What Businesses Do You Want to See in East Palo Alto?
Many in East Palo Alto were excited when the Korean grocery chain Megamart opened in the former Target building. It’s a great addition to the city, and it appears to be doing well.
However, East Palo Alto is a city of about 30,000 residents, and a legacy of redlining and redevelopment has left our community with a significant shortage of local businesses. Every day, residents spend their money in other cities, boosting those communities' tax revenues and local economies. This phenomenon is known as "economic leakage," which occurs when money leaves a local economy instead of being spent and invested domestically. We have a lack of retail space for small businesses, and future real estate development should provide opportunities for businesses big and small.
I ran for East Palo Alto City Council on a pro-growth platform, aiming to attract businesses so residents wouldn’t have to leave town to shop, get entertained, or access essential services. With a median household income of about $104,000, there is a huge, unmet demand for a wide variety of businesses.
Below is a list of businesses that I believe would immediately thrive in East Palo Alto:
- Restaurants:
- A sit-down Mexican restaurant with a banquet room for events. And Margaritas!
- A Soul Food restaurant serving classics like ribs, collard greens, and fried chicken. And cold, cold beer.
- A Dim Sum/Chinese restaurant.
- A breakfast diner with eggs, bacon, and great coffee.
- Indian and Vietnamese restaurants (everyone loves pho and curry).
- Retail & Services:
- Branches for major banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Chase, so residents don’t have to go to Palo Alto or Menlo Park for banking.
- An auto repair shop that accepts insurance, along with an oil change place and a car wash.
- A veterinarian for basic checkups, spaying/neutering, and vaccinations.
- A beauty salon offering hair, nail, and makeup services.
- A public market with small stalls for local food vendors.
- A Safeway or Trader Joe’s supermarket— two specialty grocery stores are not enough for a city of 30,000.
- Recreation & Health:
- A movie theater showing films in both English and Spanish.
- A nightclub with live music and DJs
- A chiropractor or massage therapy clinic to help with work-related injuries from physical labor.
- A Pharmacy like Walgreens or CVS - when the Target closed, CVS also closed
- A Walmart, Costco, Target or similar general store - Target closed but the need is still there!
- A sports bar, brew pub, or similar bar/restaurant.
- A family entertainment center for birthday parties, like a laser tag or trampoline park.
- A Kaiser Permanente clinic, as many residents are members but must travel to Mountain View or Redwood City for services.