City Council Members,
While the subject line of this message is satirical, the concern is not:
your recent decisions strongly suggest a lack of genuine support by the
city council for small businesses in downtown Menlo Park.
Carpaccio, a long-standing local restaurant, has now closed—largely because
their modest outdoor seating in the alley was revoked. Despite no
objections from neighboring businesses like Clarks, the city still removed
this lifeline, contributing *directly *to their closure.
Meanwhile, Bistro Vida continues to benefit from a full street closure
directly in front of its business—an arrangement that disrupts downtown
traffic and impedes customer access from El Camino. Why is one business
afforded such an outsized advantage while others are left without viable
options? What explains this disparity? If equity and fairness are your
goals, this current situation undermines both.
As a fellow downtown business owner, I’m frustrated by the city’s apparent
disregard for the fragile ecosystem of our local economy. The continued
push to hand over public parking lots to developers for state housing
quotas only adds to the concern. Where will customers park? How are we
expected to survive if foot traffic and access continue to erode?
Ask yourselves: Do you want downtown Menlo Park to thrive—with vibrant
storefronts, diverse restaurants, and new businesses that attract visitors
from surrounding areas like Atherton, Portola Valley, and Woodside (which
rely on us as their de facto downtown)? Or are you comfortable watching it
hollow out, replaced by empty shops, discount chains, pawn shops, or worse?
Your decisions have real consequences. Please act accordingly—before
there’s nothing left to save.
Keith Quiggins
844 Santa Cruz Ave. • Menlo Park, CA 94025
Office: 650.308.9690 <16503089690> • Cell: 650.242.6804 <16502426804>
