“We love Atascadero. Our goal has always been to open something there," says Brittney Yracheta
She is just one of the many business owners excited to be part of a push to further develop Atascadero this year.
“It is much younger and you look at it like entrepreneurs," she says. "It's really been kind of a push from the city, we feel like. They're very welcoming.”
Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development Loreli Cappel says that Atascadero has been upping its game to increase tourism. She broke down what changes are coming to the area in the next year.
The Centennial Project is a new development that will be located across the street from City Hall.
“It is going to be a ground-floor business that is going to be a restaurant [and] a distillery. They're going to have probably a wine bar or a bakery of some sort, and then upstairs they'll have offices,” Cappel explains.
She says that the Centennial Project offices will give a new home to businesses that are currently located at the Sunken Gardens.
"Preexisting businesses like the dentist office, orthodontist, a senior center [is] right on our Sunken Gardens, which keeps it sleepy, and sometimes people love that, but some people are looking for a little bit more activity,” Cappel says.
Another new development, “La Moda,” will be located on El Camino Real, north of downtown.
“[It] actually, kind of pays homage to what was there in the past. It was a theater, so it has that old kind of marquee sort of feel," Cappel says.
In a few years, "La Moda" will house a steakhouse called Golden Fox.
The Carlton Hotel is transitioning to a Marriott property, meaning it will have more rooms, but keep its historic ambiance.
Yracheta‘s Momotaro Ramen on El Camino Real will be sharing a space with the children’s clothing store “Shop Little Cousins”.
Other additions include a new bakery, Wendy Whites, which will be opening on Traffic Way, and the reopening of the Tea Trolley on Entrada Avenue. Another store that will sell locally made goods will be opening on E. Mall at the Sunken Gardens, and Pismo Beach’s Beachin' Biscuits will soon be opening an Atascadero location.
As for vacant areas like Kmart, Cappel says that the landlord is working to fill the space and it will most likely be divided up into 2-3 properties.
More details regarding Atascadero's developments can be found at this link.
