Old Town Orcutt experiencing strong economic recovery
ORCUTT, Calif. - A unique Central Coast community with a rich history and charm continues an economic rebound from the COVID-19 public health shutdowns and restrictions.
Business is sizzling at The Shift, a new restaurant that recently opened at the corner of West Clark Avenue and First Street in the heart of Old Town Orcutt, feeding off the popularity of its catering food truck success.
"Our whole August is already booked up, I'm sure it is for a lot of people," said The Shift co-owner James Gentry. "There are a lot of birthday parties, weddings that were held off last year that they are trying to make happen this year."
The sweet taste of success at the Homestead Bakery and Deli in Old Town is helping expand that small business.
"We opened in February of this year in the middle of a pandemic, we decided to open a deli, and we're doing great and happy with our success so far," said The Homestead co-owner Julie Darrah.
They're getting sold out weekends at the Wine Stone Inn, the only hotel in Old Town Orcutt.
"It has been a constant state of pivot and change and adapt," said Wine Stone Inn General Manager Lauren Wise. "I'm really proud of what we've accomplished since it was such a difficult time but we're really happy to see the trend turn to more of a positive."
Established businesses in Old Town Orcutt are seeing more foot traffic and new customers.
"You have to be very flexible with your business," said Stacy Murray with the Old Town Quilt Shop. "You have to be open to creating new ways of getting new customers and keeping the older customers engaged."
Newcomers to Old Town Orcutt say despite the pandemic and all the related public health shutdowns and restrictions that came with it, the time was right and the place was right to invest in the future of this unique community.
"All of our neighbors wanted some new things, they wanted places to go eat, they wanted to support their community," said Julie Darrah of The Homestead Bakery and Deli. "We were already in the tent on opening this and rather than just postponing it and being fearful of the unknown, we just forged ahead and people have been very receptive to that."
"It took someone to be really brave to be the first hotel in Orcutt," added Lauren Wise from the Wine Stone Inn. "When you do that you're now saying we are a travel destination, come visit us, come stay with us, we're here for you."
Holding onto and maintaining its unique Old West architectural charm and small town feel, and with a wide variety of places to eat, drink and shop, Old Town Orcutt is coming back strong with an eye on the future.
"We've got some growth definitely happening, some new faces coming in and the new restaurants are bringing people in from different towns and areas," said April Sargeant with the Old Orcutt Merchants Association. "It's just a little community that has grown over the years but has stayed small within a bigger area."
The Old Orcutt Merchants Association has resumed hosting the First Friday's Farmers Market event on the first Friday of the month.
