San Mateo seeks to solidify local business

While it’s generated more visitors and helped with the city’s tax revenue, the increasing amount of proposed housing and commercial development nearby has also generated more demands for other important stories and services, especially groceries. Lane Partners, which owns the property at 222 E. Fourth Ave., recently announced that Woodlands Market would replace the former Draeger’s Market, a sigh of relief for many residents and councilmembers. 

Deputy Mayor Nicole Fernandez also wondered whether the city could help diversify more small businesses in the area,  especially given the increasing number of stores selling boba tea —  though that’s largely out of the city’s purview.

“Obviously there is a market here in this community, that all these tea shops are thriving and they're opening here,” City Manager Alex Khojikian said. “If there was some point where they weren’t attracting revenue or making money, then you’d probably see some of these tea shops close, but they're obviously doing well here. The market dictates this.”

Assistant City Manager Christina Horrisberger added that “there is very little discretion that the city has under the current zoning” to decide whether a new tea shop is allowed to open. 

Other councilmembers, including Danielle Cwirko-Godycki and Rob Newsom, wanted to ensure the city was in a strong position to weather economic downturns or future loss of business in the city — especially as the city, like many others on the Peninsula, are facing long-term structural deficits. Over the past year, the sprawling, the Oracle-owned Marriott Hotel closed its doors, and the tech giant Snowflake left San Mateo for Menlo Park. Some restaurants, such as Vespucci and Wursthall, have also closed or announced plans to do so. 

Cwirko-Godycki said she also wanted to ensure other corridors, including businesses on 25th Avenue or on the eastern side of Highway 101, also receive significant investment. 

“Where I give us an A grade is all the efforts downtown,” she said. “Where I’m concerned is what's happening with the 25th Avenue corridor, with the east side of the freeway ... the Parkside Plaza which is nearly vacant and then the future Hillsdale mall and how we’re really connecting and making sure that the business owners there are also aware of upcoming future changes.”