pandemic and then , as Sather puts it , “ COVID forced our hand .”
Beyond the pandemic
Much of these pivots involved an embracing of the outdoors , which — as has been painfully obvious — became either trickier or impossible in the winter . “ We ’ re going to have a pretty tough winter for our businesses . There ’ s no sugarcoating that ,” says Ault , adding that sitting outside for a steak dinner and splitting a bottle of wine when it ’ s 30 degrees “ sounds like a college prank .” His plans for the first quarter of 2021 are conservative , assuming that the social distancing limitations will continue .
Delfino Farms , which survived and even grew in the sunny warmth of October , is battening down the hatches . “ Obviously , we ’ re a little worried ; can we make it through the winter ?” says Delfino Noonan . “ We ’ ll just see what happens and hope for the best .”
After the grim year , how do businesses push for cheerier times without striking the wrong note ? This is a marketing challenge that Downtown Sacramento Partnership is working through . As Ault puts it , “ How do we bring the fun back ?” His team has been spitballing campaigns for the post-pandemic recovery , such as Return to the Grid , We ’ ve Missed You , Welcome Back and , he says with a chuckle , Get the F--- Down Here .
Testa is very much in the bring-thefun-back camp . “ There ’ s a ton of pentup demand ,” he says . “ I can tell you , personally , I ’ m ready to do something . I ’ m ready to travel somewhere .” With the anticipation of widespread vaccines and a return to quasi-normalcy , his team has been busy coordinating large events such as the four-day Aftershock Music Festival , scheduled for October and headlined by Metallica . Testa estimates the festival will bring 40,000 people to the city . And , for the first time , barring setbacks , Sacramento will host the Ironman triathlon this October , bringing in thousands more visitors . Then those dominos will fall in the reverse direction , helping the local economy : The Ironman athletes will eat at restaurants , order coffee and celebrate finishing the race at bars .
The irony — arguably , the tragic irony — is that just before the pandemic , the city had thundering momentum with the success of the farm-to-fork campaign , the expansion to the convention center , a nearly $ 40 million investment to the waterfront , and a surge in galleries and cultural events . “ We had a lot of exciting stuff going on , and it feels like 10 years ago ,” says Testa . “ But the good news is that we will get that groove back .”
Jeff Wilser is the author of seven books , most recently “ Becoming a Firefighter ” from Simon & Schuster ’ s Masters at Work series . On Twitter @ jeffwilser .
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