DoMo District

Okay, downtown hive. Let's have a happy chat. We could use it. It's been a rough, turbulent year. We've been through a lot, and there are still many uncertainties. A couple months ago, one of our responses at the Downtown Modesto Partnership was to create the RAD Card, the downtown gift "card" app that uses generous donor funds to match your RAD Card funds dollar-for-dollar. It sold out SO FAST and it's kind of obvious why: it's a great deal that stretches your dollar during... a time when -real talk, now- a lot of households are struggling with financial challenges, huge changes in routines...we don't need to explain this. You know. In this post, we'd love to hear from as many of you as we can about your experience spending the RAD Card at downtown mom and pop shops, eateries, etc. We're not fishing for analytics--we're just truly starving for some feel-good stories about how nice it was to get some extra money, what you treated yourselves to, how delicious it was (food pics HIGHLY encouraged ) what treasures you found at shops, whether you walked around and checked out our downtown mural scene...stuff like that. Won't you take a minute and share some downtown love? What's good, DoMo District? Artist: J. Gomar, Modesto

Eateries with frontages on J Street: 12 Corner eateries on J Street: 2 Retail shops on J Street: 6 By slowing vehicular traffic with 4-way stops at intersections instead of traffic lights, J Street can now safely accommodate expanded outdoor dining and display for these businesses who need it badly during this time. This is AWESOME.... Is a street with slower vehicular traffic bad for businesses on that street? Nope. In fact, it’s better. Look at other cities that have transformed their downtowns by making more human-friendly streets with this exact method. Livermore often comes up, but it’s also been done in countless other cities where business is now booming. Now it’s downtown Modesto’s turn. Can’t wait to see you all downtown (from a 6-ft distance, of course) See more

On Tuesday night, the Modesto City Council unanimously approved the conversion of J Street into two lanes to create more space for restaurants and shops to serve customers during the current COVID crisis. The City will re-stripe J Street down to two lanes, from 9th to 14th Streets Angled parking lines will be painted, creating additional parking capacity for the convenience of downtown patrons Intersection traffic signals will be set to flashing red or have a stop sign..., to slow traffic Work has already begun and will take between four and eight days to complete. Temporary Closures on J Street for Re-Striping Sections of J Street will be closed for painting in phases: Phase 1: 9th to 11th Streets will be painted Monday 9/28-Tuesday 9/29. 10th Street will be open and accessible to vehicles and pedestrians. Phase 2: 11th to 13th Streets on Wednesday 9/30 and Thursday 10/1 Phase 3: 13th to 14th Street on Friday 10/2 See more

*** Update: we congratulate and appreciate City Council’s decision to approve plans to narrow and re-stripe J Street so we can move forward and get this project rocking and rolling for our downtown businesses! (YAY!) THANK YOU, everyone, for your incredible show of support. It did not go unnoticed.*** . We’re not saying you have to go to tonight’s City Council meeting to state the obvious need for a street like thiswe’re just asking you to like this post or drop an emoji if ...you think Modesto City Council should act NOW to save our local downtown businesses by approving the emergency, temporary, professionally-created and vetted plan to narrow J Street, all so restaurants can expand their outdoor dining beyond our teensy tiny urban sidewalks into framed areas and parklets on the road. And, thanks to this design plan, we will be able to slow traffic and keep everyone safe. This photo was shot in Santa Cruz where they, like every other urban commercial area, have figured out how to save small business owners, employees, and do it all with safety first, social distancing and proven planning methods. In our downtown, we just don’t have enough frontage space to spread out for social distancing and effectively supporting local. We need this narrowed street. Badly. Nearly all of our J Street restaurants are begging for it. If you DO want to speak up in support of creating a calmer, more human-friendly street during these times, please go to the City Council meeting link below and Zoom in. People don’t always speak up when the right thing to do seems like the obvious thing to do. Because of this, we sure could use the support... or rampant liking and sharing helps a bit, too. That link below, tho... http://www.modestogov.com//September-22-2020-Council-Packet Opportunity Stanislaus Modesto Downtown Improvement District Modesto Chamber of Commerce Visit Modesto Stanislaus Community Foundation

Nothing like a downtown wedding to put that extra spring in everyone’s step Big congratulations to Turquoise & Deandr. Looking good, you two. We truly love seeing all the wedding photos taken in the #domodistrict . Whether they’re captured in the @domowalls Mural Alley, on top of parking garages with the skyline in the background or down on the street, the photos always look JUST SO COOL. @m.k.l_photography (on Instagram) ... Dress: Mira Bridal Couture on J Street See more

Oh, what a couple fresh coats of paint here and there can do for a downtown district. Super happy to see property owners in the #domodistrict step up their game and spruce things up a bit. Let’s file this under #downtowninspo and also maybe #emergingdistrict , eh? . Also, who can tag the mural artist? HM c/o @modestodid @ Downtown Modesto

Remember when social media used to be just a bunch of pics of everyone’s lunches and we all sang together, ughhhhhh nobody wants to see your lunch every day ugghhh... Well, fast forward to 2020: raise your hand if you did not mind gazing upon this peach-jalapeño fried chicken sandwich whatsoever. Go aheadraise ‘em up. This is #DoMoDistrict eats. This is @bauersdowntown

Hot days have us thinking about this: one tree has a net cooling effect that is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. Soooolet’s plant some trees, okay? Also, trees are CO2 absorbers and capture 10 times more motor-vehicle-emitted carbon dioxide than trees located farther away AND (sorrywe just love this stuff), trees save tons of money, not only lowering the demand on the electric grid but also increasing property value up t...o 18% . Make it rain Part of the Downtown Master Plan, which was adopted this summer by the City of Modesto, calls for large shade trees to be planted all over downtown for human comfort and walkability. Ahhhh, blocks and blocks covered in shade Think about that while you’re walking around anywhere and there’s little more than a lollipop-shaped tree shading you every 15 steps you take, sweaty betty Those trees, while cute, are not the type that are going to cut it in this climate. That’s not for acceptable for our DoMo District. Nope, nuh-uh. The Downtown Modesto Partnership and City of Modesto are working hard to improve your experience (and health!) so that we can enjoy downtown summer with parklets, outdoor dining, popsicle frozés, Camp 4 Wine Cafe IPA slushies Food Fix Butcher and Baker vegan ice cream rosettes Blossoms Creamery inside Sam & Dave's Market patio pitchers at @tresettis Dole Whip at Graffiti Dogs shoot, it’s so hot let’s just go ahead and pile on the cooling citrine crystals from Intrinsic Elements We’re going full-on tree-huggery now, okay So, cheers to shade trees. Trees are dope. Yay trees. City of Modesto - City Hall #downtownmodestopartnership See more

The RAD Card donor match fund is officially SOLD OUT! Together, RAD patrons have dedicated $300,000 to buoying the small downtown businesses that keep this city fresh and innovative. Thank you for spreading word about the RAD Card and --holy cow, what we’re about to say--THANK YOU for continuing to load your RAD Cards with funds EVEN AFTER you see the pop-up notification that the RAD donor fund is empty... You must have picked up on the side-bonus that the new RAD app d...oubles as a downtown Modesto gift card that you can buy while at home in your underwea exercise clothes. TECHNOLOGY The Downtown Modesto Partnership is continuing to look for new donors to keep the momentum going so our city center can weather this sharknado of a year We’ll announce as soon there’s news about the donor fund being ready for round two As SO MANY of you told us, it’s amazing to stretch that dollar and treat those you love in 2020 There’s a whole list of RAD Card-accepting businesses who are waiting to give you a memorable experience. We know choosing to support your favorite eateries and shops is a great mood lifter, and we’re looking forward to hearing about it! If you are out enjoying your RAD Card, let us see what’s going down in the DoMo District with #radmodesto In this video: Camp 4 Wine Cafe Many thanks to the donors who made this dollar-for-dollar match possible: David & Jeanne Olson The Porges Family Foundation Valley First Credit Union And our partner, Stanislaus Community Foundation Valley First Credit Union Stanislaus Community Foundation See more

A way to support Gallo Center for The Arts even when they can’t open their doors.

So, a wild & amazing thing has happened. We begin here: The RAD Card (Relief Across DoMo Card) launched with a donor fund of $130,000. After ONE post on social media, one article in The Modesto Bee and a mere 14 days, so many of you loaded your RAD Cards that it hit $114,000 in sales. And thanks to the dollar-for-dollar donor match, that amount instantly turned into $228,000 !!! That’s $228,000 devoted to you all treating yourselves to small downtown Modesto shops and... eateries during this epic dumpster fire of a year known as 2020. Impressive, fam. We are happy for you! But the donor funds of this young downtown movement are going FAST. We think this is why: people in our region have been through A LOT this year. The chance to stretch the household dollar while enjoying something special while also supporting small business owners has been a much-needed feel-good respite for us all. And, people understand more and more that small businesses are comprised of real folks who care about our community. We are all-in when it comes to having their backs. To keep this much-needed economic relief going, the Downtown Modesto Partnership, a 501(c)3, is calling all donors to make a tax-deductible donation to the RAD Card program. Let’s save downtown, the heart of our citythe one district that belongs to everybody. If you’d like to be a donor, please email Downtown Modesto Partnership CEO/President Josh Bridegroom [email protected] To learn about the RAD Card, go to https://www.discoverdomo.com/rad Greatest gratitude to our donors David and Jeanne Olson, The Porges Family Foundation, Valley First Credit Union and also to our partner Stanislaus Community Foundation @stanislauscf @valley_first_credit_union Street art by Lovely Indeed https://www.discoverdomo.com/rad

We’re getting this question. A lot. So here’s the deal: you can load up your RAD Card as much as you want, but you will only get up to $100 in dollar-for-dollar matched funds MAXIMUM, meaning purchasing a RAD Card will look like this: Buy $25, get another $25 Buy $50, get another $50 Buy $75, get another $75... Buy $100, get another $100 Buy $200, get another $100 Buy $300, get another $100 Buy $1,000,000,000, get another $100 (also, drinks are on you, friend ) And voila! You’re a certified RAD Card expert. Want to learn more about the RAD Card, the downtown-wide gift card app that doubles your spending dollars up to $100? Visit discoverdomo.com See more

(_) <) ) new apps / \ (_) need to be... \( (> / \ (_) <) ) updated often / \ (_) <)(> The RAD Card is a brand new app that our team JUST created. Please go to your app store and update your RAD Card regularly in order to enjoy new features, improved user interface, bug fixes, and more. We appreciate you being on this new journey with us!

Opening Friday, August 14th at 911 J Street is brand new 18Seventy Brewing Co.! We got to visit and even sample some brew and talk coffee. Wowzersare you all in for a treat Bridgette Berry wrote her master thesis on brewing so she knows her stuff. With this background, she’s creating a real experience for downtown visitors! ... Bridgette plans to serve espresso, cold brews, and nitro drinks in the cafe and will have six exclusive taps for its beer. Plans are to brew mostly session beers, which are lighter and lower in alcohol. The other 20 taps will feature crafts brews from across the region. We are so excited to have you in the DoMo District, 18 Seventy! . @18seventybrew See more