Celebrate independents

I am delighted that both businesses seem to be thriving and choose to take their ability to do so for as long as they have as a sign that they’ll be around for the long haul. Cities like Redwood City need independent businesses like them.

Both The Baker Next Door and Fireside Books (along with many others) provide quality products in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere that makes patrons feel good and want to linger. Sure, you can get a cheaper loaf of bread at Safeway and Amazon sells books for less. But at The Baker Next Door you can watch them making their products, talk directly with the folks making them and see for yourself that they are using wholesome, quality ingredients. At Fireside Books, you can browse the thousands of books on their shelves, swap recommendations with Andrew, Taylor and Amanda, and flip through a possible purchase while seated on a comfy chair next to their electric fireplace. Purchasing from either business gives you the good feeling of not only supporting other Redwood City residents but also the city itself.

The bakery and the bookstore are both good examples but are far from the only terrific independent businesses that call Redwood City home. For another, consider Gambrel & Co., Redwood City’s downtown independent butcher. In our household we eat less meat than we once did, so when we do, we opt for quality — which is what we find at Gambrel & Co. There, Ben, the butcher, with his extensive experience as a chef, is not only happy to tell you all about the products he has on offer, he’ll readily suggest ways you can prepare your purchases — which may include some of his house-made sausages or his signature beef Bolognese.

I’ve written before about Sigona’s Farmers Market, but there, too, we find an incredible variety of produce put out for sale by knowledgeable, friendly staff. From the greeter out front to the checkout clerks in back, you feel personally welcomed in a way that a Safeway or Whole Foods simply cannot. I get a similar feeling with the folks at Key Market, who are genuinely interested in selling just those products we in the community are looking to buy. If they don’t have a particular grocery item you are fond of, just ask — more often than not they’ll begin stocking it.

The list of great independent retailers and restaurants in Redwood City goes on and on. For years, City Pub would have made my list, but it is no more. Fortunately, there is a worthy replacement in The Wild Rover. Ralphs Vacuum & Sewing Center has been serving Redwood City since 1978, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed they’ll continue to do so for years to come. And then there are Vesta, LV Mar and La Viga, Redwood Grill, Mayer’s Jewelers, Canyon Inn and Pizzeria Cardamomo, which — can this be true? — has now been open for almost nine months. All of these and so many more are special to Redwood City and all combine to make Redwood City the unique city that it is.

Big chains have their place, and Redwood City certainly has its share. But it’s the smaller independent businesses that make a city stand apart from its neighbors. San Carlos and Menlo Park have cherished independent businesses of their own, businesses that help give each of those cities its unique character. Although I’ve spent a fair amount of time in each, not having lived there, my view of both is incomplete. My 36 years of living in Redwood City has developed in me a strong impression of it as a large city with a friendly, small-town feel. That impression comes in large part from its independent businesses, all of which are well worth celebrating.