San Carlos Businesses on Twitter

A Great Business Tool…

Twitter is an amazing online tool for posting 140-character, real-time updates on….well, just about anything.  The early users of Twitter used the tool to update people on their whereabouts, like “I’m eating dinner at Town” or “Just dropped the kids off at school.”   OK, I guess there was some importance to informing the world on the minutiae of their day.   Since those early days of Twitter, the basics of the technology have remained largely unchanged, but how the tool is being used couldn’t be any different.

All of the major news networks now use Twitter as an effective way to post breaking news and draw traffic back to their websites.   “The Miracle on the Hudson” plane crash was first broken and covered on Twitter by witnesses and survivors, not by cable news networks like CNN.  And now, smart business owners are finding interesting ways to promote their company and their brand image on this medium.

San Carlos Businesses That Use Twitter.

There are a handful of San Carlos business owners who have embraced the real-time capabilities of Twitter to uniquely and effectively promote their businesses.    The technology is a perfect match for businesses whose products or services may change on a daily or hourly basis.  Here are three examples of San Carlos business owners who have truly elevated their brand image and customer awareness in this way:

Zest Bakery:  Our newest bakery in town also happens to be one of the few gluten-free bakeries on the Peninsula.  They post real-time updates about what specials they have on a particular day, and what samples are sitting warm and toasty on their counter.   Last week, they posted a picture of a lemon cake glazed with chocolate icing.  That’s just not playing fair

Jett Cakes:  Food trucks have been around for decades..but specialty cupcakes on the road?   That’s a very unique business idea that totally relies on a) great cupcakes, obviously… and b) customers knowing where you’re going to be and when every day.  Marianne does a great job of using Twitter to take care of the latter, posting tweets about what her special baked treats are for that day, and where she will be selling them.

The Reading Bug:  Books – talk about an ever-changing industry!  The key for small, specialty bookstores to compete with the big, online gorillas is to get people into their stores.  The Reading Bug shines in this area by hosting reading sessions for the kids, and by constantly getting new releases into their inventory — all things that you can find out about on their Twitter page.

Wait…There’s More.

These three aren’t the only San Carlos businesses that use Twitter.   Here’s what I’m sure is just a partial list of businesses who are putting their business online in a cool fashion.  Just click on the name to go right to their Twitter feed.

• A+ Japanese Auto Repair.
• Town Restaurant.
• Geoffrey’s Diamonds.
• Flight Lounge.
• Harmony Yogurt.
• Tutti Frutti.
• Olive Crush.
• City of San Carlos.
• BullFrog Media

Did I miss anyone?  Of course I did!  If you know of a San Carlos business that isn’t mentioned above and is using Twitter in a cool and unique fashion, let us know by leaving a comment below.   I’ll add it to the Twitter List that I have already started to compile:  San Carlos Businesses on Twitter.  Feel free to follow this list on your own Twitter account!

Dollar Tree Coming to San Carlos?

Update — 7/26:

The San Carlos Planning Commission has just given the go-ahead needed for the Dollar Store to move into the space formerly occupied by Hollywood Video.

Former Hollywood Video Site.

A Dollar Tree store in San Carlos?  It could happen.   A few years after a competing store was blocked from setting up shop in what is now Bianchini’s Market, the Dollar Tree is eyeing the spot of the former Hollywood Video Store that’s in the Home Depot/Lucky’s parking lot on Old County Road.   For those of you not familiar with the Dollar Tree (or other stores like it) they sell a bunch of stuff that’s priced at $1, hence their name.

In tonight’s Planning Commission Meeting, the owner of the building at 1121 Old County Road will ask the City to modify the conditional use permit that’s in place for the building, thus clearing the way for a wider variety of uses for the building…like a Dollar Tree store.   For more information, check out this article in the Daily Journal..

What Do You Think?

San Carlos residents already punted on the idea of a “discount” store like this one, but it was closer to downtown.  What do you think about a Dollar Tree store in San Carlos?

White Oaks Nabs Its Own Sandwich Shop

The Sandwich Spot

White Oaks residents no longer need to trek up to the north section of Laurel Avenue to grab a deli sandwich.  The Sandwich Spot just opened their doors a couple of weeks ago, giving White Oaks residents a great alternative for a quick lunch.  The Sandwich Spot features a large array of both hot and cold sandwiches, like a any good deli should.   However, they take it a step further by offering their own special spreads on some of the sandwiches (I was told the garlic spread is outstanding!) and they actually bake some of their bread right there in the deli.   The sandwich that we ordered was easily large enough to split between two people, and it was very good!

As you can see from the picture below, the Sandwich Spot shares a roof with the White Oaks Flower Shoppe, which used to occupy the entire building at 1312 Laurel Street — kitty corner to Skinny Sippin’ at Howard and Laurel.

According to the owners, this “arrangement” of flowers and sandwiches is quite synergistic – so much so, that there’s a walkway that connects both businesses from the inside. Grab a sandwich, and then buy your cardiologist a bouquet of flowers?

So check out the Sandwich Spot. The sandwiches are great, and you won’t leave hungry!

Coming Soon to San Carlos: Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt.

Round II of the Frozen Yogurt Battle…

Trying to succeed where another large frozen yogurt chain has failed, Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt announced they will be opening up a store-front in San Carlos in the near future.  Unlike its predecessor Red Mango, who chose to do battle with incumbent Harmony Yogurt right on the same block, Tutti Frutti will lay claim to the north end of the downtown shopping district when they open their doors at 1148 San Carlos Avenue (site of the old Niko Lighting business).

There isn’t a publicly announced opening date, but they claim on their Facebook page that they’ll be opening in a matter of weeks.    It seems to be an excellent location, as they’re right next door to San Remo’s, and they should be able to benefit from all of the foot traffic that the north part of downtown enjoys.  According to the Facebook page, they may have a self-serve section, which will give it a little different spin from Harmony.   Should be interesting to see if two specialty yogurt stores can coexist and thrive in San Carlos!

(Thanks to blog reader Maryanne for the tip on this…)

Zest Bakery and Deli to Open Shop in San Carlos.

A Gluten-Free Bakery.

Keeping right in step with downtown San Carlos’ collection of cool and unique shops, Zest Bakery and Deli has announced plans to open their doors to the public on July 1.  According to co-manager Charissa Fleischer, Zest will feature artisanal breads (focaccia, multi-grain, french bread etc), pastries (donuts, muffins, eclairs, etc..), and desserts (cheesecake, cookies etc).  They’ll  also offer take-and-bake style pizzas as well as sandwiches made on their own freshly-baked bread.    Just typing that out makes my hungry….

What makes Zest unique is that everything they bake will be gluten-free, which gives those with Celiac Disease or other food allergies a healthy and affordable alternative for downtown dining.  And all of their baking will done on-site, which will enable them to control any cross-contamination of allergens that may occur in much larger bakeries.

The Old Harmony Yogurt Location.

Part of Zest’s business plan was to find the perfect place in downtown San Carlos to set up shop.  So when Harmony Yogurt vacated their previous digs at 1226 Arroyo Avenue,  it opened up that prime spot they were looking for — and they jumped at the opportunity.   So between now and their grand opening on July 1, Fleischer and general manager Patrick Luke will be busy transforming the old Harmony Yogurt location into their new home — hopefully maintaining some of that Harmony-magic in the process.

If you’d like to keep tabs on their progress, you can follow Zest Bakery on Twitter, or become a fan of their Facebook Page.   And come July 1, be sure to stop by and support this cool new addition to our downtown.

San Carlos to Consider Downtown Parking Meters (again…)

A Love/Hate Relationship.

In what is becoming the latest chapter in an ongoing saga regarding downtown parking meters, the City of San Carlos is now actively looking to hire a consultant to determine whether it makes financial sense to install parking meters downtown — this according to an article by David DeBolt in this morning’s Daily Post.  (I would have included a link to this article but the Post does not have an online edition, so I will paraphrase the key points. )

This is certainly a turnabout to the most recent sentiment on parking meters within the San Carlos City Council, which has largely been opposed to installing meters downtown.   But according to the article, Public Works Director Robert Weil is prepared to spend $10,000-$20,000 on a study that will investigate whether the installation of meters will bring in enough revenue to justify the cost, if there will be any negative impact on downtown businesses, and what technologies are available today in the world of parking meters.

Just a Study…For Now.

In the Post’s article, Robert Weil was careful to stress that the City is NOT endorsing the installation of parking meters just yet.  But they do want to investigate the revenue potential to help offset our budget deficit.   An earlier study conducted back in 1999 determined that paid parking could generate about $480,000 each year.  With the huge growth of the Laurel Street shopping district, one would think that this number could be much higher?

What do you think?

Should San Carlos join the likes of Redwood City and other neighboring communities who already have parking meters in their downtown shopping districts?   Let us know by voting on the poll below, or by leaving a comment.

(Editorial credit to David DeBolt of the Daily Post for the details cited in this article.)