Country Sun, a grocery store that specializes in organic food and that for decades has been one of California Avenue's most visible and emblematic retailers, will shut down at the end of this year, the company’s CEO told this publication.
The store, which boasts a robust vitamin and supplement section, is set to close on Dec. 24, prompted by a decline in business. While there is a grassroots movement by customers to save the store, Scott Otte, the CEO and general manager of Country Sun, confirmed that the closure is proceeding.
Otte said in an email that he had been working all year with a potential buyer, but that deal fell through in early October.
"The shift in the way we (the community/Bay Area) shop for groceries because of the pandemic really hurt our sales; we've never recovered," Otte said in an email.
The market, which is located at 440 California Ave., is an offshoot of Country Harvest, an organic market that opened in the 1970s in Menlo Park and then relocated to a store on the 300 block of California Avenue, nearer to Birch Street. Now rebranded as Country Sun Natural Foods, it moved into the larger space it currently occupies in 1980.
The closure of Country Sun, which is distinct both for the colorful mural of a poppy field on one outside wall and its focus on organic food, is another blow for California Avenue, which has seen a growth in vacancies over the course of the pandemic. Several long-standing businesses have departed, including Antonio’s Nut House, The Counter, Subway, Bank of the West and Starbucks.
Palo Alto city staff and elected leaders are now in the process of crafting a new vision for California Avenue, which is widely referred to as the city’s "second downtown." It has been closed to cars since early in the pandemic.
Jessica Roth, whose family owns The Cobblery on California Avenue, mentioned the looming departure of Country Sun during a Sunday meeting with Council member Greg Tanaka, which was broadcast on Facebook. She called the closure "very upsetting."
"It’s a staple for our street," Roth said. "I feel like Country Sun shows a lot of the character of Cal. Ave., and it’s going to be a really hard loss for us."
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Comments
Registered user
College Terrace
on Oct 23, 2023 at 4:21 pm
Registered user
on Oct 23, 2023 at 4:21 pm
Sad,sad, sad terrible news. Locally owned operated. Hired high schoolers (my two nieces first jobs). Had a Member discount. Always friendly, always local. Now no health food, supplement store. God knows, Molly Stones is struggling to remain open —
One less good wholesome grocery store for neighbors in the low income family to purchase healthy foods w Cal Fresh EBT (former food stamps). A walkable store in a super duper area for the entire community to access.
Pretty quickly Palo Alto will only have restaurants, Starbucks, work-out gyms, high end hair salons, high end bike shops and corporate tech hubs employing others from out of the area. Soon luxury end boutiques and specialty stores for the rich. I am thinking Stinson Beach, Malibu, Carmel, minus the fine art. So what does Palo Alto offer for retail for residents?
There is a massive missing middle for your every day resident shopper. Auto parts, lock smiths, shoe repair, local pharmacy, skate shop — how about a medical supply store for canes & potty seats? — let alone there is no 99 cent store, or Target or really nothing for your average resident to get that pushes us through our daily lives. Residents are getting land locked& forced to buy “online” for what reasons??? Our city is bleeding out in loss of services, community, economic health.
Registered user
Evergreen Park
on Oct 23, 2023 at 4:40 pm
Registered user
on Oct 23, 2023 at 4:40 pm
And there you have it. Cal Ave is in a spiral. To survive small retail businesses need foot traffic — people see the windows and drop by. With each closure, there is less reason for anyone to be on Cal Ave during the day. You can see how dead it is until dinner time. If you want a high priced restaurant row that is open at night, then by all means keep it closed to car. It isn’t just matter of parking. It is also driving down a street and seeing life, not an abandoned street. There is no sign at the beginning of Cal Ave to tell you what stores are there. There is no sign telling you where to park. Molly Stone’s depends on people being able to actually get to its store. Getting there now is a complicated affair with construction everywhere. With the street closed at ECR, people may assume MS is closed. I don’t see our neighboring towns closing all of a street. And, please, Cal Ave is not a downtown. Not city I know of supports two downtowns.
Certainly the Ctiy has invested far fewer resources in Cal
Ave. Sad.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Oct 23, 2023 at 5:46 pm
Registered user
on Oct 23, 2023 at 5:46 pm
Hey, the city "invested" in that absurd miniature golf hole for which they charge money instead of putting up signs. Ah, priorities.
More seriously, putting up useful signage would take common sense and an appreciation of the needs of people and retailers from staff and its "retail consultant" since they keep assuring us that our retail needs will be satisfied if they just find the right sq footage mathematical formula.
Pathetic.
And how much did the Cal Ave beautification project -- aka bejeweled sidewalks -- cost and how many years did it drag on and on and on with all its cost overruns delays?
Equally pathetic was the city offering retailers a pathetic $5,000 total to compensate them for all those years of "lost income" and inconvenience??
($5,000 divided by 24 months = $208 per month / $2,500 a year!)
Registered user
another community
on Oct 23, 2023 at 6:21 pm
Registered user
on Oct 23, 2023 at 6:21 pm
Pretty soon, there will be no restaurants on ECR. Fish Market, McDonald's, soon to be a memory. And those were the only fast and/or inexpensive food that actually had parking. Now they will be razed in favor of building housing the developers know before digging, there won't be enough room for parking for residents. PA is so far behind the times, we may as well install a large sundial at both ends of Cal Ave. As for the parking lot(s) close enough for those with legs, they are surrounded by construction. Those without legs can pound sand. The only people allowed to eat there are healthy, have all attached limbs working, and can afford the menu. Without even having an open courthouse to file a civil complaint, PA has effected a fait accompli. But nobody really cares. Pffft. There are other ways to approach development. Need more $tudies.
Registered user
Leland Manor/Garland Drive
on Oct 23, 2023 at 7:14 pm
Registered user
on Oct 23, 2023 at 7:14 pm
This is very unfortunate, but hardly a surprise. Closing California Avenue has downsides and this is just one more of them. I wonder how long Mollie Stone’s will be around?
Registered user
College Terrace
on Oct 23, 2023 at 8:13 pm
Registered user
on Oct 23, 2023 at 8:13 pm
People take notice that what happened to Country Sun is not because of the closure to traffic on California Avenue. Covid slammed many brick and mortar retailers. Many shoppers chose to have groceries delivered. There are many office vacancies.
Are the rents too high? Why did many retailers flee to Los Altos where the town encourages and SUPPORTS retail. The pre-Covid
commuters flowing off the trains supported Country Sun and European Cobblery. Now ridership is at thirty percent. Again, the closing of the avenue to vehicular traffic did not come into play. Country Sun was at the vanguard in offering organic produce. Now most grocercies offer organic fruits and vegetables. Once the building was sold two years ago the business was less secure. Customers have built relationships with the wonderful staff at Country Sun. Many of us appreciate having this special health food store and took it for granted. Now the lease is up. Tragic loss for the community.
Registered user
Evergreen Park
on Oct 24, 2023 at 7:46 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 7:46 am
"People take notice that what happened to Country Sun is not because of the closure to traffic on California Avenue."
Nonsense.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 24, 2023 at 7:48 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 7:48 am
Noooo!
Cal Ave used to have an art store, bakery, thrift store, proam camera store where amateurs could rent pro equipment they could never otherwise afford to look sideways at, etc etc. The sad fact is it wasn’t the pandemic that killed Cal Ave, it was allowing it to be taken over by tech workers and businesses serving them rather than residents—so residents stopped hanging out and shopping there, as commuters pushed them out. That situation was always fragile, as any bump like an earthquake, economic downturn, or yes, pandemic, would suddenly shift people to online work and moving elsewhere. (I even posted about this well before the pandemic, and included epidemic on the list.)
There is community value to having physical retail that serves residents, that they can afford. It’s more environmentally friendly, too, since people tend to combine shopping and errands in one trip.
Avoiding this doom loop would have taken getting out from under the false, developer serving narrative that laissez faire building will magically allow everyone to walk to work and afford to live anywhere they want.
We, as a town, must take overt care to have control of our destiny: diverse vibrant college town, or hollowed out office park. SF has the same choice, only much more gritty and stark. Allowing laissez faire building has been making the choice for us, and it’s not producing any of the goals; while proponents/ true believers keep pushing the false vision, our ability to restore the vibrancy slips further from our grasp.
Do we want resident-serving retail? The City should create a bond, a community foundation, a first-right-of-refusal rule, whatever it takes, and buy up the commercial districts. This would allow them to enter into long-term leases with resident-serving businesses, and stabilize not only retail, but also costs, enabling a diversity of businesses, who could also then afford to pay better wages for traditionally low-wage work. Everyone wins.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Oct 24, 2023 at 7:54 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 7:54 am
The council didn’t have a plan for Cal Ave and this is the result. They allowed a mishmash of restaurant tents in the street that block retailers. The whole area is unappealing, starting with the barriers. The City ignored the concerns of retailers like Mollie Stone. The City needs to do more than throw some games on the road. It needs a concerted effort to revitalize the street. The vacancy signs are everywhere. Obviously, what they are doing now is not working. At a bare minimum the City should be reviewing its decision.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Oct 24, 2023 at 9:31 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 9:31 am
I hope a grassroots effort manages to save the store.
Registered user
another community
on Oct 24, 2023 at 10:28 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 10:28 am
So sad. Started with the fountain and the trees...and has gone straight downhill since. Cal Ave used to be a pedestrian friendly area with a variety of businesses. Bakery, CHO's, pharmacy, pet store, deli, restaurants, bookstore, hardware, grocery, thrift store and so much more. I loved walking around window shopping. Now there is nothing. Since it's been closed off I haven't hardly been there. I used to like to just drive down and see what was going on. Can't do that now. When I had knee surgery there was no where close by to park. Remove those barriers. Bring back the old cal ave. Give people a reason to go down there. Huge population within walking distance...yet why would they go there now. I lived 2 blocks over for 40 years. My grandma would take me to do her errands. We would go to the bakery, pet store, pharmacy and grocery store. Everyone knew us. It was a COMMUNITY. That is gone. The old PA is gone and the NEW PA is a joke. Which is why I left. Natives are heartbroken too see the overpriced disaster its become. Stressed out kids. Antisocial neighbors. Karens and TPARS. Very sad to see. Maybe the previous generations should be running this town. We liked the Nut house. It was part of our COMMUNITY. It was about COMMUNITY not greed and money. Back to the days when our teachers and first responders were our neighbors. Back when we knew our neighbors and helped one another out. Think about it ....
Registered user
another community
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:09 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:09 am
My grandmother's department store (Loch's) was at this location in the late 1940's. Yardage, Levi's, Notions, Women's Wear, etc. We sold the store to Harryman's in 1949 after my grandmother (Caroline Vogt Loch) died. I loved going next door to the florist. The lady who owned the shop would sit with me and read stories. I can still remember how wonderful it smelled in her florist. There was a little lunch counter across the street where I could get a liverwurst sandwhich~ Such fond memories.
Registered user
Professorville
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:11 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:11 am
In case you're not tracking the project, the City is working on economic development strategies, which include boosting retail. There's a detailed status report in here: Web Link starting around page 11. It's a slog to get through, but it does have useful information. For example, the average retail rent on Cal Ave is about $51/sq ft, compared to the national average of $28/sq ft.
Tomorrow's Planning and Transportation Commission meeting will include a study session for a status update. Though no decisions will be made then, it's one opportunity to submit written or verbal comments and make sure your ideas are heard. There will be more.
Registered user
Esther Clark Park
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:50 am
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:50 am
This is the year of reckoning for the retail/restaurant industry. The funds from the government help due to pandemic is dwindling. California Ave is not the only area suffering. It's also happening in downtown Palo Alto, San Francisco, and elsewhere.
The pandemic really did hurt some businesses permanently, and this year you are finally seeing the outcome.
Let's hope something new or better will come of it.
Registered user
Green Acres
on Oct 24, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 4:20 pm
And yet Los Altos seems to be thriving by comparison.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Oct 24, 2023 at 4:50 pm
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 4:50 pm
Yes Los Altos supports retail. Most landlords here charge more as they require upper market rate. Many Cal Ave retailers left for Los Altos. Not all of Los Altos is benefitting from Google patronage. Be aware that the city’s consultant wants medical services on the ground floor including botox and
body sculpting on Cal Ave. Yes StreetSense is a Washington DC consultant who does not get what the residents in Palo Alto want and is pushing to change Palo Alto zoning. The city needs to adopt an attractive design to unify the avenue. State Street in Santa Barbara is a fine example of a closed paseo that attracts shoppers and diners alike. With all of the dense Builders’ Remedy projects coming to the El Camino Real bringing more and more traffic we need the closed to vehicles Cal Ave more than ever as it offers respite from the busy highway and unsafe drivers blowing through side streets. Time to unify the design and get rid of the carnival appearance that the avenue has become. Listen to the residents please and together with them create a destination retail paseo.
Registered user
Woodside
on Oct 24, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 5:00 pm
I used to love California avenue. Country Sun was a must stop. When the city shut off the road I stopped going.
What a shame.
Unintended consequences of poor planning.
Registered user
Charleston Gardens
on Oct 24, 2023 at 6:02 pm
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 6:02 pm
Every single time I drive down El Camino in Palo Alto and see those things that show the street is blocked, I say to myself “I HATE that they closed California Avenue,” and you can’t even see what’s down there anymore. And I really do hate that. It used to be my neighborhood when I lived on campus faculty housing. I want to go to the cobbler there, but I can’t even see how to get there. I drive but I use a power chair to get around, and they make it so complicated! I used the Post Office on Cambridge, Molly Stone’s and I would like to be able to get down California Avenue without being blocked everywhere I turn. With all my heart I hate that California Avenue is closed! And I could use that hate word so manny times to describe what they did to that street! And the view from El Camino is a tragic mess! All the junk they filled the street with too! In the rest of the city, people eat indoors! Change it and fix it and open up the place, for heaven sakes!
Registered user
Midtown
on Oct 24, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Country Sun is a vital community resource for Palo Alto's efforts to reduce garbage & packaging and to help residents have a smaller carbon footprint. Country Sun has excellent loose tea, nuts, beans, grains, etc. that can be bought inexpensively in bulk (and at a discount for their 25 pound bags). Their produce is also loose, not wrapped in plastic, and biodegradable bags are provided in the produce section. Country Sun also sells excellent liquid soaps, detergents, and shampoos, conditioners, and lotions in bulk, even stocking the reusable, refillable containers for them. Imagine if our city worked with Country Sun to make it easier for residents to skip buying those large plastic laundry soap containers and instead refill our reusable laundry soap containers at Country Sun. Country Sun's products are where the future is heading - low packaging, lots of organic options, reusable containers, excellent quality bulk items. I hate to see us lose this business that fits so well with our town's goals to help the planet. Their staff are kind and knowledgeable - they're a pleasure to shop with. I hope we can save this store. The fact that Mike's Cafe is still here gives me hope. I'd love to know who is trying to save Country Sun - I want to help. I also want to urge our city leaders to find a way to work with Country Sun to keep this forward-thinking, earth-friendly business alive in Palo Alto - please help Country Sun keep offering us shopping options that are earth-friendly.
Registered user
Palo Verde
on Oct 24, 2023 at 8:41 pm
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 8:41 pm
This seems completely expected to me, this was a small niche store in an environment with significant competition, not to mention the availability of products like supplements on the internet. I completely disagree with impressions that closing California Ave. to traffic has destroyed the area (ok, the miniature golf "course" at the end of the block is a blight). There is currently plenty of parking, including disabled parking, behind all the businesses and likely as close as it ever was when the street was open to traffic. The area is currently absolutely vibrant on many evenings, with places like Terun, Palo Alto Sol, and Vin Vino Wine filling the streets with customers and creating a scene more similar to a pedestrian section of a European city than the car obsessed, clogged California urban landscape.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:01 pm
Registered user
on Oct 24, 2023 at 11:01 pm
ALB above makes excellent points about the use of StreetSense, a Washington, DC consultant with no local knowledge, and is pushing its one-size-fits-all retail strategy on poor Palo Alto.
It would be special if staff and politicians got out of their offices to see what's happening elsewhere before killing any remaining sense of community we have here to placate the greedy landlords who've happily maintained so many vacancies.
We recently attended a Sunday brunch in Los Gatos which has half the population of Palo Alto. Guess what -- the streets were jammed with people browsing the interesting stores and restaurants. There were only 2 For Lease signs in the entire sprawling downtown area.
Check out Los Altos, Carmel, Campbell and San Carlos and you'll see the same vibrancy.
We hear the YIMBY's constantly complaining about residents benefiting from Prop 13 but what about the owners of commercial properties? They own properties much longer than residents. Just review the Mike's Diner coverage: He was paying $22,000 a MONTH while the property owners paid $5,200 a YEAR in property taxes!
The building behind Country Sun near the parking garage is empty and has been for 3 years. The cleaner's store is still vacant and the cleaner's working out of the back of the cobbler. The pilates place is empty. And the list goes on.
Read the national business press and you'll see there's little or no incentive for the commercial property owners to fill their vacancies while they wait for an end to remote workers so they can charge higher commercial rents to offices and medical establishments.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Oct 25, 2023 at 7:29 am
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 7:29 am
Lots of good comments above. I think RW summed things up with these two: "The council didn’t have a plan for Cal Ave and this is the result" and "The City needs to do more than throw some games on the road." And both ALB and Online Name identify one of the problems: reliance on Street Sense. What value do they bring, really? I can't recall the issue (there are so many!) but the last time I listened to a Street Sense presentation at CC I was struck by how out of touch and uninformed the speaker was; her presentation was pathetic. I doubt Los Altos, Los Gatos, or Carmel pay them, but if they do, what's the explanation for why Palo Alto can't get the retail/street vibrancy equation right?
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 25, 2023 at 10:25 am
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 10:25 am
@Mondoman
“ And yet Los Altos seems to be thriving by comparison.”
Los Altos has Los Altos Community Investments (formerly Passarelle)
Web Link
My suggestion above was for the community via our city to basically do the same thing. Except in Los Altos, I have concerns about those properties in private hands—are there controls to ensure they don’t just decide to make downtown Los Altos their office park in the future?
If we had built the fund, our resident-serving businesses would have far better weathered the tech cram and pandemic. It’s not too late, but it’s going to have to take overtly repudiating all those false YIMBY narratives that got us here, or we can’t fix it and it will just happen again.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Oct 25, 2023 at 10:52 am
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 10:52 am
Re refuting the false YIMBY narratives, a former PA mayor just wrote an excellent piece noting that housing will never become cheap / affordable since land costs more than half the cost of a home purchase.
Decades ago when I moved here from the NY Metro Area and was still suffering from density shock and I got my first tax bill, I was horrified to see that my land was assessed so much higher than the house and other improvements.
"Except in Los Altos, I have concerns about those properties in private hands—are there controls to ensure they don’t just decide to make downtown Los Altos their office park in the future?"
Several years ago I was chatting with a Los Altos retailer who'd relocated there from PA about the new well-funded push by developers to make Los Altos more office-friendly. She described all the cocktail parties being held to to convince the merchants how they'd benefit from the influx of highly paid hard-working workers who'd spend lots of time and $$$ going shopping.
We had a good giggle over that since the developers were also pushing for company cafeterias which would keep all those workers at work and off the streets -- a seemingly simple and obvious concept that PA never grasped when it let Palantir et al run their company cafeterias to the detriment of downtown restaurants.
Maybe StreetSense needs an extended consulting contract so they can explain that.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Oct 25, 2023 at 1:02 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 1:02 pm
The delight of shopping in Los Altos is there is still a critical mass of retail adjacent to each other. My understanding is that Los Altos has stricter controls about what is categorized as retail and allowed in their retail zoned downtown shopping streets. Unlike Palo Alto which has consistently acceded to the requests from owners of retail zoned properties to expand the ever growing long list of what is categorized as so-called “retail like” which essentially circumvents the retail zoning. Businesses for which a higher rent can be charged than the previou retail tenant. Overtime eroding the critical mass of adjacent retail as one after another find that as their leases expire their rent shoots up to a level not viable for most traditional retail. At least what I call useful retail for which a higher rent will be paid.
The latest push is to allow medical offices replace retail. Last time the council added to the list of so called “retail like” businesses, at the behest of then council member Liz Kniss, personal training gyms were added. Within a short period there were at least three personal training gyms on Cal Ave replacing former retail. Including the conversion of the Village Stationers prominent retail space converted to a gym with the previously attractive large retail window displays on both Cal Ave and Birch now exposing an ugly cavernous often dark gym space.
A few years ago when expanding the list of so-called “retail-like” businesses allowed to replace retail in the Mid Town Shopping Center, I bust out laughing when former council member Alison Cormack advocating allowing Title Offices to replace shops claiming they would bring foot traffic. How often does anyone go to a Title Office?
Every few years council wring their hands and lament the disappearing traditional retail, hire a consultant, then turn around and add to their list additional retail killing businesses.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Oct 25, 2023 at 1:10 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 1:10 pm
Last sentence of first paragraph should read, “ at least wha I call useful retail.”
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:11 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:11 pm
I really hate what is in place right now on Cal Avenue. The clutter of cheaply implemented and poorly designed and unmaintained games and cheap plastic canopies block street views of shop windows and signs. The stupid golf game has given away public street space to for-profit private use and made it impossible to ride a bike from the train station to SRP on the former direct route. Instead, bikes are diverted to narrow parallel streets, the same narrow streets where the former Cal Ave car traffic has been diverted and where the gigantic, empty new auto parking garage is located. This creates hazards for people on bikes. Poorly planned temporary plastic junk dropped down willy nilly obstructs convenient use of the former public street by anyone, including pedestrians and bicyclists who have to maneuver around endless obstacles. WHAT is the plan here? Four years in we have a haphazard mess.
Registered user
another community
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:13 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:13 pm
Palo Alto lacks 2 things: a centralized shopping area that is "walkable" and adequate parking on El Camino Real near retail stores that don't have parking lots (or if they do, they're inadequate).
At the same time, the City wants us to eliminate cars in favor of feet, bikes, or or buses. There are many reasons why FB&B are impractical.
Here's another (old) idea:
Rickshaw.
Park your car at one of many city parking lots, and hail the nearest rickshaw. They should have two separate tiers for fees. Tourists should pay, and residents who walk to the rickshaw stand should ride for free. Because after all, it's the local residents who are providing all of that clean fresh air. The rickshaw drivers should be paid by the city, and paid for every trip -- meaning the City should pay the fees for residents. It's the least the City can do, since they are the ones telling all residents to ditch their cars.
You're laughing at this and/or wish there was an ignore button but trust me, some day this will be a thing in Palo Alto but I won't collect any royalties for making the suggestion.
They're doing it bigtime in Savannah.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:14 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:14 pm
mjh makes some excellent points about Palo Alto bending over backwards for developers. Remember the "fake retail" scandal of 2014? Web Link
That's when they reclassified Diddams Party Store and the gallery across from the Creamery so they were replaced by the Institute of The Future and one other office which pretended to be retail by putting their booklets on display?
I always wanted to go in and ask for a pound of multi-client studies but maybe we should have been asking Liz Kniss and her acolytes the same thing.
Now, a decade later, we're seeing the fruits of their effort which included Allison Cormack's attempt to turn Town & Country Shopping Center into "medical retail" mere weeks before the pandemic ended without even requiring our "Planning Dept" to define what that was. Fortunately some of us helped Mayor Kou survey the T&C retailers and found that they were kicking out existing "medical retail" like Lisa Berkowitz, the eye doctor, while stonewalling other long-time businesses like Village Cheese House.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:45 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 2:45 pm
I love Country Sun and often go there on Sundays to pick something up that I can't get at the Farmers' Market. It's my first destination for vitamins and supplements because they have knowledgeable staff who can provide guidance. It's where we've purchased our organic Thanksgiving turkeys for years, sustainable soaps, a great selection of teas and chocolates, beautiful baskets that we've given as gifts, and all sorts of sundries you don't find easily elsewhere: small hemp purses for travel, wasabi/soy sauce dishes, metal containers for soaps. I often walk there but when I drive to the store during the week and park in the structure behind, I do feel like they've lost their street presence with Cal Avenue closed to cars. This will be a huge loss to the community. If there is something that can be done to keep them on the Avenue, I would be supportive of such an effort.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Oct 25, 2023 at 4:16 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 4:16 pm
I admire Country Sun for hanging on so long, providing such variety, having a knowledgeable staff to guide us, and maintaining the feeling that Palo Alto was a unique and special place. We used to have an office next to the Nut House and patronized Kirk's hamburgers, the Edge, Menlo Stationers, Country Sun, Keeble & Schuchat, Cambridge Hardware, Avalon Yoga, Avenue Florist, the thrift shop, and numerous long gone restaurants. I am really gutted by the loss of CS.
Perhaps it was inevitable that CS would close after the loss of so many other stores and restaurants (negative network effect), the construction project to remove trees and parking, and then finally the closure of the street with the unsightly barriers, tents, and mini-golf, and the loss of all traffic and street parking. With CS gone, Vin Vino Wine will be the only reason for me to head down Cal Ave toward El Camino, but how long can they last, and why would they remain?
We can debate who was responsible for destroying California Avenue, but as to the nail in the coffin, I lay it firmly on the street closure which reduced both automobile and foot traffic. Here's why: It should be obvious that when you come into a parking garage from Sherman or Cambridge, you do NOT see any store fronts. And the restaurant traffic is almost all AFTER a store would close. It's foolishness.
Registered user
Evergreen Park
on Oct 25, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Thank you, Allen Akin, for the interesting data on rents on Cal Ave versus the national average. Many of these property owe runs have owned their properties for years and have very low property taxes and perhaps no longer have mortgages. And yet, they prefer empty storefronts to recognizing the different economic climate (including the competition from the internet) to make the street more feasible for retailers. They just deduct any expenses from their taxes and shelter any gains from other locations, and wait until someone else decides to save them.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Oct 25, 2023 at 9:17 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 9:17 pm
Many cities have considered vacancy taxes for residencesas well as retail for at least the last 5 years. I've lost track or the status of the various initiatives but its worth exploring
Registered user
Midtown
on Oct 25, 2023 at 10:25 pm
Registered user
on Oct 25, 2023 at 10:25 pm
Sad news here - and many good points about the planning and zoning. While everyone has good insights about what other people should do, let's all resolve to patronize our local businesses as much as possible. Even when it's a little less convenient. Even when the national megachain has something for less. I'm thinking of the hardware store on Cal Ave. I could probably get what I need for a little less on Amazon, or find more options at the big Ace in Mtn. View, (which is about the same distance, with more parking). But when the need arises, I go to Cal Ave. We all need to put our consumer dollars where our hearts are, support our neighborhood.
No replies please, no need to tell me "but what about..." if your situation is different. just do what you can eveyone, and if you can't do what I'm suggesting then don't.
Registered user
Midtown
on Oct 26, 2023 at 9:22 am
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 9:22 am
I'm reading a lot of comments here advocating for:
1. reopening Cal Ave to cars
2. curtailing outdoor dining spaces
3. enforcing a stricter definition of neighborhood retail zoning
I want to push back and take the opposite stance. I regularly bike into Cal Ave and let my three year old daughter explore the street. It's her space. I wouldn't want to take that away from her. It's a place she can ride her strider bike. She plays with the connect four toys and chess pieces. She loved Country Sun. It was a staple from our farmer's market trips, she always had to buy a chocolate and use the restroom (go figure). So, we'll very much miss Country Sun. I don't look forward to explaining the closure to her.
Local retail is not going to make a dramatic return. The Country Sun staff were clear that they were losing a lot of vitamin supplement business to online shopping. They would spend 30 minutes selling a customer, and they'd leave the store without making a purchase, after indicating that they would buy elsewhere. We should certainly support local retailers in any way we can, but let's try to move forward to a brighter future rather than trying to hold on to a past that we can't recreate.
I think, in the future, we have to understand that there will be more services that can't be delivered: salons, gyms, bike shops, restaurants, etc. Furthermore, services seem inherently more sustainable. Most Americans already own too much stuff. Do we really need so many local storefront buildings dedicated to selling more stuff? I would prefer to grow businesses that sell evergreen products that generate less waste and require fewer material inputs.
Registered user
Evergreen Park
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:29 am
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:29 am
Too bad failure to build a decent amount of housing (condos, apartments) that people can and want (NOT on El Camino) to buy isn't being considered in this conversation. In order to have supported locally owned retail, Palo Alto would have needed to increase in size by 30 to 40,000 people.
Registered user
Barron Park
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:53 am
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:53 am
Thank you to Jessica Roth (The Cobblery) for her comments in the article. The loss of Country Sun is more of a loss than many realize—it is quite a focal point for many and its spirit is a residual ember of the personality that needs to be rebuilt thoughtfully with our city's help. While agreeing with many of the comments, complaints, and predictions made, it is worth asking what mechanism is in place for our small businesses to get support from our city when sales decline? Do we have a consulting service that helps with changes in merchandising, promotions, and advertising so they can compete with online retailers by appealing to our community for support? Communication about the Country Sun sale/demise shouldn't have been a surprise.
And as mentioned by someone else, CS does embody values which are where we should be headed and expanded--refillables, bulk orders, no GMO products, the MOST affordable organic produce (on par with farmer's market), global exchange coffees/products, eco gifts, great beer selection, bulk herbs, some local egg suppliers/grains (from Oregon to N. Calif), and more. On top of this, it is one of a handful of businesses which are welcoming to employing high school students. This is something we need to expand in our city—bring back more utility rather than just luxury services. [Just posted this on the Antonio’s Nuthouse article so won’t repeat here). Allen Akin, I’m trying to slog through the status report you posted: Web Link. Would you be willing to get involved in preserving CS?
Registered user
Professorville
on Oct 26, 2023 at 1:51 pm
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 1:51 pm
@Ferdinand: "Would you be willing to get involved in preserving CS?" As a supporter, yes; as a leader, no. I don't know enough about the specifics of the situation to be useful. The report we both referenced suggests leveraging the Business and Merchants associations on Cal Ave, and that might be a way to start, though.
I joined the Planning and Transportation Commission back in April, so I'm spending a lot of time getting up to speed on the general issues. @Deborah mentioned one of them, the narrative about insufficient housing leading to decline of retail. About that, I'd ask two questions: (1) If that were the main problem, why was retail doing better when the population was even lower than it is today? (2) If major economic shifts (like the transition to online shopping) are the main problem, why have some retail businesses become more viable after leaving Palo Alto? (This came up at last night's PTC meeting; four or five were mentioned as examples.)
I suspect there are more important factors that aren't part of that narrative. The shift to retail businesses serving daytime workers rather than residents, and the increase in lease rates, for examples. There's still a lot to understand, though.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Oct 26, 2023 at 3:25 pm
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 3:25 pm
Personally, I would like to know who are the owners of the buildings on California Ave. Is there a way we can find that information? I believe that the landlords and real estate markets are at fault for the demise of California Avenue! Many commercial real estate owners benefit from lower taxes due to Prop 13 and yet, either continue to raise rents (without doing upgrades)or leave their buildings empty. I would like to see the city find a way to force these building owners to rent out their empty buildings. Our city officials need to look after the people who elected them instead of catering to the large corporate landlords.
The reason retail is leaving Cal. Ave. 1. RENTS are too high and out of control for everyday services. 2. California Ave. has become an unsightly FOOD court with very little retail of interest left! Mostly it's just plain ugly!
Registered user
Community Center
on Oct 26, 2023 at 8:32 pm
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 8:32 pm
Oh my..Oh MY!! Very sad. Country Sun needs saving. "People let's save it.." With all the money $$ and investors in palo alto, certainly someone out there can help this one of a kind, non-chain, high quality jewel we have in our city.
If there's a will..there's a way... Just imagine strolling down calif Ave and NOT having The Country Sun store to enjoy...??!!
Registered user
another community
on Oct 26, 2023 at 9:27 pm
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 9:27 pm
From the Santa Clara County Clerk's office regarding property searches at their website ( Web Link ) has this to say for itself:
"How can I find out who owns a property?
California Government Code 6254.21 states that "No one shall post the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official on the Internet without first obtaining the written permission of that individual." As the cost to collect and continuously update that information is prohibitive, the On-Line Property Assessment Information System does not display the ownership information. However, ownership information is currently available either from microfiche or a public terminal at the Assessor's Office located at 130 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m."
They certainly are creative in running people in circles getting nowhere looking for property records. You can search the clickable map here > Web Link < Ultimately you will have to have to go to the clerk's office and have your wallet ready.
Maybe Online Name can explain this.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:35 pm
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:35 pm
The biggest issue behind California Sun's closing, the new landowner of the old Nuthouse wanting to build denser without enough parking spaces, and the many vacancies at nearby at T&C are their landowners waiting for big paydays using the Builders Remedy to get permits for the biggest possible stack n' pack multi-use Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) all-rentals income property bigger buildings thanks to the Sacramento takeover of local zoning power and its hard core push to force ever more housing and offices near any transit node like the Caltrain station on California Avenue.
Recall the pandemic debit cards mailed out to low and moderate income residents recently? From a New York bank. Any transactions, including depositing the entire balance in one place, resulted in fees paid to that bank. A nice profit for that NY bank!
New York City and Washington, D.C. land use consultants paid for by Palo Alto City Hall staff? A mini-golf game blocking bike commuters? Follow the money and the webs of personal connections between politicians, government staffers and and lobbyists to see why each was hired and by whom.
Want to keep mom & pop retail able to withstand economic shocks? Look at the historic block of shops with one floor of small apartments overhead on Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale and see next to it the city blocks of construction for all-rental mixed used skyscrapers all owned by JP Morgan REITs which promise its investors 15-18%+ annual rate of return.
We've all watched many buildings sit empty for years on El Camino and San Antonio sit empty while their land owners assemble big enough parcels to attract the biggest REIT investors who can easily afford to pay off any politician in Sacramento or Palo Alto. Sometimes I wonder if the car barrier at Cal Ave and El Camino is really just something to aid those REIT investors. Driving out small businesses makes it easier for them to assemble those lucrative big parcels for redevelopment income.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:38 pm
Registered user
on Oct 26, 2023 at 11:38 pm
The biggest issue behind California Sun's closing, the new landowner of the old Nuthouse wanting to build denser without enough parking spaces, and the many vacancies at nearby at T&C are their landowners waiting for big paydays using the Builders Remedy to get permits for the biggest possible stack n' pack multi-use Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) all-rentals income property bigger buildings thanks to the Sacramento takeover of local zoning power and its hard core push to force ever more housing and offices near any transit node like the Caltrain station on California Avenue.
New York City and Washington, D.C. land use consultants paid for by Palo Alto City Hall staff? A mini-golf game blocking bike commuters? Follow the money and the webs of personal connections between politicians, government staffers and and lobbyists to see why each was hired and by whom.
Want to keep mom & pop retail able to withstand economic shocks? Look at the historic block of shops with one floor of small apartments overhead on Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale and see next to it the city blocks of construction for all-rental mixed used skyscrapers all owned by JP Morgan REITs which promise its investors 15-18%+ annual rate of return.
We've all watched many buildings sit empty for years on El Camino and San Antonio sit empty while their land owners assemble big enough parcels to attract the biggest REIT investors who can easily afford to pay off any politician in Sacramento or Palo Alto. Sometimes I wonder if the car barrier at Cal Ave and El Camino is really just something to aid those REIT investors. Driving out small businesses makes it easier for them to assemble those lucrative big parcels for redevelopment income.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Oct 27, 2023 at 1:13 pm
Registered user
on Oct 27, 2023 at 1:13 pm
Increasingly, I find myself spending my retail dollars outside of Palo Alto--not because I want to, but because I have to. Our shops are disappearing. Why are they moving to, and more successful in, nearby communities?
The report doesn't address this question with any deep consideration of local factors. Comparing our city's retail environment to one in Texas is, well, ludicrous.
From an NPR piece on consulting, "While the modern consulting industry has a history stretching back over a century, Mazzucato and Collington write that the use of consultants really exploded after the 1980s. That's when proponents of freer markets, like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, began dismantling government bureaucracies and regulations. More left-leaning "Third Way" leaders, like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, continued in their wake. "Public sectors were transformed under the credo of New Public Management — a policy agenda that sought to make governments function more like businesses and diminished faith in the abilities of civil servants," Mazzucato and Collington write.
As governments lost the faith and capacity to do things themselves, they increasingly turned to consultants to help them accomplish tasks. Governments began using consultants for seemingly everything, from devising new tax rules to advising armies to overseeing the privatization of state industries to administering IT departments to devising strategies on how to cut carbon emissions."
Observation: The more city government relies on consultants, the less competent city staff becomes. They no longer do their own local studies and research, so they don't attain confidence and local knowledge from doing that work. Consultant dependency contributes to that. Staff reports are getting thinner with more and more decisions based on what OTHER cities are doing--boiler plate consultant recommendations that don't reflect local environment. The recent retail study is an example of this. Cal Ave debacle is another.
Registered user
Midtown
on Oct 28, 2023 at 10:53 am
Registered user
on Oct 28, 2023 at 10:53 am
So bummed! A blow to character, quality and community.
Registered user
Barron Park
on Nov 5, 2023 at 10:49 pm
Registered user
on Nov 5, 2023 at 10:49 pm
Lighting Man...Wouldn't it be interesting if Prop 13 mandated only small rent increases to accompany the small tax increase benefit the landlords receive? Seems fair to package those two together to reduce the incentive to gouge others while getting the benfit.