Robin and I recently returned from Arizona. I had assumed that a trip to the Phoenix area would not include anything that had to do with wine. I was wrong!
In the Sunday edition of the Arizona Republic was an article on the city of Cottonwood and their recent renewal. It was a fascinating article. You can read the article by clicking the link above, but I wanted to give an overview here. It is the tale of a very unlikely wine promoter and urban renewal organizer named Doug Bartosh. That's Doug standing on main street in the photo below. He was a life-long law enforcement officer. At some point he retired and took up the job of City Manager of Cottonwood. It was a tough, run down town. (Especially the Old Town section.) It had become the center of the meth trade in the area. The city cleaned up their drug problems and then went in search of new investors for their civic core.
That's when Doug suggested they seek out wineries to fill their empty downtown buildings. That is an impressive step for a former law-enforcement professional. The city made it their mission to assist these new businesses in getting established.
They didn't worry about the number of liquor licences being issued, and they even made it possible to enjoy a picnic at a local city park complete with a glass of wine (I wish some cities in Oregon would follow suit!) The wonderful part of the experiment is that it worked. The winery business has drawn big crowds to this little town which now includes a bakery, and several wonderful restaurants. I'm always interested in how cities and towns find renewal. Why do some downtown cores like ours in McMinnville thrive while others die on the vine? It turns out that wine might be part of the answer. Architecture also helps. Downtown areas are more appealing when the businesses are located right on the street with only a sidewalk between the front door and the curb.
It was really fun to visit this great little downtown and to see their renewal first hand. Thanks to the Arizona Republic for the idea of heading off to Cottonwood. (The photos for this blog are from the Arizona Republic article.)
