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Remember how Sonoma “use to be”, and what is is like now? They are trying to get the tourist to get the money but turning this town into crap!
We’ve got some nice “local” hole-in-the-wall coffee shops already. Do we need a Peet’s?
When I worked for the Ski Hut in Berkeley in the mid-sixties, my boss, Alfred Smith, came to work one morning and told me that a new coffee shop had just opened over on northside and let's go have a cup. So we did. This coffee paradise was called Peet's and it was run by Mr. Peet, a very serious Dutch fellow.
So I claim to be one of the first customers of the first Peet's, and I'm here to say that I am completely against a Pete's Coffee being anywhere near a CVS. I also acknowledge, and I believe I'm not the only person to do so, that I have sworn a permanent and complete boycott of any and all huge hulking quasi-drugstores that bear the initials C...V...S!!!
Hey, Berkeley! I miss you guys. I've lived in Sonoma County for 46 years, and I still miss Berkeley (and also miss San Francisco, where I was born and lived for the first 26 years of my life.I drive past the Sebastopol CVS several times a week, and try not to even look at it. Go inside? Buy something? I don't think so.
Roland
I find it astounding that some people are still so focused on the harm that the new CVS would do (virtually nothing re traffic congestion) while still giving a great big pass to the harm The Barlow has done to traffic and the downtown core. Unfuckingbelievable.
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Posted in reply to the post by Roland Jacopetti:
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Posted in reply to the post by photolite:
I confess that CVS is not as bad as feared, thanks to our city council's design changes (thank's in particular to Councilmember John Eder in particular). I still resent CVS's strong-armed and deceitful dealings during the approval process, I'd say it's more of a missed opportunity than a disaster. Sure would have been nice to have one less national corporation in town.
Were you born here, Dian?Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by sealwatcher:
Note that both The Barlow and the CVS project were within city limits. This is non-sprawl development city-centered development. Frankly, I think the North East Plan would have been a much more Sebastopol friendly development, rather than the more tourist oriented Barlow, which I don't find that bad either.
Growth is going to happen. The US population is growing. Sebastopol is a desirable place to live.
Astounding, huh? The Barlow, CVS, they are a blight. CVS treats their employees poorly, as does Whole Foods. You get your opinion but there are many of us who still mourn the co-opting of our town.
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Posted in reply to the post by photolite:
Slick, soulless, and sterile.
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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:
My opinion is that one does not deserve a pass while the other has been excoriated. I said nothing re the co-opting our town.
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Posted in reply to the post by biannoli:
I never saw any serious opposition to this project in the first place, unlike the CVS project. Results of both now tell a story that seemed obvious to me if one could free themselves from their closely held biases. I said as much on this site long before either came to passQuote:
Posted in reply to the post by sealwatcher:
The sign now has removed (covered) Peet's name from the development. Guess it isn't happening now.
Wow, just looking at all the venom directed at Peets -- basically a local Bay Area company that did very well business-wise and grew to expand to many locations. They were up against the Starbucks behemoth and didn't crumble. They make really good coffee. They treat their employees well and are generous with benefits. They are socially responsible, Fair Trade, assist farmers, and give back to communities What's the problem, folks? That they are successful? Good coffee and cafe culture are part of a good life.
Peet’s in now owned by JAB Holding Company out of Luxembourg Germany.
I just don’t really wanna see another building go up in the downtown area. It is already a pain with the traffic shift that Starbucks drive thru did onto Grav South. I know the drive thru was pre-existing but I never saw it that busy.
BTW Peets was sold to a German holding company many moons ago and is no longer the original Peets Coffee.
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Posted in reply to the post by KittyW:
Confused. Is Peet's coming to town or not?
Frankly, so am I a bit.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by shyama:
The sign for a new development near CVS was originally posted (as seen in first post) with peet's logo on it. It has since been covered up.
McDonald's was very busy when it was there and oh so many people turned left illegally
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Posted in reply to the post by Damage:
Gratitude? yeah, I'll show mine by adding Peet's to my boycott list ...
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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:
Hope Starbucks is also on your list!
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Posted in reply to the post by gardenmaniac:
Oh, gee, so what if Peet's hangs up a shingle next to CVS. Everybody gets soooo easily offended about damn near every little thing. Don't like it, don't shop there. Simple. Now go out and live your life and quit getting outraged over nothing.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Shandi:
so some sensitivity to some local businesses actually sending profits out of the country sends ire to the bb.
Maybe if Pete's puts indoor tennis courts behind the coffee shop they would be welcomed. The nearest locally owned coffee shop to that location is probably almost 100 yards in three or four different directions. And probably the hotel (locally owned?) will have a coffee shop as well.
Surprisingly, it sounds like Starbucks, based in Seattle, is now more local than Peet's...
My first Peets coffee was at Walnut Square in Berkeley probably around 1970. I had a lot of barista friends working there, and i would begin my 8 mile run there, up Spruce and around and thru the park, thru the eucalyptus trees and past the cows into Albany. My son worked there too. I hope young folk find work there, and i will have another place to enjoy coffee.
Peet's makes good coffee. Use your energy for better things like getting rid of CVS & Starbucks.
Seriously? People in the Republic of Sebastopol are upset about Peet's coffee coming in?? For the past 30 years I visited the original Peet's in Berkeley to buy coffee when in the area. My daughter worked at Peet's in Santa Rosa while attending high school where they trained her to be a barista, and again for Peet's while attending UC Santa Barbara. They were great employers for her and the other young people she worked with. We also frequently went to Taylor Made because it was local, started out in our Occidental neighborhood and we wanted to support them, plus they had decent coffee. What the heck are people's priorities???
This whole kerfuffle further convinces me that some of the folks in Sebastopol have their heads up their... well, you know... traffic originally suggested I avoid town, and this adds to that... like you care...
Bruce Schmidt
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Posted in reply to the post by eddierosenthal:
https://looplink.natl.cbre.us/xNet/L...RID=0&IP=false
If you click on the brochure attached to the above link, you will see the Peet's lease is acknowledged and a second lease is pending and a third space is still available. Too small for an indoor tennis court...
" were you here for the fight to stop the Barlow? It was not welcomed by many and many fought it. "
This is an interesting re-write of history. As I remember it, the huge fight was over what was then called the Northeast Plan, which would have zoned that area for denser development, including housing above retail. It was fought hard by the anti-growth forces, and the rezoning ultimately failed.
That left the area open to development based on the existing zoning, which is what allowed the Barlow. There was virtually no comment or opposition to the Barlow.
The Barlow is OK for what it is (basically a tourist mall) but not if you were looking for vibrant and intelligently managed growth of our community.
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Posted in reply to the post by sealwatcher:
I don't recall any fight to stop the Barlow. As Denise says it matched the zoning and didn't need the same kind of changes as the Northeast Plan. And by the way, the Northeast PLAN was not a development but a general plan amendment to change the zoning of the area to allow housing and other uses. I was a sort of supporter of the plan - although it had a lot of flaws. But if approved, we might not have the terrible housing shortage we have now. Instead, we have a tourist trap. I actually like some of the places in the Barlow, but housing would have been much better.
The NE plan was not from a developer. It was a specific plan for the general plan put forth by the city. Yes, the main landowner hoped to benefit from it. When the plan failed he decided to do something else with the land.
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Posted in reply to the post by sealwatcher:
By the way, there are two openings on the Sebastopol Planning Commission for the upcoming four year terms.
If you want to be involved in planning for our town this is one way to do it.
More information and an application are located here:
https://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/City-Gov...ing-Commission
I glanced thru the thread and I don/t get the concerns if they are there. Its' on the edge of town, and obviously the feasibility studies revealed that we can handle another coffee place besides what we have.
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Posted in reply to the post by AJL:
It's going in next to the new CVS, downtown. While I'd prefer a local business, I don't have a problem with this.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
Gypsey, on the edge of town? Adjacent to two major roads going through the heart of Sebastopol??
Busy through traffic place, good location that may affect traffic flow, that is the urban nature of any town/city. I live in a rural country location for peace and quiet, and then go to shop where the goods are: towns and cities. It is a sometimes daunting challenge to deal with traffic and human behavior but also satisfies getting my worldly needs met and also offers a chance to visit friends who live there; a necessary travail... c'est la vie.
What befuddles me is that some of the folks in Sebastopol act as if they are living in a remote bucolic idyll, wanting everyone to treat it as such, rather than a growing urban crossroads combining both elements. I used to love Sebastopol, and my children frequently were there: the edge-of-town or downtown suburbs offer places that are placid and rural-like, but close to roads and services provided in urban settings, and I could get in, park and it was pleasant walking about. But rather than facilitating access into, through and then out, the town currently feels to me like a huge traffic jammed parking lot. I hope it is a phase it will pass through, but currently, I avoid Sebastopol, and go to other areas for shopping, coffee, visiting... too bad, but so it goes. I hope folks can figure out how to honor being a center having elements of both city and country. Good luck!
Bruce Schmidt, Bridgehaven
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Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
Vote with your bucks. Stay out of there. And Starbucks. And CVS. Shouldn't be difficult we have some great coffee in town these days.
I gotta comment on your line "I used to love Sebastopol".
What makes this place a great place to live is not the buildings, businesses or highways. It's the natural beauty of the area, closeness to the coast, & the people who live here.
Last week I skimmed an article is SF magazine, listing the 100 best places to live in the Bay Area. Sebastopol was #30, with the comment "Forget the numbers—Sebastopol might be the best place in the world.".
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Posted in reply to the post by heresbruce:
One reason the downtown area is so congested is that employees of the small businesses take up parking; as well as commuters who park near downtown to take public transit. The one that bugs me is all the supposed single family dwellings which rent out rooms and their tenants park on the street. However, Sebastopuddlers are responsible in part for voting down a bypass which the county wanted to put in some 30 years ago. Did YOUR vote count?
Well said!Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by jbox:
They have changed the fences this week greatly increasing the construction space and cutting off a significant portion of the public parking lot. There are now several pieces of heavy equipment and a contractors office on the plot.
Construction likely imminent (hopefully! - tired of ugly fences).
well, time to work on another ordinance to ban chain companies from opening in Sebastopol. for some reason, I was under the impression that the town already has the strictest anti-growth policy in the state.
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/wacco...2_10-36-58.png
ACRE Coffee is moving into the old Starbucks location as well.