The franchising of San Juan
It’s like the classic Saturday Night Live character said so many
times:
”
It just goes to show you; it’s always something.
”
That may be a fitting motto for San Juan Bautista, where it
does, indeed, seem to be always something.
The latest tempest to grip the town of 1,600 is a flap over
franchise outlets in the small town.
The franchising of San Juan
It’s like the classic Saturday Night Live character said so many times: “It just goes to show you; it’s always something.”
That may be a fitting motto for San Juan Bautista, where it does, indeed, seem to be always something.
The latest tempest to grip the town of 1,600 is a flap over franchise outlets in the small town.
San Juan, site of the largest of California’s missions, is arranged around Third Street, its main drag. The street is lined with restaurants, art galleries, imported goods and antique and curio shops behind storefronts right out of the 19th Century.
Aside from a solitary pizzeria, the town contains nary a chain. Welcome to the last place in America where you will not see a Starbucks cup. San Juan’s chain-free status gained muscle in 2004, when the City Council passed an ordinance banning such businesses (The pizzeria was grandfathered in.)
That’s the way some local merchants prefer it to remain. They fear a loss of the city’s character with the arrival of cookie cutter food and retail outlets.
When the City Council met last month to review a new ordinance that would slightly loosen the town’s restrictions on commerce the town took notice. A vote is scheduled for the panel’s next meeting Feb. 15 in City Hall. It might be wise for those planning to attend to pack pillows, because if history is any indication, the meeting promises a lengthy exercise in participatory democracy.
The proposed ordinance is straightforward: if a store addressing an unmet community need seeks to locate in San Juan, it may apply. But as long as San Juan already has a coffee bar, Starbucks is out in the cold.
Both those who would relax the ordinance and those who favor the status quo can agree on one thing: visitor traffic is down. Gone are the tour buses that once stopped. It’s even possible to park downtown without too much trouble. That’s worrisome for a town almost completely dependent on tourism.
The two sides see different keys to salvation. On one hand, those who want San Juan unchanged fear a loss of San Juan’s unique identity. On the other, people watching traffic stream past town on Highways 101 and 156 want to induce people to stop, spend time and spend money, the better to keep businesses open and people employed.
San Juan is a small town, but the clothing store that sold sturdy work clothes is gone. The barber shop is long closed. The hardware store is only a memory. There are other holes in the retail fabric.
It’s only right for people to recognize that San Juan is a place apart, and one that deserves special care.
But other cities whose stock-in-trade is tourism have successfully adapted to the franchising of America. Think about Carmel, or Santa Barbara, or San Luis Obispo. You won’t see any golden arches, but the chains are there, tucked neatly into the historic fabric of those very prosperous tourist destinations.
We’re glad City Manager Jan McClintock brought the issue to bear last month, and we hope that a reasonable compromise that restores economic viability to the town is in the offing on Feb. 15.
