Thousands enjoy return of the 'Solano Stroll' to the streets of Berkeley and Albany

BERKELEY -- A Bay Area tradition resumed over the weekend as the 'Solano Stroll' returned to the streets of Berkeley and Albany after a COVID pandemic hiatus.

The street festival celebrates small businesses and comes at a time of tremendous upheaval.

The annual street festival can draw a hundred thousand people to a mile-long section of Solano Avenue, stretching from Albany up to Berkeley.  But one of the biggest attractions is actually one of the smallest: Tiny Teddy, a tea-cup Chihuahua who rides along in a specially created cart.

"He's pretty famous on the Solano Stroll," said owner Anthony Golden, a fifth-generation Albany resident.  "When you walk Teddy up the street people will go, 'Hey, there goes Tiny Teddy, the smallest dog in Albany."

But small is OK at the Solano Stroll, as small-town residents show up to embrace small businesses.

"We can say hi to everybody, and especially after COVID, it's nice to come out and say hi, and see everyone you haven't seen for three years," said Solano stroller Tera Ritter.

But a lot has changed since they last gathered on the street.  There are 60 new businesses, replacing some of those who didn't make it during the pandemic, but may have thought they were safe.

"You could compete with Amazon if you were a nail salon or a beauty salon," said Allen Cain, Executive Director of the Solano Avenue Business Association.  "But after the pandemic everything that was considered internet-safe -- the gyms, the salons --  flipped 180 degrees and were completely shut down."

Cain said the ability to survive depended on flexibility.

"Businesses back in the day, were in a 'cruise-ship' mode, where they would just plow ahead, plow ahead in open ocean, moving forward, moving forward," he said.  "And, of course, the pandemic did come, and we found that there's turbulent waters and reason to navigate around challenges and navigate towards opportunities."

One example is the Family Laundry in Oakland, which had a promotional booth at the festival.  They actually increased business during the shutdown. 

Owner Laura Guevara said they recognized early the demand for online delivery service and developed a home-pickup model for their laundry business.

"People just outsource the things they don't want to do anymore," she said.  "They want to spend their weekends strolling in Albany or going to the beach and they don't want to fold their laundry anymore."

Responding to a changing environment is important, but in a place like Albany, the mom-and-pop companies are still valued

Cain said that during the pandemic people embraced the businesses they cared about, sometimes offering gifts of cash just to keep them afloat.

"It was amazing how the general community and public adopted most of these businesses as their own," he said.  "That's what you see in a small town."