by Nao Braverman
Despite opposition from vocal residents, and a temporary city moratorium on chain stores, owner The owner of the building at 323 E. Matilija Street has decided not to terminate his lease with Subway.
Franchise owner Dave DiTomaso confirmed that he and building owner Ernie Salomon had changed their minds and intend to open the well-known sandwich shop on Matilija Street after all.
"We were talking about terminating the lease, but we have finally decided to proceed with our plans," said Salomon.
The temporary moratorium on formula retail and restaurant establishments was unanimously approved by the City Council on May 1 and prohibits the issuance of any building permits to chains such as Subway for 45 days following the May 1 meeting, and possibly longer if the moratorium is extended.
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Read Salomon's letter to Mayor Smith
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13 comments:
Very good! The Subway sign is inside and subdued and now I won't have to drive to Mira Monte to get a sub, to say nothing of the price competition between Jersey Mikes and Subway.
Go for it!! Good variety, good prices, good food. Expect a huge crowd after school.......!
the vehemence exhibited by the ojai post is exceeded only by their over-reaching partial truthiness.
go subway !
Salomon is out of control. I hope he fails. Most don't want him or subway.
"Most don't want him or subway."
who are "most"?
put it on the ballot for all of us and we'll see who's "most" - or is it too easy to single out a single person and blame it on him and begin to recall him?
are "most" related to "they", as in "they all said"?
and who's "they"?
i've been looking for "they" all my life..
go subway !
I wrote the comment at 2:14 and for the record, I would NOT have voted to recall JD, even though I'm not a fan of his.
I find it disappointing that Ditomaso feels his chances of getting his Subway in town is are not gone. I hope this is not a sign that “insiders” are telling him that intent of the temporary moratorium is not really what the City Council has in mind as the final ordinance, or that they will let it expire so Subway and others can slip in before a final ordinance could be drafted and approved. With the recall of Joe DeVeto suspended I had hoped the community would come together again with common visions and goals. I say we need to encourage Joe DeVeto to stay the course and encourage Sue Horgan to extend the temporary moratorium if needed, even though she normally does not like temporary moratoriums.
I love the zealous anonymous "go subway!" posts. How come I've yet to encounter someone on the street with that opinion?
I love the zealous anonymous "go subway!" posts. How come I've yet to encounter someone on the street with that opinion?
Maybe because the majority of the vocal people on the street don't represent the majority of the people who live in Ojai?
Not defending Subway -- I don't think we need another corporate food outlet in the valley -- but the vast majority of people in Ojai keep their opinions to themselves and then do what they need to do when they need to do it. Witness the 2006 election to the City Council of Ojai Native Steve Olsen, who ran no campaign.
I understand Ernie's desire to collect rent. I understand his frustrations with independent stores occupying his spaces for short times. It must be hard. He has a grand solution, get someone in with deep pockets in there that WILL NEVER GO AWAY. And, that's the part that scares me the most. SUBWAY WILL NEVER GO AWAY. His decision has a lasting LIFETIME effect on our little town. From my understanding, a Hawaiian woman named Sally who is a vegan and raw foods chef tried to rent that space from Ernie, before all this Subway stuff. Ernie refused her. She, because of the nature of the foods she would be preparing, would not need to alter the space, would not need attentional venting and such. How ideal, but Ernie, who seems not so in tune with the face of Ojai, refused her. He probably didn't understand the huge slow food, raw food, vegan/veg diet movement enjoyed either full or part time by a really large, ever growing population in our town. He probably lacked the vision to understand that people would drive/walk from near and far to seek out vegan/raw food. (Just try to get a seat at Mary's Secret Garden in Ventura at dinner time). Our little town is full of freaky hippies, aging boomers, artist types, conscience families. They fill our streets. It makes us unique and colorful. It's not a bad thing that we have a lot of unspoken people on this and other post sites, showing up at council meetings, passing out petitions. It's a town filled with people who care. Community Involvement is something suggested by everyone as a way to feel connected, live longer, happier. Ours is a dying breed. Bringing in a chain store that will be followed by other chain stores will put the nail in the coffin of the unique voice of Ojai. The reason we attract people from all over the world is because the land is beautiful, our people colorful, our establishments unique. I believe the group pursuing the recall did a noble thing by stepping down, offering an olive branch, saying let's work together for the greater good, our little town. Let's focus on the positive decisions being made by our city council, and the people of Ojai, and not focus on the negative. My wish is that Ernie do the same. He's mad, hurt, discouraged. My hope is that he can let go of the anger and try to work with this funny little town he owns a building in, instead of against it. There is an olive branch waiting for you Ernie, as well.
in response to:
the vast majority of people in Ojai keep their opinions to themselves and then do what they need to do when they need to do it.
You are SO right. In my door-to-door efforts for the petition to stop chain stores coming in to downtown, not one person refused. They were all grateful for people like me who take my time to go out and get signatures. Some, who don't read the OVN, didn't even know about Subway. Others, like you said, just keep to themselves. Happily though, we all seem to share one common desire - WE KNOW WE DON'T WANT SUBWAY OR OTHER CHAINS DOWNTOWN!!!
Todd,
You libertine!! You firebrand!!
PS: Check your briefs for binding action...
I totally agree with Gina and Todd and would be a force to be reckoned with at city council and planning commission meetings if I lived inside the Ojai city limits.
I have witnessed many changes for the worse in my 36 years here; our fair town is losing its charm, and FAST!
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