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Dear Red Phone, I love living in Morgan Hill. I have one
question. Why aren’t our local restaurants open on Sundays? There
are a couple of places open downtown, but on Sunday it seems to be
very quiet and not much to choose from for lunch.
“Dear Red Phone, I love living in Morgan Hill. My husband and I have lived here for 35 years and our children go to school here. Our family tries to eat out and shop local. My husband reminds me all the time to help our local restaurants and shop owners. We love to walk downtown and love our local restaurants. I have one question. Why aren’t our local restaurants open on Sundays? There are a couple of places open downtown, but on Sunday it seems to be very quiet and not much to choose from for lunch. A lot of residents work during the week so they don’t get the chance to support our local shops and restaurants. Last Sunday a family new to Morgan Hill asked us where they could get a nice lunch in town since not much was open. Why is downtown so quiet on Sundays?
Red Phone: Dear Please Open on Sundays, Red Phone has noticed the same thing, so Jorge Briones, executive director of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association was contacted. He said it is a difficult challenge for business owners, and he’s not sure there is a quick fix.
“Many businesses in downtown are closed on Sunday’s due to extremely light foot traffic,” he said. “It becomes very difficult for a business that is independently owned and operated to justify opening if very few people happen to come in. Also, many of these business owners need to spend time with their families and the hiring of staff isn’t always feasible. At the same time, I have heard the cry from the residents of Morgan Hill saying that they love to come downtown, but it seems like when they do visit, many of the businesses are closed. Morgan Hill is a community of commuters and it is hard for people to break their routines and habits of shopping at malls and outlets. Unfortunately, without shoppers the businesses feel they have to close their doors but closed doors send shoppers elsewhere.”
And, good caller, as you point out, shopping local is important, especially in these difficult economic times.
“Events such as the Downtown Wine Stroll, Taste of Morgan Hill and Thursday Street Dances help bring people downtown and showcase the great shopping and dining that downtown offers,” Briones said. “Hopefully, the warmer weather will entice more people to visit on the weekends and, as your reader suggests, take a stroll in downtown. I know that the businesses would respond if more people took a walk downtown.”
There you have it, good caller. Summer’s coming. Stroll downtown, and when word gets around from the businesses that are open, perhaps those that close Sundays will reconsider.
Is animal control on the chopping block?
“Red Phone, is the city of Morgan Hill going to cut Animal Control due to layoffs?”
Red Phone: Dear What’s Going to be Cut, if you haven’t already seen the Friday, April 2 edition, check it out. You are not alone in hoping Animal Control isn’t cut, but as of now, the city is working its way through the process, evaluating everything, before presenting a plan to the council May 15.
