Laurel Street is one of the main reasons why people move to San Carlos. It’s also responsible for bringing a significant revenue stream into the city from people who do not already live here. Laurel Street is an integral part of the San Carlos experience. It’s often said that San Carlos has a great downtown. I would agree with this statement. However, San Carlos does not yet have an elite downtown, and here’s why:
What’s Missing?
Our downtown does a fantastic job catering to the needs of adults. A variety of restaurants/bars, clothing stores, salons and boutique shops all line Laurel Street. Laurel Street clearly has an over-25 focus. This is strange to think about considering the number one reason people move to San Carlos is for the schools. As one of our out-of-town friends recently put it, “I think you have more kids in this town than adults.” This tongue and cheek statement brings to light an interesting question. Are all segments of the San Carlos population truly represented downtown? I don’t believe so. What takes a downtown from great to elite is its ability to cater to all segments of its population. Downtown San Carlos can do better with regard to its youngest citizens.
Downtown is not completely void of places for kids. The Speederia-Diddams corner seems to be the most popular for older kids. The Reading Bug, Harmony Yogurt and Cowabunga are also popular choices. However, San Carlos can do better. Given the recent cutbacks at the Youth Center at Burton Park, this need has never been greater.
How Do We Get There?
We are really talking about two different groups. We are talking about kids who are old enough to hang out downtown by themselves, and those who will need to go downtown with a parent. From there, start with the number one reason people go downtown: to eat. This is the one category that can encompass both groups of kids. As I have mentioned a few times on this site, San Carlos has very few options of economical, family-based restaurants. Redwood City got this right. While the two downtowns are very different in terms of look, size and feel, Redwood City has done a very good job of mixing the higher-end, adult restaurants with more economical, kid-friendly choices. A prime example is the recent announcement that the Old Spaghetti Factory is moving to downtown Redwood City. This would have been a nice addition in the the vacant Foodville building on Laurel Street. I am not saying that the Old Spaghetti Factory was the best option for San Carlos, but it would have helped to solve an obvious need. Jack’s Prime, The Peninsula Creamery or The Counter would all do well in that location.
Aside from restaurants, San Carlos can also do a better job of providing places for older kids to hang out downtown. A small movie theater, miniature golf course and a bowling alley? Downtown had them all not so long ago, and they worked wonders. The unfortunate thing about all three of those venues for kids is that they were shutdown before San Carlos had its own baby boom in the mid 1990s. Now, the feasibility of bringing them back is something different entirely.
However, there needs to be a concerted effort to lure a similar type of venue back to San Carlos. Currently, for any of those activities or related activities San Carlans travel outside of the city limits to spend their money. Given the city’s budget challenges that we are all too aware of, the tax revenue stream from additional downtown businesses would help to preserve our dwindling city services. Maintaining these through the added tax revenue while adding to the appeal of Laurel St. will only prove to increase demand for our city and support property values. Taking our downtown from great to elite is a win-win-win situation for San Carlos.
16 Comments
Hear hear, Bob! A neighbor who grew up here recently shared with me about the bowling alley and theaters…how great it would be if those remained today. I really agree about the food options for families; I think some thoughtful additions would thrive downtown.
Doesn’t the market drive these sort of things? Business’ catered towards kids have always floundered on Laurel Street. Bowling Alleys struggle incredibly, both the Redwood City and Palo Alto bowl are on the chopping block. Small movie theaters struggle as well. Just look at all the closures around the Bay Area in the past 10 yrs. Where would everyone park with all of these things coming into town? Also, I hear Malibu is closing as well.
Comparing the downtowns of Redwood City and San Carlos is a little bit of a stretch. RWC’s downtown has yet to catch on, and a large complaint is all the kids loitering around the movie theater. Lastly, I hear that we get very little from our tax revenue from Laurel Street. Most of it comes from the Industrial area across the railroad tracks.
Hi Sam,
Thanks for the post. Parking is always an issue downtown. The nice thing is that much of White Oaks, Oak Park and Howard Park can walk to downtown. Comparing downtown San Carlos with downtown Redwood City is a stretch. I tried to make this point clear in the original post in saying that the two were very different in look, size and feel. However, on the singular issue of diversity of restaurant options, I believe they did get it right. Also, I would disagree with you on the tax revenue. Home Depot and Best Buy do make healthy contributions toward the tax revenue. However, when you have a budget that is as tight the one San Carlos now operates on, each and every revenue source should be fully tapped. Thanks again for the post.
Bob
This just in from the City of San Carlos in response to this article:
“The San Carlos Redevelopment Agency has a proposal to buy the Foodville site on Monday night’s City Council/Redevelopment Agency Board agenda”
Thanks,
Bob
Jen, I thought of you when I read the first paragraph!
Bob, I think “a significant revenue stre,am” is over stating the case. GPAC was told over and over that Laurel St. is valuable not for the tax revenue it brings in but for the charm it provides. That doesn’t mean the Laurel St revenue shouldn’t be maximized, but it’s the east side that keeps the town afloat. If you know of any good family restaurants in downtown RWC, I’d like to know about them. When I’m stuck down there at lunch time I’m always disappointed. Belmont has Whispers Cafe and Creperie that draws extended families and every combination of people, and dogs on a nice day. Their menu is so diverse that anyone should be able to find something. Their second location should have been where In-n-Out will be’ll end up somewhere else. Nino’s is another place that’s popular with families and teens, and Nino makes the kids feel welcome. Now there’s a pizza/pasta place going in two doors up the street. I hope it doesn’t hurt Nino’s business. We go to Nino’s often, but it would be nice to have more variety, like Whispers, and NOT a franchise! We have three locally owned restaurants on our side of town, with parking! Not bad for the wrong side of the tracks.
I think The Office is going to be popular with kids and families during the day and the young working crowd at night, but it’s on ECR and almost in RWC. I’d also like a casual restaurant with service, someplace where I don’t have to go up to the counter to order. We had lunch at the creperie in Menlo Park today, with good food unlike anything I know of in SC, good service, and reasonable prices. Have you ever tried to find lunch on Sunday in downtown SC? If you can find a restaurant, parking is no problem because it’s so quiet.
It’s fine the RDA to buy up half a city block, but what are they going to do with it? The developer they chose demonstrated no imagination whatsoever in their initial proposal, and since then the council sold their valuable corner site to In-n-Out. So I’m not holding my breath that the city will improve downtown. There’s a ton of potential on that corner; we just have to hope they don’t squander it. One of those big buildings should house a large flexible space that could be used for city meetings, Chickens Ball, Children’s Theater, winter Farmers’ Market, etc. I think Jen would agree with that. It could be used for teen events as well, and programs for people between 18 and 50, who don’t have a community center in SC. I think it was Einstein who said imagination is more important than education. There’s a lot of education in City Hall.
Pat,
I like your idea of a large flexible space that the community can use. But, I think the city and the developer are going to move forward on a massive 4 story apartment/condo complex just like 1001 Laurel Street. I just can’t imagine how out of place that will look in our beautiful downtown area. Also, I am not looking forward to having to park in an underground parking garage. I really wish we could keep the open air parking and develop that space into something the community actually wants and/or needs.
It would be great if the City & developer could look at other ideas for Wheeler:
– Keep as much open air parking as possible (people don’t want to park underground)
– Build the new buildings up to 2 or three stories max (4 stories is too high – just look at 1001 Laurel and how out of place it looks)
– Build a community space
– Look at adding a small boutique hotel – this could be a lot of revenue for the city and wouldn’t have to be so large or out of place; plus it wouldn’t impact our overcrowded schools
– Add some office space, but don’t add any more retail space…we don’t need it. Look at all of the vacant properties on Laurel, especially 1001 Laurel (not one business is in there).
– Add a family style restaurant – I love Bob’s idea, something like Spaghetti Factory or the Creamery would be great!
I really hope our City Council can move this development towards something the community wants and something that maintains our small town village feel.
It has been a while since I have been a kid, but numerous attempts were made to cater to stuff I liked to do when I was a boy. As an example there is a skate shop downtown, I used to spend a lot of time skateboarding. I haven’t seen a lot of kids hanging out there, which makes me sad.
We used to have a bike shop on Laurel. I spent money there, especially on maint. for my mountain bike (thanks Belmont canyon!). Unfortunately they couldn’t stay in business. Kids also use bikes.
There are various ice cream and froyo shops, a candy shop (party store), Glinda’s fudge + candy, a grocery store with a low wall that doubles as seats (Bianchini’s) which also has candy and energy drinks, and multiple Starbucks.
Sneakers, for whatever reason, caters to families as does San Remo.
Personally I’d prefer to keep chain restaurants off of Laurel, but since I’m not eating at them I guess I really don’t care as long as the city council does a good job evaluating the parking and traffic impact of new businesses.
According to the San Carlos Patch, what some are looking for is “endless mimosas”!
See their article at http://sancarlos.patch.com/articles/the-great-escape-mimosas
I would think that is pretty accurate.
Bob
SC Mom,
You have great ideas, and you’re not alone. Unfortunately, I don’t think the decision makers are going to listen to you and all the others who have asked for something different from the condo project Silverstone was hired to build. the other bidder was willing to apply for grant money to beautify Laurel and integrate the whole thing, spend a lot of time with residents gathering ideas before starting to plan the project, etc. That scared the Council and they went with the no-imagination Silverstone proposal. Their other projects that they showed are big and ugly! I told them they need to involve the community, so they had one meeting months ago. That’s the last I’ve heard from them. They were supposed to have another public meeting in February, but it didn’t happen.
I think the giant condo building, the underground parking, and the additional retail space are all pretty much set in stone. I think there’s still a chance for a public gathering space, but I doubt that they’ll do what I propose. That’s not part of their standard package, and, as I said, they have no imagination.
Yes, most of the tax revenue comes from areas other than Laurel Street, rents are insane on Laurel, that is why you’ll never get a good chain eatery. And if you want taxes, what about all the condos going in? No prop 13 issues to keep those people paying no property tax… And underground parking? Guess we should tell all the people in San Francisco what a terrible idea it is, maybe they’ll fight for “open air” parking as well. Get real San Carlos, this will never again be the quaint town I grew up in.
As a teen and a member of the Youth Advisory Council I could not agree with you more Bob. I know first hand that Laurel Street is not an attractive location for high schoolers let alone many older middle schoolers. You’re right, there are only a few restaurants on Laurel that are attractive in terms of price, atmosphere, and type of food for an evening meal. Most teens are more attracted to Redwood City and San Mateo, mainly because they both have movie theaters and more spread out down towns (with more food options). Menlo Park is another popular dinner spot for high schoolers. It would be great if the City would reconsider more teen friendly restaurants and entertainment. For a solid ten years the YAC tried to bring a skate park to downtown San Carlos, but was repeatedly shot down or told to look on the east side of the tracks (where kids can’t easily get to). We eventually gave up once the budget crisis hit. I also know SCCT is still in search of a permanent theater. I will be sharing this article and all the comments at the next YAC meeting this upcoming Wed. Maybe we can play a more active role in trying to make the downtown more kid friendly and “elite.”
Thanks for the post, Kevin. If you need help with getting the word out on a movement for a permanent theater for SCCT, just let me know.
Bob
The more things change, the more things remain the same. SC was almost the same as Deadwood City back in the 60s and 70s. Nothing for a young person to do. Not much has changed.
City management, city staff and workers, and elected officials have good intentions, but… unresponsive, what a mess.
Park maintenance, police, fire farmed out. Plutocrats entrenched. Schools, athletic fields, and parks in disarray. No summer programs for youth at an affordable price. All gone to for-profit contractors. The budget crunch is ugly.
As Peter Finch said it so well in the movie Network I’m mad as h–l, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” On second thought, I have no choice in the matter. Suck it up, buddy.
Bring back the Carlos, the Tivoli (no porn please), the Laurel, the putter golf course, Dankens, SCHS, the old pool hall, the bowling alley, the YMCA and the Ranch Room. Don’t get me started about the train wreck known as BFI, NorCal, Allied, Waste Management, Recology or whatever it is called this week. Sorry :-), ain’t gonna happen, but nostalgia is pleasant.
I qualify as an old codger now so I have license to say the world is going to h–l in a handbasket, or is it handcart? I dunno, I forget.
Mort
I want to copy Redwood City. I love their downtown. It’s like a little escape – the buildings are gorgeous. The lighting is enchanting. There are entertainment options. 9 times out of 10 my wife and I go there on dates. Or maybe Palo Alto. Or Mountain View. I know we’re broke, and I do love Saffron/Towne/Cowabunga/Speederia, but I think we could do a lot better.