Communal heritage in commerce

Recently, the Silver Dollar Hofbrau closed in Fresno. It had been open for over thirty years and its closure is a net loss for Fresno. Were it a building of age or historical interest, the city historical commission would have required an assessment of its value to the community. Since the building didn't have any historical interest, there wasn't even a discussion of the business's cultural value to the community.

This is wrong. We need to open discussion about the cultural impact that local business have on the community and if can do more to save them for future generations.

The Old Fresno Haufbrau, the Farmer's Market, and Cedar Lanes are other examples of local businesses that have closed and left a hole in Fresno's collective culture. Familial and communal interactions and memories will no longer be created. The very definition of community includes a sense of "place." As we lose places were were create memories and interact, we lose what makes us a community.

Not every business is culturally important to the community. National chains are very popular and successful for their consistency of product and brand recognition but do not add to a local sense of "place" or community. So any business worthy of special consideration should be local. This also makes economic sense as local ownership guarantees the greatest portion of the economic gain will stay in the local economy.

The business needs to be a place where people interact not only with themselves, but others. In our modern cities, the concept of the civic square has been lost. As we grew to live outside close proximity to the traditional downtown, common gathering areas have become more dispersed, smaller and commercial.

The business should also be multi-generational. I remember having lunch at the Farmer's Market with my father and grandfather. It was very special to having lunch with just the three of us. A business that caters to a specific age, like a video game store, does not create cross-generational memories and is more susceptible to changing fads or technology. A cold beer will always be desirable.

To protect a significant historical building, the city historical commission can require a building owner to meet and maintain certain conditions and even protect its removal. But how to protect these businesses? What can be done to save them?

The first step, like in the physical building, is to create a registry of culturally import businesses. In Fresno, the Gateway Ice Center is a perfect example of what I'm discussing. The building is a converted cold storage and not worthy of traditional historic preservation, but losing the last place to ice skate, especially for an area that tops 100 degrees in the summer, isn't in the best interests of the city.

Once a registry is completed, a marketing campaign could be run to promote these businesses. Often these favorite businesses suffer an economic slowdown as they get older. Often, it is difficult to compete with national chains that have huge marketing budgets for prime time ads and such. The city or chamber of commerce could remind people of these business and do more to encourage their patronage. Again, with the local businesses, more money spent here, stays here.

Even more active economic support could be given. Businesses on the registry could be excluded from city taxes, perhaps on a sliding scale in terms of years opened. Reducing or eliminating the fees when the business wants to upgrade by putting in a patio or expanding a warehouse. Even just giving them priority service on things like city inspections or approvals could them reward them for their value to the community.

And when circumstances dictate the the owner sells the business, every effort should be maintained to have new ownership maintain the business and not close it. This could be done through zoning and CUP process. These requirements could be part of the agreement the owners agree to when they accept the fore mentioned perks.

There are businesses that are part of our community's culture. They are worth saving for ourselves and future generations. When a Silver Dollar Haufbrau or Farmer's Market closes and is replaced by a chain store selling pencils or another T. Applechiligan's, we lose a part of Fresno.