Downtown Placerville remains "healthy" despite recent closures
PLACERVILLE – Summer means tourist season for many of our local cities and brings a lot of foot traffic to local restaurants in downtown Placerville. But are the other stores getting left behind?
"I think overall our downtown is still healthy. Struggling a little bit because of the economy, but we all are," Clever Morris, City Manager, said.
Morris said Placerville is lucky to have a very heavy restaurant presence in its downtown.
The city has more than 50 businesses on Main Street ranging from restaurants to boutiques to other stores and services.
Morris said they have some vacancies, but that's normal as different stores change out over the years.
"You look at where prices are going up due to that continually and that affects people perhaps wanting to come in and buy those services," Morris said.
Some have had to shut their doors this year, including the Heydey Cafe.
"I can't put my finger on exactly what is causing some of the current stress in the economy. That's beyond me, it's a bigger thing," Morris said.
James Aldrich owns the Lighthouse on Main Street and said they have been open since 1987.
Although they have been open for decades, he said a lot of their foot traffic often comes from the restaurants around them.
"I think it just depends on where people are going to eat. Because if they're walking here, we have a nice Italian restaurant. I get a lot of people going 'I didn't even know you were here,'" Aldrich said.
Carolina Smith Williams owns Empress and has sat across the street from Sweetie Pies for more than 20 years.
She said the ebbs and flows for any small town are normal, and business for her shop has always managed to stay steady.
"I actually had my best two years during COVID, which is shocking. I still think about that and I can't explain it," Smith Williams said.
A lot of her customers also come from restaurants across the street, showing they all indirectly work together, as one can't stand without the other.