Nut Tree, Vacaville, CA

Travelers have been pulling off here for a century, which is why the Nut Tree name still carries weight in Vacaville. It began in 1921 as a roadside fruit stand beside what became Interstate 80 and grew into a restaurant that pulled drivers off the highway. The original business is long gone and Nut Tree Plaza now fills the site, but a miniature train and a carousel keep a bit of the old roadside spirit alive. Many houses around the plaza are single-family homes from midcentury, older than the shopping center by decades. A small fly-in airport is part of the landscape. Eating and drinking centers on the plaza. Fentons Creamery at 1669 East Monte Vista Avenue pairs ice cream with a full restaurant menu, Noah's New York Bagels and Boudin cover breakfast, and Nick the Greek, Ramen 101 and 88 Bao Bao Dumpling House handle dinners. For coffee, Peet's, Enjoy Coffee and Virtue Juice + Coffee all work, and Krispy Kreme is there when a dozen is the goal. Vacaville Fruit Company nods to the area's orchard past, and Nugget Market, at 130 Browns Valley Parkway, is the main grocery stop. Because stores, restaurants and houses all sit near the plaza, a lot of everyday life fits into a short stretch, though the wide roads and big lots mean most people drive between them. Hill trails at the Browns Valley preserve are a short drive north, and the Vacaville Museum, with its local history exhibits, is a few minutes toward downtown. A shopping and dining center that pulls visitors from the freeway also pulls traffic, and the lots around it are busiest at mealtimes. Today the name covers the plaza, the old roadside site and the older streets next to them, and people use it for all three. It is a name visitors know and neighbors use.