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COVID hit some downtown Turlock businesses harder than others. Here’s who fared best

in business

During the statewide COVID-19 shelter-in-place order in March 2020, Gina Blom decided she needed to close her downtown Turlock paint and sip studio.

Blom shifted Rembrandt & Rosé to a mobile business, and she said a new tenant moved into the suite on West Main Street as soon as she left.

The turnover exemplifies how downtown Turlock has remained a desirable hub for local businesses and maintained a low vacancy rate throughout the pandemic, Blom and other business owners said.

Few businesses have closed and new tenants have taken their place right after, said Blom, who also works as the executive director of the Turlock Chamber of Commerce. The occupancy rate for downtown Turlock stands at 99%, said Lori Smith, co-owner of Main Street Antiques and a board member of the Turlock Downtown Property Owners Association.

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3 Earth-Friendly Tactics for Every Small Business

in business/Environment

Living in California, it's hard to ignore the impact humans have on the natural world. Between drought, wildfires, and the underlying threat of climate change that feeds these disasters, I'm constantly reminded of what's at stake if we don't all make a concerted effort to protect our planet.

Thankfully, there's a growing awareness in the business world that companies need to step up their commitments to eco-friendliness -- and that includes small businesses. A recent survey found that a majority of entrepreneurs around the world are willing to turn down an investor with a poor track record on sustainability. In theory, that kind of commitment is great, but how do those good intentions translate into everyday business practices?

Continue Reading on Inc.

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Finless Foods Bringing Plant-Based Tuna To The Masses, Ramping Up Cell-Cultured Plans with $34 Million In Series B Funding

in business/Food
Plant-Based Tuna Quinoa Bowl with Lemon Caper Dressing FINLESS FOODS

If you’re having tuna for lunch or dinner (breakfast?), it doesn’t have to come from the sea. There are options like plant-based bluefin tuna from California’s Finless Foods, which doesn’t come with a side dish of putting pressure on the ocean and global fisheries. The “first cell-cultured seafood company” has just closed its Series B funding, totaling $34 million and led by Hanwha Solutions.

Continue Reading on Forbes

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AxleHire founder sets sights on LTL with new company, seed funding

in business
Warp co-founders Daniel Sokolovsky and Troy Lester (Photo: Warp)

Daniel Sokolovsky has a Forrest Gump-like penchant for being wherever the action is in the world of delivery. In 2013, around the time of the rise of food delivery platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash, Sokolovsky was heading up his own food delivery business, Berkeley Delivers, near his alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley.

Then, in 2015, he founded AxleHire, a company that would soon go toe-to-toe with one of delivery’s most influential and massive players. The company’s proprietary software helps clients create digital fleets of drivers and vehicles for use in their delivery operations.

“I spent like six to seven years proving a concept that at the time was only familiar to Amazon, you know? We were offering next-day delivery, we were offering same-day delivery,” Sokolovsky told Modern Shipper. “I ended up luckily foreseeing a few years ahead of time that this same-day, next-day, basically super quick e-commerce delivery would boom like crazy.”

Continue Reading on Freight Waves

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La Mo chef overcomes adversity, branches out with new food truck

in News

Name of business: Tito’s Parrilla

Type of business: Food truck and catering

Location: 401 S. Golden State Blvd., Turlock

Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Contact information: 209-585-8422

Specialty: “El Valle” style menu items

History of business:

Starting a new business is almost always an uphill climb, but Delhi resident Tito Alvarez could never have imagined the trials and tribulations he would face on his way to opening up Turlock’s newest food truck, Tito’s Parrilla, at just 26 years old.

The truck’s story began two years ago when Alvarez and his father bought a used food truck right before the start of the pandemic, and Alvarez planned on using the vehicle to expand upon his already successful catering business. Many Turlock residents are likely familiar with his cooking; he’s served as La Mo Cafe’s executive chef since 2018 and has worked at the restaurant since 2015.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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How will Turlock spend $15.7 million in COVID funds? Business, mental health priorities

in business/Mental Health/News

With $15.7 million of federal COVID-19 relief money to spend in the next five years, the Turlock City Council on Tuesday identified supporting business and mental health needs as priorities.

For presentation at a future council meeting, city staff plan to prepare a list of top five spending ideas based on Tuesday’s discussion, Interim City Manager Dan Madden said.

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Dust Bowl expanding again with Elk Grove taproom

in business

After closing its downtown Turlock location last year, Dust Bowl Brewing Co. will soon have three taprooms once again after announcing plans for a new space in Elk Grove. 

The new taproom is expected to open at 9676 Railroad St. this fall and will see the Turlock-based brewery expand in Elk Grove’s Old Town Historic District. The announcement this week came one year after Dust Bowl’s original taproom in downtown Turlock closed due to the pandemic and two years after the opening of their first satellite taproom in Monterey.

“While we had hoped to open a new taproom in 2020, those plans were put on pause while we all weathered the impact of the pandemic,” said Dust Bowl owner Brett Honore. “We used the time wisely to conduct further research and are excited with our decision to expand in Elk Grove. It’s in close proximity to our brewery in Turlock, which makes delivering fresh beer on a regular basis easy to execute.” 

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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Many gifts, one spirit

in business

When Off Center Thrift & Gift first opened its doors to the public in December 2006, the goal was to make enough money to pay the rent and keep the lights on, said founding board member Sylvia Cox of the philanthropic shop. Just one month later, the Off Center Board of Directors was able to give its first monetary donation: $1,000 to the Children’s Crisis Center’s Verda’s House in Turlock. This week, the thrift store celebrated another significant milestone in donating over $1 million to dozens of nonprofit organizations in the area.

“Without the community supporting us with donations, we couldn’t achieve this goal,” said Normella Pimentel, the current Vice President of Off Center’s Board of Directors.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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Business forecast points to continued economic improvement in 2021

in business

Though the official report won’t be out for a couple more weeks, Dr. Gökçe Soydemir recently presented 2021-2023 San Joaquin Valley Business Forecast’s mid-year update to the Turlock Chamber of Commerce, painting an optimistic picture of recovery for the region as COVID restrictions continue to lift. 

In June 2020, Stanislaus State’s first of two forecasts authored by Foster Farms Endowed Professor of Business Economics Gökçe Soydemir correctly predicted that economic recovery would begin during the second half of 2020 — so long as everyone adhered to COVID-19 precautions and protocols. In his May presentation to the Chamber, Soydemir said that while the recovery did begin in late 2020, it was slowed due to the region’s hesitancy to wear masks as well as the development of new, mutated forms of the virus.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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Turlock businesses help feed fire evacuees

in Food

While smokey air and raining ash are the only ramifications of statewide fires suffered in Turlock over the past week, local business owners have taken it upon themselves to help the Salvation Army feed evacuees.

As the MOC Fire burns in Tuolumne County, evacuees settled into Mariposa hotels in recent days and anxiously awaited news on their homes. They didn’t have to worry about where their next meal would come from, however, as Turlock/Modesto Salvation Army Volunteer Coordinator Megan Patterson took to social media in search of businesses that were willing to donate food.

After posting a plea on the popular Facebook page Turlock To Go, the donations began pouring in. Restaurants and businesses that have helped so far include: Vito’s Ristorante & Pizzeria, Olde Tyme Pastries, MOD Pizza, Chong’s Cuisine, Willie’s Pizza and Wings, Village Fresh Market, Savor Charcuterie, Crumbl Cookies and Kraving Kebab Pizza. Local church group Hilmar Helping Hands has also contributed, as have local residents Chelsi Knowles of Cost Less Market, Lori Crivelli and Lana Casey.

Continue Reading on Turlock Journal

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