Contents
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Bicycle Tours
• Business Traveler
• Downtown Lodi
• Downtown Lodi Dining
• Downtown Lodi Shopping
• Family Activities
• Farmers Market
• Galt Market
• Golf
• Hill House
• Hutchins Street Square
• Lodi Arch
• Lodi-area Events
• Lodi Facts
• Lodi Street Faire
• Museums
• Rae House
• Sacramento Street
• Sandhill Crane Festival
• Wineries
• Wines
• Younger Generation
The reawakening of Sacramento Street
The area along South Sacramento Street, once one of the weariest sections of town, is enjoying new interest and some exciting prospects.
The area has increasingly attracted the attention of would-be investors, as the completion date of a new downtown cinema complex draws nearer, City Manager Dixon Flynn said.
“There has definitely been more interest in downtown as well as in Lodi, generally,” he said.
Evidence of the coming gentrification includes a nearby swath of real estate on West Pine Street, which has quietly been springing to life.
Once a rough-and-tumble row of mostly abandoned storefronts, the north side of West Pine, between Sacramento and School Streets, has blossomed into an attractive row of bustling businesses which cater mainly to women.
The property was bought by retired airline pilot Chuck Easterling and his wife, Tillie, in July 1999.
The Easterlings set about restoring the once-prominent row of storefronts to their former grandeur — refurbishing painted-over marble surfaces, installing new awnings and repainting the old building’s ornate cornice, among other things.
“When we first bought the property, people were sleeping in the doorways,” Tillie Easterling said. “It was a real job cleaning it up, it was so filthy.”
But with the aid of some ebow grease, the Easterlings found the building cleaned up well enough to attract plenty of tenants, she said.
One of the first to open in the restored building was Fleurtations, a European-style florist.
“It was a big gamble, opening a shop downtown,” said Fleurtations owner Gioia Matri-Parrish, who opened the 9 W. Pine St. shop in March. “But business has been great. I couldn’t be happier.”
A couple of doors down, at Judy’s Alterations, owner Judy Perkins tells much the same story.
Perkins, who moved her business here from Stockton, said business has been booming since she opened last month at 5 W. Pine St.
“I was worried, because I’d been in business for 10 years in Stockton,” Perkins said. “But a lot of my customers have followed me out here, and Lodi has been just great.”
On the corner, a posh new beauty salon recreates the stylish mode of its Italian counterparts. Kendra & Co., opened this spring, sees a well-heeled clientele come and go in a steady stream throughout the day.
A group of Bay Area investors known as Hertz Realty has already bought several stretches of property in downtown Lodi — one of them on South Pine Street.
Members of the Hertz family of Lafayette bought a string of downtown properties in February.
One runs along South Sacramento Street, between Elm and Pine streets.
The Hertz’s also recently closed a deal for the Waitley Building, next to Easterling’s properties on South Pine — and is looking to buy others, Craig Hertz said.
“We are currently looking into several different ideas on how to best use the properties we own,” he said. “We like the community, and we think Lodi represents an excellent investment opportunity.”