Walk with Weber

Posted on February 17, 2019 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

Begin the Walking Tour

Downtown Stockton has a rich and interesting past. However, many who work, live, and play in the downtown area are unaware of the history behind Downtown buildings they walk past every day. Fortunately, that history is being preserved for any who wish to learn it with a self-guided walking audio tour, Walk With Weber, scheduled to launch on the DSA website Feb. 17th – Captain Weber’s 205th birthday!

About the Tour

Narrated by retired DSA Ambassador and historian, Manuel Laguna, Walk With Weber will provide users with the historical background of Downtown Stockton’s oldest buildings, including the B&M Building, St. Mary’s Church, the Bob Hope (Fox) California Theatre, and many more. There will be audio clips for over 20 buildings in Downtown Stockton, accompanied with historical photos dating back to the mid-1800s!

Tour Narrator: Manuel Laguna

Certified Tourism Ambassador and former DSA Ambassador, Manuel Laguna, has given historical walking tours of Downtown Stockton for over 11 years. During his time at the DSA, Manuel was devoted to researching downtown’s past in order to preserve the area’s history for the future.

After his retirement, the DSA was determined to develop a way to continue sharing his great work with new generations; the Walk With Weber tour was conceived as the vehicle for commemorating Manuel’s tremendous love for and knowledge of the downtown area.

When approached with the walking audio tour concept last fall, Manuel eagerly agreed to voice the tour, and easily compiled the list of historical buildings along with their accompanying narratives.

All Hands on Deck

The entire DSA team has been working to ensure that this unique project becomes an informative and entertaining resource people will enjoy using for research or simply for satisfying their own curiosity. Courtney Wood, DSA’s Economic Development Coordinator, has been responsible for most of the project’s planning and execution, while Marketing Director Alex McBride and CEO Michael Huber have contributed significantly to design and project promotion, respectively.

Whether you are a first-time visitor or a Stockton native, if you have any interest in history or architecture, check out Walk With Weber to learn something new about Downtown Stockton’s buildings. It’s fascinating to discover how much the area has changed over the years, but also intriguing to see how much it has stayed the same. As time goes on and people come and go, many of Downtown Stockton’s historic buildings still stand. They serve as a reminder that no matter what happens, the city will continue to stand proud.

How to Listen

On your smartphone, open your browser.
Type in www.downtownstockton.org/walking tour
Click the audio clips and start walking!

Ready To Work

Posted on February 9, 2019 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

Downtown Stockton is a place that is thriving and improving almost everyday. There are, however, plenty of people that need help that will allow them to live their best life, specifically the homeless. Homelessness is an issue that impacts many in Stockton and it is often overlooked or ignored. In just the span of a few years, from 2013-2017, unsheltered homelessness increased by 115%. Fortunately, Ready to Work of San Joaquin County is helping homeless men earn an income, find employment, and get off the streets.

What is Ready to Work?

Ready to Work is a private, nonprofit organization that helps homeless men get back on their feet by providing emergency shelter, food, case management, transportation, and temporary work. Ready to Work focuses on providing aid to homeless men because single homeless men make up approximately 60% of homeless population. Most of these men are unable to find work for a couple different reasons. One, they are not in a stable position to seek or maintain employment; two, they have a spotty employment history; or three, they have a troubled past that is not attractive to employers.

That is why Ready to Work steps in to help those men find stability, employment, while also helping them develop soft and hard skills that are necessary for the workforce. After being in the program for at least 30 days, 100% of participants have increased their income.

Ready to Work finds employment for clients through different organizations and businesses. For example, the Downtown Stockton Alliance hires some of these clients and provides them with service hours for a temporary time. Sometimes is a full time position opens up, clients have a chance to obtain employment from the Downtown Stockton Alliance.

Just the Beginning

Active since July, Ready to Work has already helped over 60 clients. Despite the success they’ve experienced, there are still some obstacles that the organization has to overcome. One obstacle is transportation. It is not always easy to transport clients to work on a regular basis. Services like Lyft or Uber can be expensive and public transportation does not always work with individuals’ schedules. Another obstacle is that some clients make short sighted choices that hurt themselves in the long run. There are definitely some clients that have changed their habits overtime, but not everyone is able to improve. With time, Ready to Work hopes to be able to completely overcome these challenges so that they can help more men in the community.

Jon Mendelson, the executive director of Ready to Work, explained that the beauty of Ready to Work is that it provides clients with an opportunity to help themselves. Ready to Work lends a helping hand to men who want to improve their livelihoods. Clients are not forced to get a job and they go to work because that is what they want.

With the continued help of partners, Ready to Work of San Joaquin County will make a huge difference not just in the lives of homeless men, but in the entire community.

Learn More

Stockton Restaurant Week

Posted on February 3, 2019 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

January is California Restaurant Month and from January 18-27, Visit Stockton presented the 10th Annual Stockton Restaurant Week. Stockton is a city with plenty of culinary talent and unique flavors that can only be found here. Stockton Restaurant Week is an event where restaurants all around Stockton have a chance to show off their best dishes and menus at special fixed prices.

Building Community

Visit Stockton has been organizing this event every year for ten years. Wes Rhea, the CEO of Visit Stockton explained the purpose behind Stockton Restaurant Week, “The main reason that we started this event is to really build a relationship with restaurants. That’s the number one thing people do when they visit a city is to go out and eat. So it really helps us support the restaurant community. We typically work a lot with hotels and attractions but this gives us an opportunity to work with restaurants. And also this is a traditionally slower time of year. January, post-holiday, people are focused on fitness or already ate a lot and cooked a lot, and so we’re trying to shift that business during a particularly slow time.”

Over 30 restaurants participated in this years Stockton Restaurant Week and plenty of restaurant owners and patrons express their delight at experiencing such an event. Especially with so many restaurants now offering vegan and gluten-free options. Some of the participating restaurants are here in downtown Stockton.

Downtown Restaurant Participants

CAST IRON TRADING – 110 North San Joaquin Street

Visit if you’re looking for specialty coffees, housemade breakfast items, sliders and burgers, and much more!

DELIBERATION ROOM – 19 North California Street

They got veggie and meat appetizers to go along with All-American cuisine like pulled pork and corned beef sandwiches.

DELTA BISTRO AT UNIVERSITY PLAZA – 110 West Fremont Street

A great place to have a drink while also enjoying a variety of soups, salads, and sandwiches.

MISAKI SUSHI & BAR – 222 North El Dorado Street Ste. M

Enjoy some Japanese cuisine like chicken teriyaki and signature sushi rolls.

PORT CITY SPORTS BAR AND GRILL – 222 North El Dorado Street

It’s hard to beat a plate of ribs, shrimp scampi, or a mixed plate of wings, chicken strips, onion rings, and fries.

THE DOWNTOWNER – 40 North Sutter Street

Does a Prosciutto-Mandarin Salad, a Wagyu BBQ Meatloaf, or a Big 10 Burger sound good? Then maybe visit The Downtowner.

You can learn more about the restaurants that participated in this year’s Stockton Restaurant Week by checking out the event’s page on Visit Stockton’s website.

I think that it’s safe to say that the 10th Annual Stockton Restaurant Week was a huge success and next year’s is sure to be just as great. It is really something special to have an event like this and an organization like Visit Stockton to get so many businesses involved all for the benefit of Stockton and it’s residents.

Economic Development

Posted on January 27, 2019 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

Downtown Stockton is a lively place with people coming and going to live, work, and just enjoy themselves. To support such a community, a lot of time and effort has to be put into many different aspects and areas so that it will continue to thrive. One of these areas is in economic development. At the Downtown Stockton Alliance, Courtney Wood works as the economic development coordinator and has been serving in that role since Autumn of 2017.

What is Economic Development?

But what is economic development? Courtney Wood explained, “The economic development aspect at the DSA is aimed at fostering economic growth, which fuels the community’s well being. With more economic growth, there will be more disposable income downtown. This means better resources and quality of life for those who live and work here. What I do is basically keep track of who owns what property, get in contact with them, see what they are trying to do with the property, and then based on what they tell us about what their plans are, we try and see if we can support them in anyway. “

In her position, Courtney Wood ensures that those property owners have the full support of the DSA. This includes having access to resources needed to succeed in their endeavors. One recent example is with the Bearpaw Group, who purchased three buildings downtown. “We wanted to see what their goals were. It turns out they bought the three buildings and were interested in turning them into mostly residential units.” Courtney Wood shared, “Some of their spaces are live and work spaces, so that means people are getting a great deal. Because they can have their working and living space for a rent that would be half of what they would pay for two separate spaces. So that was neat and we were there to listen to what they were doing and support them.”

Enhancing Economic Development in Downtown

For Courtney Wood, being an economic development coordinator has been a positive experience. She has learned more and grown while serving the downtown Stockton community. In addition, she has taken initiative to improve the area for property owners. “I have had a lot of thought about things that we could do. For instance, I did see that our communication with property owners had been poor. We didn’t have very much outreach with them at all. So I gathered phone numbers and emails for as many property owners as possible. I compiled them all so we could send out regular notices to them.” By maintaining a close relationship with property owners, Courtney Wood has made property owners more comfortable in downtown Stockton and aware that there are resources available to help.

As Economic Development Coordinator, Courtney Wood is making a difference in the district. As downtown Stockton continues to strive toward new heights and grow as a community, it is economic development that will play a large part in facilitating a bright and prosperous future.

Downtown Banners

Posted on January 20, 2019 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

Whether they are working hard or hanging out and having fun, people love downtown Stockton and are proud of the progress the district makes every single day. It’s easy to notice the sense of the pride the district has by walking around and seeing banners posted along the streets, letting everyone know that they are in downtown Stockton.

Many are probably already familiar with the All-American City Award banners around the Stockton Town Hall. An award that Stockton has received several times and is an award given by the National Civic League that is the oldest community recognition program in the United States. There are also the banners along El Dorado Street that highlight Stockton’s sports teams such as: the Stockton Ports, Stockton Heat, and the Stockton Kings. These serve as a reminder to everyone that this is a city with a sports legacy and culture, which is an integral part of downtown Stockton.

Creating a Downtown Brand

New Downtown Stockton Banners went up before the end of 2018 along Weber Avenue catching everyone’s attention with a light blue, dark teal, and unique logo. The banners aim to create a brand that identifies the downtown district. It is something that everyone and every business downtown can associate with themselves. In fact, the light blue, Downtown Stockton logo on the banners can be used by any local business or organization that is interested. It is a brand for anyone who loves downtown Stockton.

And the new banners are definitely a welcome addition by the community. “Since we’ve come back from holiday, I’ve had at least ten to twelve people say they’re amazing. They really pop and show pride for downtown.” said Mike Huber, the executive director of the Downtown Stockton Alliance, “I’ve had a lot of citizens tell me that they like the sports banners being up and the designs on those. They show that we’re a major sports city.”

Matt Amen, executive director of Huddle Cowork + Create, shared a similar sentiment, “The new banners along the Weber corridor bring more color and life to Downtown Stockton! Looking forward to seeing more businesses represented on these throughout the district.”

Not only is downtown Stockton a district that is making great strides in business and creativity, but it’s outward appearance is reflecting those efforts. It is a great place to live and work and the banners let anyone who visits know immediately that people take pride in downtown Stockton and want everyone to know it.

DSA Banner Program

The Downtown Stockton Alliance’s banners are just one method to liven up the area with color! But it’s not just for the DSA and the sports teams! If you are a downtown businesses and/or organization and would like your own banner displayed within the district, we’ve put together a short summary on how to apply for your own banner!

Choose how many banners you want to purchase
Choose the banner sizes
Choose the banner locations
Sign a 3-yr. contract with the DSA for the leasing of the poles and pay the annual fee
Send DSA artwork to be printed on the banners (or work with DSA to design the artwork if needed)
Approve the digital banner proof
Watch the banners go up!

For the complete, detailed list of steps to follow, visit our website at downtownstockton.org

One Year on to Another

Posted on January 9, 2019 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

2019 has arrived, but before diving into all the fun and adventure that the new year has to bring, it is good to take a moment and look back at everything that happened in the year before. Though it may not be obvious, 2018 was actually a great year for downtown Stockton with so many changes and great projects that really made the area an even better place to live and enjoy.

2018 Hires

In 2018, Mike Huber came on as the executive director of the Downtown Stockton Alliance. Before joining the Downtown Stockton Alliance, Mike Huber worked as the executive director of the Habitat for Humanity of San Joaquin County.
Alex McBride became the Marketing and Communications Director for the Downtown Stockton Alliance. A Stockton native, Alex McBride uses social media and design to promote the growth of the downtown area.
Andrew Rocha became the Copywriter for the Downtown Stockton Alliance. Another Stockton native, Andrew Rocha writes blog posts that promote and highlight local businesses and organizations.

Mike Huber
Alex McBride
Andrew Rocha

2018 Marketing Recap

The Downtown Stockton Alliance went through a rebranding after the marketing committee decided to update their logo. The new logo is not just a brand for the Downtown Stockton Alliance, but also representative of the entire downtown area.
An audio tour detailing the history of downtown Stockton and some of the older buildings has been in the works through 2018 and should be complete early this year.
#PropertyMondays became a trend on social media for the Downtown Stockton Alliance. On Mondays, the Downtown Stockton Alliance highlights local properties and spaces for sale or lease.

2018 W.E.B (Walkable, Entertaining, Beautiful) Updates

In collaboration with local business owners, the Downtown Stockton Alliance helped clean up Budd Alley and installed a shared trash compactor with recycling and compost units.
Shopping carts have also been collected, cleaning up the downtown area and making it a more appealing place to live and work. In four months, the Downtown Stockton Alliance has cleared over 260 shopping carts from the streets and sidewalks.
The Downtown Stockton Alliance has also expanded their power washing team and gotten new vehicles for the maintenance team. In June, they also employed Apollo Private Security. Apollo patrols 24/7 in the downtown district and is also available if you would like an escort to your vehicle.
Our Maintenance team planted flowers in 25 planters within the downtown district, which were purchased by the DSA in 2018.

And that is just a small glimpse into all the work and accomplishments that came from downtown Stockton in 2018. Despite the negative stereotype some have of downtown Stockton, it is a great place that is constantly improving. With the help and effort of local residents, organizations, and businesses, the downtown community is sure to continue to grow and thrive throughout 2019 and the years to come.

Christmas Services

Posted on December 23, 2018 by digitalgear

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‘Tis the season to be jolly! It’s December and, even though it can get a little cold and rainy, downtown Stockton is keeping warm through festiveness and the holiday spirit. Christmas is quickly approaching and there are actually a few churches in the downtown area that will be holding Christmas services. For anyone visiting friend and family over the holidays, these are services that might be interesting. Listed below are a few of the local churches that will be holding such services.

Reality Church Stockton

(Non Denominational. Part of the Reality Family of Churches)

235 North San Joaquin Street, Stockton CA 95202

There will be a Christmas service on the morning of December 23rd at 10:30am.

St. Mary’s Church

(Catholic)

203 Washington Street, Stockton, CA 95202

There will be Christmas mass on both Christmas Eve and Day (December 24th and 25th).

Saint John the Evangelist Church

(Episcopalian)

316 North El Dorado Street, Stockton, CA 95202

There will be a Christmas service, “Lessons and Carols with Holy Eucharist”, on the night of Christmas Eve (December 24th) at 5:30pm.

Pentecostal Church of Jesus

(Non Denominational)

24 South Grant Street, Stockton, CA 95202

There will be a Christmas service on the morning of Christmas Day (December the 25th) at 10:00am.

These services are sure to help anyone have a very Merry Christmas. And to those who do not celebrate Christmas but are still spending their time with friends and family this season, the Downtown Stockton Alliance wishes you a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Downtown Stockton Alliance

Posted on December 21, 2018 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

Downtown Stockton has come a long way in such a short amount of time and continues to improve and attract more visitors all the time. What used to be an area people would actively avoid, is now where people come to eat great food, hang out with friends, and just enjoy their community. We here at the Downtown Stockton Alliance are so proud to see how far we have come as a district.

Then & Now

Charisse Lowry, our office manager of the Downtown Stockton Alliance, remembers how much the downtown has changed for the better in just the last twenty years. “When we first started in ‘98, we would have people who called us ugly names…It was real bad. It was dead and there was hardly any life. Now, it’s a thousand times better. By putting on different events, working with investors and property owners to get buildings leased, it’s a thousand times different than when we first started.” Just by driving through the downtown area, it is obvious that the area is not a dangerous place and is actually kind of charming. It’s hard to believe that it has changed so much from being once nearly barren.

And the Downtown Stockton Alliance has some interesting projects in the work right now. “By February 1st, we’ll be launching an audio tour that will be tied to the website. So if you want to go to any of the historic buildings, there will be a code on them and you can flash that and it will show you what that building looked like during the 20’s and 30’s and then it will give you an audio narrative of the history of the building.” shared Michael Huber. Through this audio tour, the Downtown Stockton Alliance is working to preserve not just buildings and streets, but their history.

What We Do

We get asked a lot, “So what exactly does Downtown Stockton Alliance do?”
Our executive director, Michael Huber, explains that we are, “A property-based improvement district that works for the property owners. So we try to keep the streets clean, and beautiful, and walkable, and safe…we have a thirteen man maintenance team, two powerwashing teams, and then we hire a private security company to patrol.”

As the downtown area continues to thrive and become more recognized for its culture and life, you can be sure that we here at the Downtown Stockton Alliance will continue to provide our support and care to the district. You can learn more about the Downtown Stockton Alliance through our website www.downtownstockton.org and following us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Downtown Alliance Office Staff & Maintenance Team

The Write Place

Posted on December 15, 2018 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

Reading and writing are not only valuable to a person’s education, but they are skills that promote imagination and foster an understanding between people of varying backgrounds and cultures. Downtown Stockton is a place that is teeming with diversity and creativity and the Write Place at the Tuleburg Press is helping to spread the message of the value of literacy to the community.

Community Effort

Studio manager Katelynn Castaneda knows the purpose of Write Place and is a witness and participant to the work they do for the community, sharing that “The point of the Write Place is to help get literacy across the board to everyone, so those that who are low income or cannot afford to get an education, we want to be able to bring in everyone from all walks of life so that they can get that general understanding that literacy is important.”

Workshops and Classes

More than just a mission statement and a dream, the Write Place is actually taking action to make a difference in the community and help all kinds of people. The Write Place hosts many events throughout the year and teaches classes that are both educational and fun. According to Castaneda, one of the more popular classes is paper-making. “It tends to be really popular with kids especially. They like to come in and go through the process because it is something that we don’t do very often and it’s a very niche-y thing to do. It’s very fun for people to go through the process and be like ‘Oh, this is so much fun. I had no idea that this was something that I could do at home.’”

And the Write Place has even more to offer. Their coptic binding class could always use some more participants. “It’s a fun thing to do. It’s very tedious and very time-consuming, but you can do really creative art with different spines and stitches.It’s really fun to learn and once you learn it, you know it for the rest of your life.”

Impacting #DowntownStockton

The Write Place is doing so much in downtown, that it is sometimes hard to believe and almost sounds like magic. “We have stuff that people can tangibly use for books, but we also take those books and we also make things out of them. We recently done some old reader’s digest books. We’ve taken those, gutted them pretty much, and we’re taking them, using the covers, and we’re going to be holding classes where people can come in and make coptic bound journals. They’ll have like really cool top cover pages that are made from those old reader’s digests and all the insides were taken from old paper pulp that were made into paper. So for like the holidays, we made some really cool envelopes out of that paper and stationary sets that we are now selling to people.”

While sometimes it is hard to see the use of writing and literature and many people find those to be their least favorite subjects from school, the Write Place makes the world of books and writing fun and exciting. Located at the Tuleburg Press at 343 E. Main Street and open from 1pm-5pm, the Write Place is helping to make a positive change in Downtown Stockton.

The Freckled Moon

Posted on December 7, 2018 by digitalgear

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By Andrew Rocha

Have you heard of the Freckled Moon? You might have seen them as a vendor at farmers markets and events like the Stockmarket, but now the Freckled Moon has a location in Downtown Stockton. The Freckled Moon is a shop that sells handmade artwork, dreamcatchers, and similar crafts created by a local collective of artists The shop is located at 219 East Weber Ave, owned and managed by a family of creatives.

Marie Pease, the owner of The Freckled Moon, runs the shop with her daughters and started selling handmade crafts five years ago. Before having a physical location downtown, the Freckled Moon was popular at events with repeat customers frequently asking about if there was a physical location where they could shop or when Marie Pease would open a store. “This has always been our dream to have our own little shop. We do events and stuff like that, but we’ve always wanted to open our own shop where people can come and get unique items that they can’t get at the big box stores.”

Why Downtown Stockton?

So why did a craft store like the Freckled Moon choose downtown Stockton? According to Marie Pease, a need for an expressive shop was felt, as well as a small but talented artistic community. “I knew that if I opened a shop I would want it to be here, because I know that there is not a lot of this here and I wanted to bring it to Stockton because I know that there are a lot of creative people here.”

A lot of the art and crafts that are sold through the Freckled Moon are from artists and friends of Marie Pease and her family, as well as from artists from Sacramento. Now that they are located in downtown Stockton, local artist are encouraged to work with the Freckled Moon to not only share their work but also to make the downtown areas future brighter and beautiful.

More Than Just Adding Aesthetic

Besides bringing a new aesthetic to downtown Stockton, Marie also runs the Freckled Moon to be an example to her daughters. “I’ve always wanted to teach my daughters that they don’t need anybody to help them, that they can do things on their own. I’m a product of that, being a single mom with four children. It doesn’t matter where you come from or your background, it matters how bad you want your dream and what you’re willing to do to make that obtainable. You don’t need other people to help you, you can do it yourself. So that was really a big drive for me.”

They have only been open for a few weeks and the Freckled Moon has already been well received by the community. Hopefully with continued support, Marie Pease and the Freckled Moon will make a larger and larger impact on the community as time goes on. To learn more about the Freckled Moon, check out their website, www.thefreckledmoon.com