Don’t tell business owner Jim Chapman that downtown Hollister is mired in a long slump – or the other dozen or so relatively new shops in the district.
Chapman owns Running Rooster Restaurant – which finished what few local businesses have had the luxury of doing in recent times, a massive renovation. The restaurant, perhaps a signal of better times ahead for downtown Hollister, revamped its look, menu and overall environment through much of the past three months before reopening to the public in recent weeks.
The expansion opened the space in the restaurant, while Running Rooster expanded the kitchen area (which is now exposed to customers) and added more seating, a dedicated family area, a bar with a variety of beer choices, TV screens and expanded bathrooms.
It’s quite a long way from 2004, when the business opened as a take-home-only operation with cold, packaged meals, or even the most recent version of the restaurant at 800 San Benito St. that became known largely for its outdoor grilling technique, which has been replaced by the new signature, a wood-fired indoor style.
“Our goal has always been to figure out what it is the customers want most from us,” Chapman said. “We have evolved heavily.”
They did it this last time with the help of the renovation project’s general contractor, Wynn Construction Services, and a host of other local businesses.
The renovation will add permanent jobs, too. Running Rooster’s payroll expanded from 15 people to 37.
The restaurant hopes that the corresponding customer service adds to the experience.
“I think the biggest thing for us, we were trying to make this be a really nice place but still a casual place,” he said. “We’ve, for the most part, kept the prices the same, kept most of the menu the same.”
Chapman, in the meantime, is not trying to “out-compete” other restaurants. He said he would like to see more of them downtown, as would Hollister Downtown Association Executive Director Brenda Weatherly.
Weatherly said the renovation “looks great.” She pointed out how the employees there are even using higher-tech devices to improve the service.
“They’re a really good example of a business that listens to their market and evolves to meet the needs of the market,” Weatherly said.
As a whole, Weatherly pointed out there were 11 new business openings in 2012, with five closings and no expansions – or a net gain of six shops. There were 30 job starts and 14 jobs lost during that time, which excludes Running Rooster’s changes, she said.
“I thought 2012, definitely we felt like we were kind of hitting bottom and starting to kind of recover at the end of it,” Weatherly said, “and 2013 feels more positive to me.”
While there is good news with Running Rooster and openings such as those at Paradiso Spa & Salon on Seventh Street or the Holliwood clothing store next door to it – both of which opened in recent months – one of the more noticeable closings was a few doors down from those businesses at The Market & The Butcher Shop, the prior corner store at South and San Benito streets that is now vacant.
Though it has not closed quite yet, 102-year-old Muenzer’s Cyclery and Sports Center is continuing to work down its inventory before closing the doors for good. There will, however, continue to be a Muenzer’s locksmithing business next door on Fifth Street. Even one of Muenzer’s owners see the slight improvements in the local economy.
“I feel that it’s definitely getting better than, say, a year ago,” said co-owner Jan Holthouse. “We’re seeing more people coming downtown. Unfortunately, with all the empty buildings we have right now, having more retail down here would be more of a draw.”
