By 2011, Santana Row had already become one of Northern California's most successful shopping destinations. Opened in 2002 on the site of the former Town & Country Village, the mixed-use development combined shopping, dining, apartments, offices, and a boutique hotel into something that felt more like a city neighborhood than a traditional mall.
While enclosed malls were struggling through the aftermath of the Great Recession, Santana Row was thriving. Its walkable streets, outdoor cafés, luxury apartments, and carefully curated tenant mix attracted shoppers from across Silicon Valley and beyond.
This post features a scanned copy of the official 2011 Santana Row directory—a snapshot of the center before many of today's retailers arrived and while others were still fixtures of the Row.
Silicon Valley's outdoor mall
Calling Santana Row a "mall" never felt quite right.
There were no food courts, no department store anchors, and no endless corridors lined with chain stores. Instead, visitors wandered through a network of streets lined with shops, restaurants, apartments, fountains, and outdoor seating. Cars moved slowly through the center while pedestrians crossed between storefronts and cafés.
In many ways, Santana Row represented the next generation of retail development. Rather than trying to recreate Main Street inside a building, it attempted to build a Main Street from scratch.
What was at Santana Row in 2011?
The directory captures a fascinating moment in the center's evolution.
National retailers included Anthropologie, H&M, Crate & Barrel, Sur La Table, The Container Store, and Borders Books & Music. Fashion-focused tenants such as Diesel reflected the center's increasingly upscale identity, while Hotel Valencia remained one of Santana Row's signature landmarks.
Dining was equally important to the experience. Visitors could stop at Maggiano's Little Italy, Pluto's, Roux Louisiana Kitchen, The Counter, Kara's Cupcakes, Pinkberry, and dozens of other restaurants, cafés, and specialty food shops.
Unlike a traditional mall directory dominated by clothing stores, Santana Row's tenant mix was designed around lingering. Shopping, dining, entertainment, and residential life were all intended to blend together.
A snapshot before retail changed again
Looking back, one of the most interesting names in the directory may be Borders Books & Music.
By 2011, Borders was nearing the end of its run, and many national chains were beginning to feel pressure from online shopping. Yet Santana Row largely avoided the struggles affecting traditional malls because its appeal extended beyond retail alone.
People came here to eat, meet friends, watch movies, stay at the hotel, or simply spend an afternoon walking the streets. The stores were only part of the experience.
More than a directory
This directory isn't just a list of stores. It's a snapshot of Santana Row at a specific moment in time—before smartphones reshaped shopping habits, before many national chains disappeared, and before Santana Row fully matured into the luxury destination we know today.
Whether you remember browsing Borders, grabbing frozen yogurt at Pinkberry, or meeting friends at Maggiano's, the 2011 directory captures a version of Santana Row that already feels surprisingly nostalgic.
You'll find the complete 2011 directory scan below.
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| Front cover of the 2011 Santana Row directory, featuring a map and tenant listing for one of Silicon Valley's most successful lifestyle centers. |
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