TOURISM
Heidi Rojek , co-owner of Capital Books , moved her business from an in-person experience to a shipping center during the coronavirus pandemic . The store has since reopened with a limit on the number of customers allowed inside at one time . PHOTO BY TOM COUZENS
“ So many of our retail friends in Sacramento are struggling to keep their stores and restaurants open . It feels odd to be doing all right .”
which uses a mix of Federal Emergency Management Agency , state and local funding to provide meals to seniors .
While many restaurants like Mayahuel have struggled , other businesses have seen a surprising uptick . Take The Allspicery , a spice shop just down the block from Mayahuel . When the pandemic began , founder and owner Heather Wong assumed her business would be pummeled . Much of her revenue came from food tours , and those had vanished . Foot traffic was
HEIDI ROJEK Co-owner , Capital Books
crucial . People came inside to smell and taste jars full of cumin , saffron and marjoram . She was forced to switch her shop to be entirely online and was shocked to see an improvement in sales , as items like truffle salt , herbes de Provence and obscure chile peppers were “ flying off the shelves .” Her theory ? The drop in tourism was more than offset by a surge in demand from locals , as people were buying in bulk like never before , eager to use higher-end ingredients when cooking at home . “ We ’ ve seen demand for our product beyond our wildest expectations ,” says Wong , adding that she feels “ survivor ’ s guilt about our success .”
Heidi Rojek , co-owner of Capital Books in Sacramento , also feared the worst . In the peak of the March restrictions , when she was forced to furlough employees , she flipped to online orders and curbside pickup and morphed the store from a charming in-person experience to a shipping center . “ It was pretty sad , to tell the truth ,” says Rojek . “ I actually cried one day when I looked around at what had been our beautiful bookstore that now had boxes and packing materials everywhere .” But the pivot worked . Orders poured in . They were later able to reopen instore shopping , a first through private appointments and then with a limited number of customers , and Rojek says these changes help fuel revenue from “ destination customers ,” which offset the loss of foot traffic from city office workers . Sales are up 70 percent since March , but Rojek also feels survivor ’ s guilt . “ So many of our retail friends in Sacramento are struggling to keep their stores and restaurants open ,” she says . “ It feels odd to be doing all right .”
Rojek is not alone . Like Delfino and the farms at Apple Hill , many wineries have thrived despite the pandemic . “ We ’ ve seen an increase in alcohol consumption during the coronavirus , and particularly wine ,” says Kara Sather , executive director of the El Dorado Winery Association . “ It has become a comfort for people in shelter-in-place .” Wineries were a rare COVID-safe activity for tourists and locals . Via Romano Vineyards in Placerville created outdoor cabanas with fire pits to allow sipping wine while remaining socially distanced . Mediterranean Vineyards in Somerset created virtual cooking classes . And the El Dorado Winery Association launched a wine subscription service ( described as “ Netflix meets wine ”), intended to nudge locals to the wineries and spur online ordering . The subscription service is something the association had toyed with before the
62 comstocksmag . com | February 2021