While the pandemic has forced the closure of many small businesses across the US, some cities have managed to not only help keep businesses afloat but have also pivoted their economic development strategies to attract new ones.
One such city is Vista, Calif. In fact, the City of Vista has attracted several significant large and small businesses during the past year, including:
Amazon, which opened a 222,000 square-foot distribution facility in Vista in January 2021 with 500 employees.
Cue Health, which began moving into its 197,000 square-foot Vista facility in October. The additional facility will be used for the production of Cue COVID-19 Test Cartridges. Cue plans to hire an additional up to 500 employees at its Vista location, with more expected in the future as the company continues to grow in research and manufacturing.
NewRocket, a software and services company that purchased a 6,000 square-foot building in Vista last spring just as the pandemic was taking hold of the US.
Seatrec, which is relocating to Vista from the Los Angeles area in March 2021 to help position the company as a major player in the bluetech community around San Diego. The new Vista facility offers a significant increase in laboratory and manufacturing space.
Barrel & Stave Pour House, a Fullerton, Calif.-based brewery, which opened its first San Diego County tap in early February 2021 in Downtown Vista. Barrel & Stave is one of several craft brewers that make up Vista’s famous craft brewery scene.
CoLab, a first-of-its kind brewery and distillery that will include 15,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor common space. One of the breweries setting up shop at CoLab is Laguna Beach Beer Co., whose Vista expansion will be its first entrance into the San Diego County craft beer market.
Since 2010, the City of Vista has grown by 8% – a rate higher than the San Diego region as a whole – and has earned a spot as the 7th fastest growing city in the region.
In an effort to stay on its growth trajectory, the City has also created innovative strategies to help support its existing businesses during the pandemic.
Below are some highlights:
• Assisted over 50 businesses with temporary outdoor service
• Created a COVID-19 Business Response Plan, including a Shop Local campaign, business support, and Vista is Open campaign
• Created a Stand Up Vista virtual workshop series
By assisting in re-activating local storefronts during COVID-19, the City has also been helping to bring more people to its historic downtown, who, in turn, also frequent other downtown businesses.
Vintage clothing and homegoods shop re•find Off Main in Downtown Vista is weathering the pandemic.
One of those small businesses is re•find Off Main, a fun and rustic vintage clothing and homegoods shop owned by Vista native Riley Herington. The 1,800 square-foot shop (including the backyard space) – complete with reclaimed wood floors, furniture, and decor – opened in March 2019 after Herington and her parents renovated the building. Herington typically travels around the US to various flea markets to source her unique items, but since the pandemic shut many of these markets down, she has had to be more creative with ways of sourcing items.
“We have met new people, traveled to places in a safe manner, and taken a whole lot of road trips,” she said. “COVID has made it so small businesses have had to think more outside the box than normal. I was shut down for three months at the very beginning of COVID. I took to selling as much as I possibly could online. Many of my sales during the time we were closed were through Instagram stories. I am so thankful to be able to still open my doors up every single day and still be able to support and survive as a store front.”
Herington said one reason her shop has managed to stay open is due to the vast support from the City and the community at large.
“The City at the beginning of the pandemic offered a assistance to any business that may need it . Although I have not personally taken advantage of some of these opportunities opportunity, the fact that that they were there for us was reassuring,” she said. “ It was reassuring to know that my city was there to help in any way they could. The city has also done an amazing job of helping and promoting businesses during the pandemic.”
Herington said there have been exciting things going on Downtown Vista lately, which has helped to keep a sense of community.
“We have been back doing our monthly Second Saturday markets. Every market just keeps getting better and better. It’s our way to get the community involved as well as getting local artists the chance to sell their goods,” she said, adding that the recent opening of Barrel & Stave and an added large outdoor seating area at Belching Beaver has also helped increase foot traffic to shops and restaurants Downtown.
Riley Herington
In an effort to further bolster economic development, even during the pandemic, the City of Vista has even forged ahead with infrastructure development plans, such as the completion of Paseo Santa Fe downtown. The City’s vision is to fill the area with retail/shops/restaurants topped with living spaces to further revitalize the Downtown area.
“The pandemic has made economic development more important than ever,” said Vista Mayor Judy Ritter. “In 2020, our priorities shifted as a year full of challenges compelled our business owners, residents, and local government to adapt to new lifestyles, re-imagine how things were done, and become more resilient in our responsive efforts to COVID-19.”
During a recent State of the City address, Mayor Ritter detailed the many challenges and successes for the City and local business during 2020, including:
Misadventure Distillery, which switched from making vodka to making desperately needed hand sanitizer during the difficult first months of the pandemic. Within one week, the distillery was able to produce alcohol for hand sanitizer, bottle it, and ship over 20,000 bottles to both consumers and wholesalers every week. The company supplied large orders to clinics, hospitals, veterans’ groups, and local governments, including the City of Vista.
Dr. Bronner’s donated cases of hand sanitizer and soap.
Solatube pivoted from making home skylights to making face shields for the health organizations.
ELIEL swapped out cycling operations and began making face masks for the public.
The North County Food Bank, which opened in the Business Park last year, provided nutritious food to more than 400 nonprofit groups with feeding programs. Since the new warehouse opened, it has doubled the Food Bank’s outreach and services in North County. Through non-profit partnerships, the Food Bank is now serving 30,000 people each month in communities throughout North County.
“As I look back on the actions the City of Vista has already taken to address front-line issues, I am proud of the strong leadership I’ve seen displayed by our City Council; the steady leadership of our city management in ensuring our operations continued seamlessly; the business owners struggling to follow the often-changing rules of the stay-at-home order; and the community that calls Vista home,” Ritter said during her speech.
She said the City also quickly pivoted and developed an Economic Recovery Plan in response to the devastating impacts on the business community. The City’s Economic Development staff also provided business assistance through the Innovate 78 website, and by email and a business hotline.
“City policies and programs were reviewed and temporarily changed to better support the business sector and minimize costs, burdens, and barriers to re-opening,” Ritter said. “We also adapted our permitting services to facilitate outdoor spaces for restaurants and personal services, and expanded temporary signage options to help the businesses market their services.”
“Our businesses are still in shifting phases of reopening and we will continue to support them and help prevent the damage caused by COVID-19 from further disrupting our economy,” she added. “We understand the economic effects these events will continue to create and our City teams know they may require new solutions. We are up to the challenge.”
One reason Vista has managed to weather the COVID-19 storm successfully is due to strategic planning and forward-thinking, Ritter said.
Vista Mayor Judy Ritter
“Vista has a long-standing recognition of being fiscally responsible, relying on various revenue streams to balance our annual operating budget. Thanks to the City Council’s decision to continue increasing our reserves last year, Vista has been able to absorb the initial impact of revenue loss from sales and gas tax revenues, and the loss of fees for service programs that were temporarily stopped due to the pandemic. With our smart planning during previous years, we have been able to mitigate many of the pandemic impacts.”
As she looks into the next year and beyond, Ritter is confident in the City’s continued recovery and success.
“Just look at our Main Street, which is lined with thriving and quaint shops that have played a key role in new economic activity in our downtown core,” she said. “These unique retail shops, such as re•find are helping to attract residents and visitors back to the heart of our town and they are building a sense of place for our whole community. I am genuinely hopeful for our City’s future as we plan our next steps to stimulate recovery and growth. If we endeavor together, we will prosper.”
