Plaza businesses roll with economic punches

Although the hard data on the national economy’s local effects won’t be in for another month, Sonoma Plaza business owners are already seeing some of the consequences.
“People come in saying, ‘I know you donate to kids (organizations), you give to the firefighters’ but we’re just trying to take care of our own,” Sonoma Spa owner Deanna Wieskamp said last week, adding that her 17-year-old business has seen a 25 percent revenue drop over the past year.
Stephen Havlek, who owns the Sign of the Bear on First Street West, said he’s seeing a strong local presence in his kitchenware store.
“I’m not panicking, if that means anything, but everyone is feeling somewhat tenuous,” Havlek said. “My read is that the customer counts have been light all summer. But we seem to be okay.”
Sebastiani Theatre owner Roger Rhoten said ticket sales were slow during last week, but added with a smile, “Maybe it’s the debates.”
“Business is up and down anyway,” he said. “Right now, it’s hard to evaluate.”
Overall, Sonoma’s doing a bit better than the rest of the Bay Area – or was as of June 30, Laurie Decker, project manager of the Sonoma Economic Development Partnership (SEDP), said Monday. The organization is a joint program of the city, the County of Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Decker said the data reflects conditions in 2008’s second quarter, but that information for the latest quarter – which closed Sept. 30 – won’t be available until November.
“I think the key point is that the tourism-based economy we have is very strong,” Decker said, noting that the July-to-September period typically contains Sonoma’s peak economic activity. “Obviously, with everything that’s going on, it’ll be very important to see the third-quarter data.”
Decker said that while her agency doesn’t receive data on businesses outside Sonoma, the city has seen a 2.1-percent sales-tax increase over last year among its roughly 500 tax-generating businesses, versus a 1.1 percent decrease in the Bay Area and a 3.4-percent drop statewide during the same period.
“Then you have to dig into the details,” Decker said, explaining that while general retail sales are down by 3 percent, Sonoma’s restaurants – which account for 40 percent of the tax-generation total – brought in 3 percent more revenues last year, with food sales in general up, rising to about 8 percent.
“Obviously, everything is a blend of local and tourist,” Decker said. “People are still coming, they’re eating out – but they’re not doing as much shopping.”
Wieskamp can attest to that. She said she’s seeing fewer clients from Sacramento and San Francisco – “There’s less disposable income they have to spend” – and while she and Havlek agreed that more Europeans seem to be frequenting their respective shops, it’s difficult to say whether or not that’s due to relatively fewer visitors from Northern California. But both say they’ve received a good deal of support from local customers, which Decker said is a key part of strengthening community.
“Dollars spent locally recirculate locally through jobs, local suppliers and even business contributions to Valley nonprofits,” she said. “Hopefully, they’ll hold off on the catalogs … and spend their shopping dollars right here in their own community.”
Toward that end, the SEDP is offering free, one-on-one counseling services “not only for businesses who are struggling, but for businesses who are doing well and want to do better.” Decker said the “underutilized resource” is available by calling Yackie Magana at the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce at 707.996.1033.