Yesterday an old friend and I met for lunch in the Tower District. Wendy lived in the Tower for years before she moved away to Santa Rosa, where she is now a teacher.
As we waited for our food, she lamented how so many Tower businesses seem to be gone, leaving empty storefronts where thriving businesses used to be.
I hadn't really noticed this, so this morning on my way in to the office, I made a point of driving down Olive Avenue between Van Ness and Palm. I saw a couple of vacancies on the south side of Olive in the heart of the Tower, but the situation didn't seem too dire to me. A few more as I reached the western edge before turning down Palm.
I know several new restaurants have popped up in the Tower in recent months -- we had wanted to try out Jay Ghazal's new spot, M, where the Daily Planet used to be, but it's not open for lunches (I love Samba!). Other newer dining options include Million Elephant Cafe and Bar, Lipari's Italian Grill on nearby Fern Avenue and Palomino's where Java Cafe was for years.
What do you think? Has the Tower District hit a rough patch? Or is this just normal turnover in a lively section of town?
Most neighborhood commercial districts (like the Tower) have formed Business Improvement Districts to generate a consistent source of revenue to support cleaning, marketing, business retention/attraction efforts. Fresno is WAY behind the ball on these. The Tower folks have done a great deal with very little, but need the support to stay active and progressive.