'Heartbreaking': Once thriving Calif. downtown is on the brink

Downtown San Luis Obispo is emptying out. And over the past several weeks, 
the exodus of businesses, years in the making, has only accelerated. 

For generations, the downtown has played multiple roles: a tourist 
destination, college town hangout and the place where locals go to shop, 
dine and be entertained. Today, it’s littered with empty storefronts 
marked by darkened windows and for lease signs. 

Unlike many other places on the Central Coast that are destinations that 
depended on tourists, SLO’s downtown was vibrant because of the locals and 
students who live here full-time. But like many California downtowns, it 
has seen tariffs, recent rent spikes, and a decrease in foot traffic after 
the pandemic. Higher cost of living expenses, especially housing, have 
also throttled the disposable income needed for jaunts to the city’s urban 
core. Coupled with missteps from the city on parking, merchants now say 
that it’s a perfect storm that has led to the decline. 

‘What the heck happened?’
Gaia’s Gallery had the perfect location, the perfect space, in the perfect 
building. 

Located on the 700 block of Higuera Street, next to a crosswalk that 
bisected the downtown main drag’s busiest block, it was a “dream come 
true” when gallery owner Christine Branco was able to open her art, 
crystal and jewelry shop here in the spring of 2022, she told SFGATE. 

The space is as idyllic as she made it seem: a shotgun-style gallery, with 
an exposed brick accent wall running along the southern end of a historic 
building. Natural light beams in from the plate glass windows at the 
storefront. 


‘They’re anti-business — their actions tell us that everyday’
Steven Wick owns a pair of businesses in downtown SLO, Hemp Shak and 
Euphoria, which offer bohemian clothing and accessories, including jewelry 
made by local designers, artists and artisans. He was on hand on Sept. 30 
to help friend and fellow merchant Branc0 clean out her storefront. 

Watching friends go under is a phenomenon Wick said has become all too 
familiar. September alone saw Branco’s gallery, a hat shop called Brixton, 
Antigua Brewing Company, Starbucks, and women’s boutique Avanti all close.  


“Our city only cares about their image,” he said. “They will not admit 
they’re wrong. They’re anti-business — their actions tell us that 
everyday.”

He believes that the SLO City Council has made it tougher on business 
owners here in recent years. Wick said that he’s emailed city leaders and 
appeared in front of the city council “numerous times” to report on the 
conditions downtown. He has concerns with how traffic, both car and 
pedestrian, flows down main drags like Higuera Street. The city has also 
gone back and forth on whether visitors should pay for parking, and how 
much. 

https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/downtown-slo-dying-
21086622.php