Columnists

I think this is the third year that you get to wake up to one of my columns from your tryptophan-induced coma (it is obligatory to use that line every year) and reach for your coffee in a daze.I feel like I’m already in a daze recently with the elections, attending meetings for great things to come and celebrating people and accomplishments. In that daze, I swing back and forth between a dream and a nightmare; but I think it’s very much a net positive.Sometimes I feel like I’m in a dream when I think about how the Granada Theater was saved and is being transformed. Honestly, I never thought there was even the slimmest chance it would ever open for business again. Not only is it going to be open, but soon it will be so cool that it sends the accomplishment needle off the dial.It will have terraced dinner seating around a stage, like you see in those old movies where someone like Benny Goodman’s big band is playing and everybody’s dancing and enjoying fancy dining and drinks.All this in our old theater that had succumbed to the smell of mold and tobacco smoke and probably not the best place to be in an earthquake.Newly renovated, the smell of food and wine has replaced the mold and smoke and I’d rather be there than in one of my home’s doorways during a major temblor.Many of us had dreamed of a boutique hotel downtown. “Long shot,” we mused. Now even that dream comes true.We will have a new three-story hotel with lots of retail space. But get this—the building comes pre-loaded with shops! The owner/developer will base his wedding planning business there with supporting shops like a florist, as well as places to get your wine and dinner. Many of the key ingredients in these shops will come from packages with “Leal” on the label.Frank Leal’s constellation of symbiotic businesses make the theater and boutique hotel feasible, where other developers crunched numbers and walked away shaking their heads.I fully realize that this is not a dream and this is all happening. Two things never dreamed possible became reality; not only will I see them in my lifetime but I will see them soon.Not only am I not dreaming, but I also don’t have to wait for the next nugget. Prova, the new restaurant headed up by Chef Sal Calisi (of Odeum), should be open as you read this.For those familiar with Chef Calisi’s work at Odeum, Prova—located on Monterey Road where Slim’s used to be—will represent a journey down a slightly different path but with no change in creativity or quality at the destination.The food will be of the small plate variety with interesting items from around the world, with unique beers and wines with craft cocktails the house specialty. Like so many other fine restaurants, most of what comes out of the kitchen will not be liberated from a package but made right there.So wake up now and go out and do some shopping and more dining where we live.Please shop and dine locally, and do it often.John McKay is a Morgan Hill resident, president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

The next three months may prove to be a trying time for our downtown businesses. Much of Monterey Road from Main to Dunne Avenue will be the host to some form of construction over the next three months.The good news is that the construction will move at an accelerated pace and be done in those three months. The bad news is that it is still three months.In the beginning you will still be able to travel by auto in the traffic lane like we have it now. And so far in the first few days of lane and shoulder closures, bicyclists can still use the buffered lane established during the city’s complete streets trial. But as the road work progresses, bicyclists will have to find another way through downtown or share a lane with the rest of traffic because the current bike lane will be sacrificed for construction.Street parking will pretty much be eliminated so that construction vehicles can park next to their work.The sidewalks will remain open but you’d better watch your step because there will be plenty of work there too.The second phase will then take the current traffic lane, next to the median, and make it construction parking and move traffic into what had been the buffer lane (which held the bike lane). The good news is that we then get our street parking back.The complete streets pilot test has come to an end. Whether you are a proponent of making it permanent or never seeing it return again, it is over for now. Valuable data has been collected and soon we’ll see what the numbers look like. But I’m sure the sentiment of the community will also weigh heavily in any future decisions.It will be a trying time for any business in the downtown area. It’s time to embrace and support our downtown businesses like never before. Our downtown has never been an easy place for our businesses. Just a few years ago the economy made it downright hostile, so this is a time for them to prosper; and I believe they will.When all of the upcoming changes are complete, the downtown is going to be a nicer and friendlier place for visitors.There will be so many more comfortable areas to just sit and relax, which is what I’ll be doing gazing at the subtle landscaping and architectural touches and talking to my friends. At night I’ll hang out in the glow of lanterns in the trees and the light shining through wonderfully sculpted cut-outs in metal panels beneath the many seating areas.There are so many wonderful touches that I can’t even mention them all here, but the feel will definitely be Morgan Hill with a nod to much of our heritage. From the wood plank pattern of the concrete in some of the walkways to the wine barrel hoop lanterns in the trees, almost everything has a real connection to the Morgan Hill that we love.Physical changes can take place quickly. Getting the community used to the changes can take a little longer. But I believe that the changes to our downtown will help bring more people than ever to our shops and restaurants.We all just need to accept a little dust and noise and inconvenience and keep patronizing our businesses downtown. You will benefit from a good meal or shopping experience, and your businesses will be there to continue providing you with those experiences.John McKay is a city planning commissioner and a co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

Good theatre is truly magic and delivers you to another time and place of fascinating enjoyment depending on how good the players and playwrights are and that’s how good the magic can be.