Tour de El Camino Stage 2: South Hayward

On Sunday I had a free hour or two and decided to check out the part of Hayward that has a local concentration of South Asian shops. This section is on Mission Boulevard in the south part of town. On my way there I got my first look in several months at Hayward's auto row, and I was astonished to see that many of the dealerships had closed. I can see Hayward's economy taking a big hit from the loss of the dealerships.

I found a clothes store in a little strip mall, next to an Indian food market and an Indian music store, and again walked right in and started talking to the shopkeepers. We talked about different styles he had in stock, and why he orders what items at what times of the year. It turns out that the rich dark colored shirts I like do not sell so fast, and he orders mostly blacks, whites, and tans. He recommended I check out another store further down the road, and to check out University Avenue in Berkeley too.

The second store was almost next door to a mosque, and a service must have just let out as I got there. A couple of people from the mosque made it to the store about the same time I did, and I looked around while the others said their hellos. They did not have a big selection of shirts, but I did get to chat with the shopkeeper about our trip. He thought the more time we spent up north, the better. This made sense since I think there are many Afghans in this south Hayward community. I remember that several years ago, when the US first got involved in Afganistan, there was an Afghan with ties to this community that went to Afghanistan to try to help set up a new government. He died there, and I think his funeral was at this mosque.

I decided to try the Berkeley district, and found a concentration of perhaps 10 stores on University around San Pablo Avenue. I only had time to check out one, so visited an imported goods store. There was a ton of fascinating things to look at, including comic books telling some of the classic tales of Indian mythology. I didn't buy anything, but I will come back to this district before the trip starts.