Keeping our head above water

April 9, 2004

It's tough not to be a little jealous of Brentwood's recent successes. New housing development by the scores, three new shopping centers up in a year. And so what if Slatten Ranch is technically in Antioch, it is still close enough to Brentwood to have an impact on the local community. Then there are the plans for the new hospital. Now there's a biggie. A beautiful golf course, if you're into that kind of thing.

And almost most importantly, if you look through the newspaper this week, there are activities galore for all ages. So when you're little old Oakley it isn't hard not to start to feel like the ugly stepchild who gets sent to bed without any dessert. That's what some Oakley residents are feeling like. Envy can be a bad thing.

Oakley really needs to start asking itself some hard questions. While growth runs rampant around us, are we as citizens ready to take the good with the bad and make it work? For example, those of us who are envious of Brentwood because its business base is growing need to ask ourselves if Oakley started bringing in more businesses would we shop there? Or continue to shop close to work or in neighboring communities?

Driving down Oakley's Main Street one might think we have a basically prosperous community. For the first time in several years just about every storefront in town is occupied. But just because they are occupied doesn't mean they are doing well. Three times this week, from different Oakley businesses, reports have come in that they are thinking of closing up when their leases are up, because people are not coming in.

More than one downtown business said that much of their growth is dependent on the growth in business in Brentwood. Rumors are even coming out of Raley's and Albertsons that layoffs in both grocery chains are being made because business is down. The blame is being placed on local residents shopping at the new Winco in Brentwood. True or false, the big problem here is that people aren't shopping in Oakley.

The flip side of that coin is Oakley residents who say that Oakley businesses don't have anything to offer them. They drive down Main Street and see antique stores and gift shops. They say if there was a big box store like Target or Walmart they would gladly shop locally. Would they? And why would Target or Walmart even come to Oakley when the market is being eaten up by neighboring communities?

So that leaves the question, what kind of businesses does Oakley need in order for Oakley residents to shop there? The first and foremost answer to that question is restaurants. Sure restaurants can be profitable. They offer jobs for local residents and they also provide needed tax dollars. But generally big chains have a problem with coming to areas where there is no lunch crowd to speak of. The big chains also question who is going to patronize the restaurants at dinner time.

Many Oakley residents commute to work and by the time they get home from their long, tiring commute they usually don't want to go to a sitdown restaurant and eat. That's why the fast food restaurants are so successful in towns like Oakley. The trick to get these guys out to Oakley is to convince them that Oakley residents will patronize their businesses. Of course, that is the biggest obstacle with most businesses.

Many successful city managers will tell you that growing a strong business base, and ultimately a successful city, is done by the old adage "if you build it they will come." That is how Brentwood has been achieving so much success. Businesses move into the area and then other businesses see them and more businesses move into the area. There is one clear factor though that everyone forgets. Businesses are not going to move into the area if they do not see success. And businesses are not successful unless people shop in their stores.

Oakley residents can play an important part in bringing businesses into Oakley. It is actually quite simple really. Shop in Oakley. Don't go to Antioch and Brentwood to do your grocery shopping. Buy birthday gifts for your grandmother at one of the downtown shops. Buy your backyard leisure items from Oakley and most importantly patronize new businesses whenever we do get lucky enough to get them. That will keep Oakley growing strong.

Roni Gehlke's column on life in Oakley appears each week in the Brentwood News.

Distributed by the Contra Costa Times

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