Historically, small businesses in San Anselmo have faced significant challenges. These businesses close frequently within just a few years due to high operating costs, limited parking, and increasing competition from online retailers. While community events and local support efforts aim to boost business, economic challenges continue to threaten long-term success.

Archie Williams junior and 14-year resident of San Anselmo Isaac Terry has witnessed the town’s development over the years. He has noticed that most small businesses struggle to stay open for more than a few years. 

“These days, businesses in San Anselmo only last two to three years before being forced to shut down, or relocating elsewhere,” Isaac said. “U Top It, Cyber Garage, Royal Sweet Bakery, I could name [closed businesses] forever.”

While several factors contribute to these closures, Isaac believes a lack of parking in San Anselmo is a major issue, deterring potential customers. According to a 2023 parking study conducted by the Town of San Anselmo, “many residents and business owners have raised concerns about a perceived scarcity and difficulty in finding available public parking in downtown San Anselmo.” 

“In order for [San Anselmo’s businesses] to grow, the more parking the better. There’s a decent-sized lot behind [San Anselmo Avenue] and limited street parking, but it gets really crowded. Drivers tend to circle the block if they can’t find an open space, and that definitely worsens the congestion on the roads,” Isaac said. 

In an attempt to encourage shoppers to visit small businesses on foot in San Anselmo, the Chamber of Commerce regularly hosts street closures on San Anselmo Avenue. Isaac believes these events are an effective way to support small businesses. 

“It’s nice when the town puts on [street closures] to promote small businesses. It’s a small town with expensive rent and utility costs, and online food ordering companies like Uber Eats and Grubhub put a lot of pressure on local restaurants, so hosting events like these is a great way to show support and keep money in circulation,” Isaac said.

Despite the community’s efforts, numerous establishments have closed in San Anselmo over the last few years, including Sugar, an independent candy store founded in 2014 by Devon Oswald. Located on San Anselmo Avenue, Sugar closed in Oct. 2022 after eight years of business. 

“After eight years, the lease was up for the space, so I had to decide whether I wanted to continue or not,” Oswald said. “My youngest was a senior at Archie [Williams], and my mom is getting older, [and] I realized she needs my help. In addition, I became frustrated with the town. They continued to close the street on the weekends and remove parking spots.” 

Local business owners in San Anselmo voiced concerns that the town’s street closures and parking reductions, contrary to the Chamber of Commerce’s intentions, are negatively impacting customer access to businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the issue, as parklets, small outdoor seating areas repurposed from street parking, became purchasable to and prominent among local merchants, further reducing parking availability. Oswald, along with 24 others, petitioned the town council to reconsider these measures but saw no results. 

“Me and 24 merchants signed a letter and gave it to the city council begging them to stop closing the street because it took away business. Then during Covid, [the Town of San Anselmo] took away even more spots to make parklets. My customers were continually telling me how hard it was to park and I kept telling the council and other merchants told the town council as well, but they didn’t want to hear it,” Oswald said.

To free up parking spaces near San Anselmo Avenue, the Town of San Anselmo could increase time-limit enforcement, convert merchant spaces to 2-hour public parking, shorten some 4-hour zones to 2-hours, or move merchant parking to underused areas on San Rafael Avenue and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. While Oswald identified San Anselmo’s lack of parking as a prominent issue for businesses, this was not the deciding factor in her decision to close Sugar.

“I want to be clear that I didn’t close up because of frustration with the town over parking, it was factored into my decision to not extend the lease along with several other things,” Oswald said. “I loved the time I was a merchant on the avenue, and the community was super supportive.”

While some businesses struggle, others are able to stay in San Anselmo for long periods. Longway, a woman-owned brand based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, was founded by Kris Galmarini in 2012, and opened their flagship location on San Anselmo Avenue in 2016. Following her success, Galmarini expanded the store in 2021 to include a coffee shop and an outdoor parklet to provide seating for customers. Archie Williams senior and Galmarini’s daughter Neve Galmarini shares her mother’s inspiration for the brand. 

“She has always loved clothing, but what really started was that she didn’t have a lot of money, so she started making clothes for me and my brother when I was younger. At the time, she was waiting tables, and she was a manager of a restaurant, and it was a way for her to save money. When people started recognizing her clothes, she started selling [them], and [the brand] grew from there,” Neve said. 

Neve believes that many people in Marin are unaware of the financial reality of business ownership. As stated by the US Chamber of Commerce, “many business owners do not take a salary in the first couple of years,” in order to avoid limiting the growth of their business. Often, a large proportion of a small business’s revenue will be quickly absorbed by operating costs. The San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce could not be reached for a comment.

“I think people have this idea that when you go and you buy something, that money is going directly to the business owner,” Neve said. “In fact, it’s going to production agencies, employees, rent, utilities, water, especially in a coffee shop. In the end, it’s a very small percentage, if anything, that goes to the owner.”

Additionally, Neve attributes the struggle of small businesses to the popularity of online business’ services. 

“One of the reasons that businesses are struggling in San Anselmo [is] because people around here don’t really understand how important [in person] business is. People have started to order a lot of things online, and they don’t realize that in order to [maintain] a functioning shopping area, people need to go in person and actually buy things,” Neve said.

While the lack of parking and high utility costs have received significant recognition from the San Anselmo community, they still present challenges to business owners. Owners have voiced their frustration regarding these issues to no avail. To protect San Anselmo’s establishments, policies are needed to better support small businesses.