Have you ever been to Saratoga? Or Los Gatos, the Santa Cruz Pacific Garden Mall, or the alphabet district in Portland Oregon. Think of the way these places made you feel. With their eclectic mix of shops providing hand made crafts, kitchen supplies, bicycle/hiking shops sprinkled with just the right mix of culinary offerings ranging from Italian to Mediterranean to great brew pubs. Some outdoor patio seating to provide a nice summer evening walkabout with a family friendly environment. This is what I’ve always seen happening some day in the Old Town of Fair Oaks.
I always like to tell the story a friend of mine shared with me awhile back about when he was walking out of the hardware store in Fair Oaks and there was a younger woman walking out in front of him with a man presumed to be her father. “What’s the name of this place” he asked.
“This is the Old town of Fair Oaks.” She replied. After a quick glance down the street the man said “This is the worst looking old town I’ve ever seen.”
I have a vision of a great place with a warm old town welcome feeling and I think Fair Oaks has all the potential. However I think it would take some whole hearted commitment and creative thinking by pro-active people who know how to make things happen. I would love to be instrumental in the process. I thought this might be a good place to start. Just to throw it out there and see what comes back. I have some ideas to share and I would like to hear yours.