The future of the Morgan Hill Tobacco Co. is unclear after its
owner and the city’s redevelopment agency agreed on a lease buyout
last month. Morgan Hill Tobacco Co. owner Wyatt Miller will receive
almost a $236,000. This price tag buys Miller’s two five-year lease
options and includes $56,000 in relocation benefits. He’ll receive
the money in a lump sum by April 15, according to the contract.
The future of the Morgan Hill Tobacco Co. is unclear after its owner and the city’s redevelopment agency agreed on a lease buyout last month.
Morgan Hill Tobacco Co. owner Wyatt Miller will receive almost a $236,000. This price tag buys Miller’s two five-year lease options and includes $56,000 in relocation benefits. He’ll receive the money in a lump sum by April 15, according to the contract.
Starting April 1, Miller’s rent will remain at about $3,000 per month for the space at 17430 Monterey Road, where he has purveyed tobacco and its products since 1997.
Now, Miller is on a month-to-month lease with the city, and will be given a 180-day notice to vacate once the city finds a developer to create a mixed-use project there.
The city bought the Downtown Mall and Granada Theater in January 2008 and started negotiating with Miller about a month later.
Miller said he was concerned about the move, noting his business’s “unique” requirements, like ventilation.
Miller said he’d like to stay downtown but hasn’t found a suitable spot.
“The alternative (to the downtown area) is one of the strip malls, or one of the malls, and that doesn’t appeal to me,” he said. “Our home is in Morgan Hill.”
Miller said he was concerned about creating the same ambience.
“People are attached to things they can’t even put their finger on,” he said.
But customers there yesterday afternoon pledged their loyalty.
“If all my regular friends were there, I’d still go,” Lee Finton said.
Roy Hovey said the shop has formed a tight-knit community.
“It’s obvious to people who come here that it’s a unique place,” Hovey said. “Lots of friendships are made here.”
Miller said he understood the city’s desire to revitalize the downtown, but that the impending move was bittersweet for him.
“There’s … a real value and joy in becoming part of a community like Morgan Hill, where I have made so many friends and become so entrenched in the community,” he said. “Morgan Hill is such a positive, warm California community. I feel like I’m closing a chapter on that.”
The tobacco shop is one of only a handful of longtime retailers in the downtown area. Others include Continental Stitch and Book-Smart, both of which have moved from one downtown location to another.
