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Business & Tech

What Do Business Owners Want to See in the Downtown Vacancies?

What neighboring shop owners hope fills empty storefronts can be very different from what customers want to see.

No one likes to see For Lease signs in our towns, especially the merchants whose stores are close to them. As the co-owner of  in downtown San Anselmo, I’ve seen firsthand how nearby vacancies can spell fewer customers strolling by. But often, we merchants have a different take from residents on whom we’d like to see sign those leases—and who we think will thrive and lure more shoppers to our doors.

So I thought I’d ask my fellow business owners in San Anselmo and Fairfax: “Who should set up shop in town?” Here’s how they replied.

San Anselmo by Night

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Even though San Anselmo boasts two coffee shops within one block and a bevy of restaurants to choose from, “more places to hang out” was on more businesses’ wish lists than anything else. Luckily, three places that fit the bill are due to open (or reopen) shortly: .

That should please Kristy Dykman, co-owner of , who said, “We need a place where people want to go at night.” For instance, she thinks it will be great if L’Appart becomes a wine and beer garden.

Just next door to Dogville, another potential hangout, Bella Luna Café, was supposed to open months ago. Tacked to its newspapered door is a note saying that despite “major hurdles,” it is back on track to opening its doors. Yet according to Dykman, “I have not heard a hammer being swung in months. It makes me worried."

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June Vincent, who owns , agreed that an evening hot spot is just what San Anselmo needs, though not just for adults: “We need a place where families can come at night.” She’d also like to see fewer businesses selling the same wares, and a little more diversity—“So people don’t get in their car and go to the mall. Once you get to the mall, you can buy everything there.” She hopes for more stores like the newly reopened , where customers can find gifts of all kinds.

Fairfax by Day

Unlike San Anselmo, Fairfax hit the . Unfortunately, that has left little in the coffers for daytime attractions or spots for teens, according to Fairfax merchants.  

“It would be nice to have a place in Fairfax that has a local pool and other amenities,” said Michael Altman, the owner of Iron Springs Pub & Brewery. He’d like to see something akin to the , a former Fairfax resort that had a long heyday among teens and adults from the 1940s through 1972, with swimming pools, a tennis court, live music, and a restaurant. Unfortunately, plans to revive the resort’s old site have fizzled out over the years.

Lorie Kulberg, who owns , agrees that if Fairfax offered more for kids and teens, it would draw more money to the town and give them something to do. “We have nothing for teenagers, like a community center,” said Kulberg, adding that teens need a private place to hold dances and spend time without their parents looking over their shoulders. (The newly-started are not well-known yet in the community.) While there is the Pavillion, Kulberg thinks it’s too expensive to rent out. And apparently, its  may take us into the next decade.

While Huda Al-Jamal, the owner of , which sells art-based toys, benefits from the draw of the Fairfax Theater, she sees some gaps in what the city offers: “The top thing that people ask for in Fairfax is a sushi place. And there’s not really a place that sells vintage objects.”

“My big thing about Fairfax is that there aren’t really any services in town,” she said. “The banking, post office are all down the way. Gone are the times when these places were located downtown.”

Al-Jamal gets asked all the time why she doesn’t sell records and CDs. “Because they won’t sell,” she said. “A lot of people have complained that there isn’t a music or bookshop–but those two types of stores are so difficult to keep open in this economy. But people still want them.”

Alaina co-owns Marin Running Company with her husband and will be writing about local business issues, offering a store-owner's insight.

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