Benicia Main Street gets into the giving mood

(Originally published in the 4/26/16 edition)

   Winter is always seen as the season of giving- it is the season in which Christmas falls, after all. However, people really should be benefiting those in need throughout the entire year. Benicia Main Street recently came up with the idea to tie the concept of giving with the season of spring for its weeklong promotion titled Spring into Giving. 

   “We were just throwing around ideas that had to do with spring,” Deborah Housman, Benicia Main Street’s event coordinator, said. “We thought ‘The community is really giving, with a lot of different charities, so how can we tie a shopping promotion with a charity cause?’”

   Out of this brainstorming came Spring into Giving, a promotional event lasting from Sunday, April 30 to Sunday, May 7. The event will benefit Benicia’s Family Resource Center, a community center supervised by Benicia Police Department’s Special Operation Division. The center provides assistance for families and offers parent education and family support services.

   People who drop off suggested donation items at Benicia Main Street during the week will receive a discount card valid with 33 participating downtown businesses. These include Bookshop Benicia, Camellia Tea Room, First Street Cafe, First Impressions Salon and Spa, Pups ’N’ Purrz, Union Hotel, Christina S Fashion Destination, Venticellos Ristorante Italiano, Angel Heart 4 You, Roberto’s Fine Jewelry, Wellness Wisdom and many others. 

   The goal is to stock the Family Resource Center’s closet with emergency family products. Suggested donation items include diapers, baby wipes, baby shampoos and soap, feminine hygiene products, deodorant, bath towels, wash cloths, socks, hair brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and more. 

   “Spring into Giving is a win-win all around,” Benicia Main Street Executive Director Nancy Martinez said in a statement. “The public gets to learn about and donate to a great community cause, while supporting local downtown businesses.”

   Benicia Main Street is located at 90 Main St. and open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays and weekends. For more information, visit BeniciaMainStreet.org or call 745-9791. 

   People can also drop off donations at the Family Resource Center, located at 150 East K St. However, appoints should be made ahead of time by calling 746-4352. For more information, email Blanche Hillman at bhillman@ci.benicia.ca.us. 

St. Patrick's Day Beer Crawl to be held for second year in a row

(Originally published in the 3/8/16 edition)

   St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until next week, but you can get a head start on the festivities Saturday by visiting downtown Benicia businesses.

   Benicia Main Street will be holding its second annual St. Patricks Day Beer Crawl where participants can pay a small fee to sample craft brews at participating businesses. Administrative assistant Susie Harper said Benicia Main Street was looking for another event to do in March besides the annual chili cook-off. The first St. Patrick’s Day Beer Crawl turned out to be a huge success. 

   “It sold out and was very popular,” Harper said. 

   The winning outcome of the first event meant a second was inevitable. Once again, participants will be given a sampling glass, map of participating businesses and identification wristband upon purchasing tickets. From there, they can sample some of the finest craft brews from the Bay Area and beyond. Among the brews to be served are Irish staples like Guinness Stout, craft beer titans like Samuel Adams’ Rebel IPA and Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA, and beers from local breweries like Lagunitas in Petaluma, Napa Smith Brewery in Napa and Heretic Brewery in Fairfield. Additionally, Benicia Main Street will be serving beer from Benicia’s very own Bruehol Brewing, which specializes in pale ales, German-style lagers and dark ales. 

   Other participating businesses include Jordan Real Estate, Studio 41, Bookshop Benicia, Dianna’s Bakery and Cafe, Dot’s Consignment, Leather & Lace, Tina Marie’s, Romancing the Home, Vintage Owl and more. The businesses will also be serving foods to pair with the beers like sandwiches and various finger foods.

   “The merchants do an excellent job with their pairings,” Harper said. 

   New this year will be a designated driver ticket. For $10, a ticket holder will be given a bottle of water and will be allowed to sample foods from the participating businesses. 

   Harper says this will be a good chance for participants to support Benicia businesses.

   “We’re excited for the customers to visit the merchants that are participating and increase their sales,” she said. “We hope they have a great time and spread the word.”

   The beer crawl will run from 2 to 6 p.m., Saturday, March 12 in downtown Benicia. Check-in starts at 1:30 p.m., and participants must be 21 or older. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 the day of the event, and they can be purchased at Benicia Main Street, located at 90 First St. The event will be held rain or shine. For more information including a full listing of businesses and the beers they will be serving, visit BeniciaMainStreet.org. 

Discounts available at downtown Benicia restaurants for Restaurant Week

(Originally published in the 1/17/16 edition)

   The time has come again for Benicians to support their local downtown eating establishments at a lower cost for Downtown Benicia Restaurant Week. 

   This is the third year that Benicia Main Street has hosted Restaurant Week, which coincides with California Restaurant Month, put on by the nonprofit tourism organization Visit California. The month was designated for January to draw people to their local restaurants, whose patronage typically dwindles after the holidays. 

   “January is a rather slim month for restaurants, so it was a way to promote business for the downtown restaurants,” Susie Harper, administrative assistant for Benicia Main Street, said.

   Throughout the week, people can stop by Benicia Main Street’s offices to pick up a Dining Passport, or they can download it from the organization’s website. With this, they can enjoy discounts at Aroma Indian Cuisine, Dianna’s Cafe and Bakery, Double Rainbow, First Street Cafe, Got Plate Lunch, Kinder’s BBQ, Lucca Bar & Grill, Mai Thai, Rosanna’s Bakery, Sailor Jack’s, The Rellik Tavern, Union Hotel and Venticellos Ristorante Italiano. The discounts are typically 15 percent off a patron’s meal with a minimum purchase of $10, but Venticellos will be offering a 20 percent discount. Some of the deals will exclude purchases of beverages or alcohol.

   Additionally, Benicia Main Street will be holding a Dine Downtown Contest through its Facebook and Twitter pages where its followers are encouraged to take a picture of their meals and email the picture to info@beniciamainstreet.org for the opportunity to win $100 in Downtown Dollars, which can be redeemed at a large number of downtown businesses. The pictures can be taken at any downtown restaurant, not necessarily just the ones participating in Restaurant Week. The contest will run through Jan. 31, after which a winner will be chosen by random. 

   “The goal is to bring in business and help support the restaurants downtown,” Harper said. “It’s a rather quiet month after the holidays are over.”

   Restaurant Week begins today and will run until Saturday, Jan. 23. For more information, to download a Dining Passport or view discounts, visit BeniciaMainStreet.org. 

   

Small Business Saturday a success in Benicia and beyond

(Originally published in the 12/3/15 edition)

   All across the nation on Saturday, shoppers showed their love for independently run businesses for Small Business Saturday.

   The holiday was founded in 2010 by American Express to get people to support their local merchants. Small Business Saturday typically is held the day after Black Friday.
   According to the Post-Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey from the National Federation of Independent Business and American Express, a record 95 million consumers shopped on Small Business Saturday this year, which marks an 8 percent increase over 2014. Additionally, roughly $16.2 billion was spent at small businesses, up 14 percent from the $14.3 billion that was spent last year.

   That success was realized in Benicia, one of the many towns that participated.

   “Studio 41 had a great day,” Benicia Main Street Executive Director Nancy Martinez said. “We certainly did at Benicia Main Street. We had Downtown Dollar promotions available for the first people who showed up (at Benicia Main Street) at 11. When I got here at 11, there were already 10 people at the store.”

   According to Martinez, restaurants drew a lot of customers, including Dianna’s Bakery and Cafe, which had just opened up two days prior. Romancing the Home almost had a line out the door, Martinez said.

   “I saw a lot of people on the street Saturday,” she added. “I’m hoping they were out shopping and not just walking their dogs.”

Small Business Saturday in Benicia encourages residents to shop local

(Originally published in the 11/24/15 edition)

   As the crowds dissipate from the malls and large chain retailers of the world when Black Friday ends, people can feel free to continue their shopping the following day in a way that benefits the local businesses of their community.

   This Saturday, Benicia Main Street and the city of Benicia will be presenting the sixth annual Small Business Saturday. The nationwide shopping event typically held the Saturday after Thanksgiving was founded in 2010 by American Express as a way for communities to celebrate the smaller businesses that help support their towns. Nancy Martinez, executive director of Benicia Main Street, said the program held its first Small Business Saturday that year, and it was officially recognized by the city in 2011.

   This year, fifty businesses from all across Benicia have chosen to participate in Small Business Saturday, including Bookshop Benicia, Wheels in Motion and Honeysuckle Rose. However, retail stores will not be the only businesses taking part. Shoppers can also eat lunch and get haircuts or manicures at participating businesses. 

   Teri Davena of the Economic Development Office says new benefits have been added this year.

   “Benicia Main Street is offering $5 in Downtown Dollars to the first 30 people who stop by the Depot,” she said. “That will kickstart their shopping in downtown Benicia.”

   Additionally, some participating businesses will have giveaways like designer tote bags. Some stores may offer discounts, but Martinez says that is not the focus.

   “It’s more about the public recognizing small businesses,” she said. “There’s a lot of chains and online shopping, so the fact that they can survive in this economy, we want the public to acknowledge them. We also want to thank them for helping them survive.”

   Davena says the event is a good way to get people to patronize the independent businesses that give Benicia its unique character.

   “It’s important to our town to keep them in business and offer the unique opportunities that they provide for our residents and keep our downtown vibrant and alive,” she said. 

   However, Davena recommends that residents don’t take just one day out of the year to support their local businesses.

   “This is a day to remember all of our small businesses and to remind them to shop every day locally,” she said. 

   Small Business Saturday will kick off 11 a.m., Saturday Nov. 28 at the Southern Pacific Train Depot, located at 90 First Street. For a complete list of participating businesses, visit BeniciaMainStreet.org. 

Depot may become national historic site

(Originally published in the 10/25/15 edition)

   The Southern Pacific Train Depot, located at the end of First Street, has been many things over the years: a train station, a haunted house and the home of Benicia Main Street. In a few months, it could be something else: a national historic landmark.

   The Benicia Historical Society is submitting an application for the building at 930 First Street to be recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, an official list of historic places across America that are deemed worthy of preservation. On Thursday night, the Historic Preservation Review Commission voted to approve the application, which means it will go through another few rounds before it can officially be added to the list.

   If selected, the Depot would share a list with over 90,000 buildings across the country. Benicia currently has nine sites on the Register: the Benicia Arsenal, the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park, Crooks Mansion, the Joseph Fischer House, the Old Masonic Hall, the Stamboul whaling bark site, the Von Pfizer General Store, the USCGC Storis and the Carr House on East D Street which was demolished in 2000.

   The Depot itself has a long history. According to Bonnie Silveria, the president of the Benicia Historical Society, the structure was built in Banta in the 1800s. In 1903, it was shipped over to Benicia where it served as a railroad depot for the Southern Pacific Railroad until 1930.

   “At that time, it came to the end of First Street out there by the pier, and then the railroad trains would be put on a ferry across to Port Costa,” Silveria said. 

   The building remained operational until 1958 as the home for the family of a station agent. 

   “They did bring trains down back when there was still industry on First Street,” Silveria said. “When I was a young girl, it was where you went to send a telegram.”

   The building was purchased by the city in 1975. By the late ‘90s, the building was in disarray and was frequently surrounded by floods. The city made an effort to restore the building, which was completed in 2001. It now houses the Benicia Main Street program with a gift shop and See’s Candies. 

   Once a building is placed on the Register, restrictions are put in place over what can be done to it.

   “If someone came in and bought it, they couldn’t tear it down or do improvements that aren’t within the improvements that can be done to a historic building,” Silveria said.

   The Depot will then need to be approved by Benicia’s Parks and Community Services department and then City Council. Afterwards, the application will be submitted to Sacramento and then Washington, D.C. for national approval. 

   “I would be very surprised if we didn’t make it,” Silveria said. “But then again, I’ve been surprised before.”

Ghost Walk explores Benicia's paranormal past

(Originally published in the 10/11/15 edition)

   When there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?

   Well, if you happen to be on First Street this Friday, possibly you.

   Benicia Main Street will be hosting its sixth annual Ghost Walk this month, in which participants follow paranormal experts down First Street and learn about Benicia’s paranormal history.

   The event started being held in 2010, but Benicia Historical Society had been doing a Spirit Walk before then, complete with Benicia Old Town Theatre Group members dressed in costume.

   “That was more of an ‘If Jack London were on the street, this is what he would say,” Nancy Martinez, executive director of Benicia Main Street said.

   Eventually, the Benicia Historical Society wanted to take time off to regroup, Martinez said. In the meantime, Benicia Main Street staff were approached by a paranormal investigator about doing a ghost walk, and the event has been held ever since.

   The walk begins at the Railroad Depot where people will meet the paranormal investigators who walk them down First Street. Participants are given K2 meters that go off when near power sources. The tour will go down First Street, through D Street and back to the Depot

   “The investigators we have now are definitely putting you in the shoes of a ghost hunter,” Martinez said.

   The investigators this year are Deborah Hogarty and Serena Desoto, both of whom have a long history of inspecting paranormal activity.

   Hogarty investigated Wolfe Manor in Clovis, which has been a hotbed for paranormal sightings and was featured on TV shows like “Ghost Hunters” and “Ghost Adventures.” She also has been featured on CBS’ “Eye on the Bay” for her investigation of the historic Ryde Hotel in Walnut Grove.

   Desoto experienced a haunting in her home in 1999 and called Hogarty to investigate, according to a press release. Since then, she has been active in trying to uncover further information on paranormal discoveries.

   Along the way, participants will learn about Benicia’s alleged ghost sightings. 

   “There have been plenty of legends over the years,” Martinez said. “Our investigators are going off those leads.”

   Because of the high activity on First Street on Friday and Saturday nights, the walk is limited to just the street. With the exception of the Tannery, the tour does not go inside the buildings.

   The tour will also run into two characters played by actors; Ben, who lives at the Depot, and Carl, a former riverboat captain.

   “Carl likes his ladies and his whiskey, and he likes hanging out at Sailor Jack’s,” Martinez said.

   Martinez says that reception to the tour has been positive, and people don’t have to believe in ghosts to have a good time. 

   “You take away from it what you want,” she said. “We hope at the very least that you find it entertaining.”

   In addition to those fascinated by the supernatural, Martinez also says the event will be interesting for local history buffs.

   “If you’re new to Benicia or you’re an old timer, it’s a good way to refresh yourself with Benicia history,” she said. “It’s also a good way to learn about the paranormal that perhaps you didn’t know existed in Benicia.”

   The Ghost Walk will take place at 8 p.m. Fridays Oct. 16 and 30 and Saturdays Oct. 17 and 31. The tours will start at the Depot and will last between 90 minutes and an hour. Tours are $25 per person.