name and stayed open through the handover. Later in June, operator Justin Massei told The Ark that he planned weekday lunch service and a revamped menu.

Town policy is moving in the same direction. On June 17, the Town Council voted to advance permanent sidewalk-dining rules for restaurants and other food businesses on lower Main Street and in the mixed-use areas. Main Street is changing restaurant by restaurant, and its changes are about where people eat. The Boulevard is filling spaces that sat empty for years, and its new tenants are places people go to train.

The First Big Downtown Weekend of the Season

The next time downtown fills up all at once is Saturday, Dec. 5. The Tiburon Peninsula Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Festival runs from 2 to 5 p.m. It includes Santa photos on Ark Row, face painting at Servino's, a toddler train, crafts, roasted chestnuts, a DJ and gingerbread-house decorating. The Chamber notes that activities are subject to change. Before that, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Chamber's events calendar lists its Salt & Pepper Business of the Year celebration.

The water side is on its winter schedule. Through November and December, the Angel Island–Tiburon ferry has no Monday or Tuesday service and no regularly scheduled Wednesday through Friday trips. On weekends, boats leave Tiburon at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. A 3 p.m. departure is for campers only, and return trips leave 20 minutes after each departure. The ferry runs on the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, and is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The schedule can change without notice.

If you go to the festival, you'll walk past 1599 and 1620 Tiburon Blvd., two storefronts that after years of vacancy now have approved tenants.

If you're thinking about how changes on the Boulevard could affect your own plans, Elizabeth Green Kilgore is happy to talk it through with you. She grew up here and has watched these blocks change for nearly two decades. Request a Personalized Market Consultation whenever you're ready.