Sunvalley Shopping Center — Attraction in Concord

Bad Santas Review of Sun Valley Mall**

Welcome to the Sun Valley Mall: a sprawling monument to consumerism that’s as festive as it is soul-sucking. You’d think a mall dressed up in twinkling lights and garish decorations would bring holiday cheer, but let me tell you, it feels more like the set of a horror flick where the protagonist realizes they’ve made a terrible mistake. Spoiler alert: I’m the protagonist, and I’m regretting every second spent here.

The moment I stepped inside, I was hit with a cacophony of screeching children, manic shoppers, and god-awful holiday music. It’s like someone decided to take a bunch of rabid squirrels, toss them into an overcrowded shopping complex, and call it a festive gathering. The kids are running rampant, like they’re on some kind of sugar-fueled mission from Santa, darting between stores while clueless parents scroll through their phones as if the world isn’t collapsing around them. Nice parenting, folks. Who needs a leash when you’ve got total oblivion, right?

Let’s be real: the decor is as over-the-top as a drunk elf on Christmas Eve. There are creeping animatronic Santas that look like they’re about to go rogue, and all I can think is, “If I was one of those things, I’d be begging for a quick end too.” Retailers dressed up their stores with fake snow and gaudy ornaments, thinking they’d cover up the relentless hum of despair washing over this place. Spoiler: it doesn’t work.

Then, there are the shoppers. Oh, the shoppers. The frantic, last-minute gift grabbers who act as if grabbing that last scented candle is some sort of Olympic event. Watching them elbow each other in the face over discounted towels is a mix of tragic and hilarious, but mostly tragic. And don’t even get me started on how every store seems to be filled with the same generic junk, as if the holiday spirit has been funneled through a blender and spat back out into a clearance bin.

I made the mistake of trying to navigate through this madness in search of a decent drink—anything to dull the sensory overload. I finally found the food court and, let me tell you, what a feast of regret! The greasy fast food, served with a side of regret, was somehow both comforting and disgusting. I could practically feel my arteries hardening at the sight of it all. But hey, drink and forget, right?

By the end of my expedition in this mall of horrors, my jaded heart ached for escape. I left feeling less like a holiday hero and more like a sardine tossed into a can of chaos. If you’re in the mood for an existential crisis wrapped in holiday cheer, the Sun Valley Mall is your perfect destination. For me? I’ll take my chances sipping whiskey alone in a dark corner, far away from the glitter and madness.

So here’s the deal: if you’re looking for the holiday spirit, do yourself a favor and visit the Sun Valley Mall. There’s a fine line between holiday cheer and sheer madness, and this place isn't that bad. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some serious drinking to do. Happy holidays,...

I went to safeway tonight. Did some shopping. On my way out, I parked near the freeway onramp for about 5 minutes. I have a cactus garden, and there is a rare Nopal cactus across the street. As soon as I got out of my car, I saw a couple of tweakers trying to climb the fence to get into the construction materials. There was no security in sight. I told the tweakers to move along. There was no reason to be breaking and entering. The one lady went berzerk and came at me. I sounded my car alarm and she ran away. I went across the street to take a few cuttings of that beautiful cactus for my garden. When I got back to my car, the Sun Valley security guard was sitting on my trunk. Literally on my car. I said hello, I'm a customer. I was just grabbing a few cuttings of that beautiful cactus in the median. I'm leaving now. The boy started to scold me. I asked him if there was a no parking sign. He told me no, but I should obviously know. He said he was calling the cops. I told him I stopped for just a few minutes.... AND I ran the tweakers off when he was nowhere to be found. They were breaking and entering, and I made them get lost. He said he didn't care. He was calling the cops. I told him I'm a customer and I was only parked there for less than 5 minutes. He tried to block me in. Eventually he moved. As I was leaving to head home, he told me the cops are on the way. Anyway. I've been coming to this mall since I was a kid. It's really helter skelter these days. Let's all hope when it finally goes bankrupt and the city redevelops it... they make a park. As for the security guards... they work in a morgue and act like it. I hope they find a better lifestyle. * NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS RELATED TO...

I came here to just walk around and see what was going on. This place was the place to go when I was a kid in the 80s. I worked at a few stores here during the 90s and I have seen a lot of changes. I remember the fountain that was on the bottom floor in the middle of the mall. There was a Rainbow Records where I purchased the Beastie Boys "Licensed to I'll" cassette. There are so many places that I miss. Remember the movie theater? It did midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show. I was too young but I remember. There was also an ice skating rink. I played broom ball there a few times. I remember the candy area in Sears that you could get popcorn, ICEEsand an assortment of candy you could buy by weight. My favorite was always the big red swedish fish. Gone are the stores I worked at and lot has changed but amazingly a few things have remained. The McDonald's is still in the same place. The Cinnabon is where it's been since the 90s. Macy's original store is there but they took over the Emporium Capwells and it houses half the store. The Red Robin is still there from the 90s. It was nice to see it was busy and to take a walk...