Readers know my passion for local small businesses. Sacramento merchants make immense contributions to our neighborhoods. Our sense of community, lifestyles and health depend on their “open for business” signs.
The past four months have frayed the protective fibers of our community. Businesses and schools were shut. Healthy lifestyles disrupted as gyms and fitness centers closed. Self-isolation. Families and friends kept apart.
Twenty-five years ago, my husband and I went into the local publishing business for two reasons. First, we saw the need to connect neighbors to one another, which helps folks build stronger ties to their communities.
Second, we love and value small businesses. We want to help local merchants reach their neighbors and grow their businesses.
In March, neighbors in East Sacramento were stunned to learn 33rd Street Bistro was closing, six months before the 25th anniversary of its opening in 1995. The East Sacramento restaurant was forced to shut down after the new landlord opted for another tenant, co-owner Matt Haines says.
I feel a special bond with 33rd Street Bistro and its owners, brothers Matt and Fred Haines, who were born and raised in Sacramento. My husband and I started our business that same year. The Haines family has continually advertised with Inside Sacramento since the Bistro opened. They were one of our beloved “lifetime” advertisers.
Inside Sacramento provides readers with 100 percent local content unavailable elsewhere. When the massive small-business shutdown was ordered throughout California, my thoughts first went to the many small business owners who support our publications.
Our readers know that our publishing business champions the local community in all its various elements. And many neighbors have taken the heed to support all things local.
Publishing a monthly magazine isn’t optimal when information about the coronavirus changes hourly. So most of what you see this month in Inside Sacramento will ideally serve as a welcome and necessary contrast to media approaches that prize speed over accuracy and are intended to generate extreme emotions.
Here we love our neighborhoods because their scale is small. Our relationships tend to be more intimate than what a big city or rural community might offer.