September Nights on B Street in San Mateo adds to downtown vibrancy

“It brings more economic vitality to downtown,” Jennifer Chen, the city’s economic development manager, said. “It is really welcomed by the community.”

September Nights began in 2019 and despite its success, had to take a couple years off starting in 2020. But the pandemic-era changes to downtown have seemed to boost foot traffic. The two blocks at B Street between First and Third avenues are closed to all cars but open to the public to increase pedestrian use, with the council approving the street closure in October of 2021 after it helped struggling restaurants adhere to outdoor dining regulations during the pandemic. The closures were made permanent after widespread public support for its ability to improve the area’s walkability and long-term future of the downtown.

“Overwhelmingly, what I hear is they like having these events, and they want us to continue doing that because it just draws more people downtown,” Mackenzie Jakoubek, executive director of the Downtown San Mateo Association, said. “Hopefully, the idea is they’ll come to an event and then have dinner, have drinks, go see a movie, be able to spend more than half an hour downtown and really get involved in the community.” 

In response to some merchants complaining over their customers’ lack of parking, the city considered reopening between First and Second avenues but decided not to change the closures for the time being. By and large, Jakoubek said the increased engagement has been a boon to businesses, especially given their COVID-era declines. And September Nights isn’t the only event to look forward to in the season. Others, like the Arts and Culture Fest or Bark in the Park, also drive both city and county residents to the area.

“Part of the consistent and maybe even uptick in foot traffic is that a few new businesses have opened some new parklets,” Jakoubek said. “There is a lot of beautiful outdoor dining, and people love that kind of thing.”