"Hobby Lobby in Riverbank, in my opinion, did a soft opening the right way when it started letting customers in without saying a word," the Modesto Bee's Biz Beat column wrote on September 25, 2026. If you drove down Claribel Road that week and wondered why the parking lot suddenly had cars in it, that's why.
The quiet opening fits the center. Crossroads West has spent more than a year announcing tenants. The doors that have actually opened are mostly big retail boxes and drive-thrus, and the sit-down and fast-casual restaurants named in the announcements are still behind construction fencing or "coming soon" pages. For the time being, the center is a place to shop. Most of the new places to eat that opened in Riverbank in 2026 are somewhere else.
The Board as of Mid-October 2026
Every status below comes from a dated news report or the chain's own store locator, which is a live page and can change any week.
| Business | Address | Status, mid-October 2026 | Latest evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby Lobby | 2123 Claribel Road | Open, Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–8 p.m. | Modesto Bee, Sept. 25, 2026 |
| Raising Cane's | 2029 Claribel Road | Open, listed with hours | Chain locator page |
| Wendy's | 1815 Claribel Road | Open, listed with hours | Chain locator page |
| Trader Joe's | 2135 Claribel Road | Coming soon, no date | Chain locator page |
| Paris Baguette | 2157 Claribel Road, Suite 170 | Coming soon | Chain locator page |
| Olive Garden | 2101 Claribel Road | Planned, not verified open | Alcohol-license report, June 2026 |
| Jersey Mike's | Crossroads West | Not verified open | "In development," Nov. 2025 |
| WaBa Grill | Suite 130 | Not verified open | Named as a tenant, March 2026 |
| Royal Pan Chinese | Suite 140 | Not verified open | Named as a tenant, March 2026 |
| 88 Bao Bao | Crossroads West | Not verified open | Named as a tenant, March 2026 |
Two of the open spots are fast food. Raising Cane's posts the longest hours on Claribel. Its location page lists 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. The Bee counted both Cane's and Wendy's among the restaurants confirmed for Crossroads West back in February 2025. The Wendy's listed at 1815 Claribel is open, though nothing we found confirms that address is part of the center rather than just nearby on the same road.
Eight Names in March, None Verified Open in October
On March 3, 2026, the City of Riverbank announced on Facebook that Trader Joe's would join Crossroads West. The Modesto Bee's report on that news listed the rest of the lineup. The center "will also soon have Olive Garden, Sketchers, Mancini's Sleepworld, Jersey Mike's, Paris Baguette, 88 Bao Bao, Royal Pan Chinese and Waba Grill as tenants."
Seven months later, none of those eight has a verified open listing. Six of them are places to eat.
Some have been on the list much longer than seven months. In July 2025, the Bee reported 88 Bao Bao and Royal Pan Chinese as still under construction, along with TJ Maxx and HomeGoods. By November 5, 2025, 88 Bao Bao was still under construction with no opening date. Olive Garden had construction underway but no announced date either. No report since then has confirmed an opening, so the restaurant first described as under construction in July 2025 still had no verified open date 15 months later. When it does open, the menu will be dim sum, dumplings, buns, potstickers and ramen.
Here is where each of the others stands:
- Olive Garden filed for an alcohol license tied to 2101 Claribel Road, according to a June 2026 report from WhatNow. That is a step toward opening, but it doesn't confirm an opening date.
- Jersey Mike's was placed between Royal Pan Chinese and Paris Baguette in a September 2025 Bee story. By November 2025 the chain still listed it as "in development."
- WaBa Grill was announced for Suite 130 with protein-and-rice bowls, veggie bowls, plates, tacos, salads and dumplings. As of this month, a Riverbank store doesn't appear in the chain's California location directory.
- Royal Pan Chinese was reported for Suite 140. The Bee couldn't find a website or social account with menu details.
- Paris Baguette has a dedicated Riverbank page at 2157 Claribel Road, Suite 170, still marked "Coming Soon." The Bee's July 2025 report placed it in Suite 160, so trust the chain's own page on the suite number.
Retail Is Arriving First
The order of openings follows the center's layout. Hobby Lobby went into a unit next to TJ Maxx, and Trader Joe's will take the 13,500-square-foot pad next door. In April 2026, the Bee reported both the Hobby Lobby and Trader Joe's buildings under construction. Hobby Lobby is now open. Trader Joe's has an address on its official locator, 2135 Claribel Road, but no hours and no opening date.
The new Hobby Lobby is a big store: 55,000 square feet of floral, fabric, needle art, custom framing, party and paper-crafting supplies. It's the chain's 73rd California location and its third in Stanislaus County, so anyone who used to drive to another county store for frames or seasonal decor now has one on Claribel. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Bee's listing has no Sunday hours.
Trader Joe's will matter more for weekly errands. When the city confirmed it, the Bee's story opened with "At long last, another Trader Joe's is opening in Stanislaus County." Until the locator posts hours, it's still a coming-soon store.
Where Riverbank's New Restaurants Opened This Year
If Crossroads West's restaurant row is mostly still on paper, the new places to eat that did open in 2026 are on Patterson Road and downtown.
Habit Burger & Grill opened at 2348 Patterson Road on Monday, July 6, 2026, with charburgers, sandwiches, salads and sides, plus dine-in, drive-through and takeout, the Oakdale Leader reported. The chain's Riverbank page lists it as open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. A few addresses away at 2328 Patterson is the Tractor Supply that soft-opened in May.
Downtown, Kinfolks Flatstone Grill took its own slow route. In September 2025, the Bee reported renovations had begun at 3306 Santa Fe Street with no opening date. It soft-opened March 30, 2026, with fusion-style burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and rice bowls, according to the Modesto Bee's food coverage. That gap from renovation to soft opening was about six months. Hours and menu details come from the April story, so check them before you go.
The Kinfolks timeline is worth remembering when you look at the Crossroads list. A single downtown storefront took about half a year to go from renovation to customers. Several of the Crossroads West restaurants have been in the news for well over a year without a reported opening.
Signs Worth Watching on Claribel
A few changes would show the restaurant side is finally moving:
- Trader Joe's posts hours. The locator at 2135 Claribel Road will switch from coming soon to a schedule. That's the clearest signal the center's second big store is close.
- Paris Baguette's page fills in its hours. Right now the visible hours section shows Monday and Tuesday as closed instead of listing open hours.
- Dutch Bros moves past review. As of the Bee's April 6, 2026 update, a site-plan application for pad 13, west of Wendy's, was under review by city staff, with no opening date reported.
- La Parrilla relocates. In July 2025, the Bee reported the Mexican restaurant planned to move from 2251 Claribel Road across the street, next to a pediatric dental office. No date or new address has been reported since.
Until those signs change, the open roster on Claribel is Hobby Lobby, Raising Cane's and Wendy's. For a meal somewhere new, the 2026 openings are Habit on Patterson and Kinfolks on Santa Fe.
Lisa Vandermeer follows the Claribel Road corridor the same way she follows Riverbank's home prices, one confirmed opening at a time. If you're wondering how Crossroads West's growth plays into what your Riverbank home is worth, or into which part of town fits your plans, Schedule a Free Consultation and Lisa will walk you through it directly.
