The Socialight - The Truth

To the People of Downtown Campbell,

If you have not met me or any of the other owners to The Socialight but my name is Steve Bonner.  If you have not met me before, you are not alone.  Mr. Joe Hernandez has never met me either or any of my other partners.  It appears that Mr. Joe Hernandez would like to paint a unique picture of what we are doing over here at The Socialight.

I will try to describe this amazing restaurant as succinctly as I can so I can get to the points. 

The Socialight is a world food restaurant that is planning on being open from 6am to midnight every day.  We are mostly organic, farm to table, health conscious cuisine designed to feed the body what it needs with flavor.  In the mornings, we will provide amazing omelet's, Chorizo Burritos, Waffles and Pancakes' for breakfast in addition to other unique breakfast items from other area's but often with a twist.  Fruits are found in our pancakes and waffles, vegetables are abundant in our omelets, etc. 

Our coffees are available all day and of the highest quality featuring Jamaican Blue Mountain, Illy and Puerto Rican brands.  They are made with the finest Italian espresso machine to deliver the perfect coffee drink possible in addition combining a wide variety of accompaniment choices adding a bit more healthy living to your options.  Our juices are made in front of you with fresh organic vegetables, fruits and nutritional supplements thus bringing the raw flavor and nutrition into your body in its purest form.  Our juices are also available all day and one of our signatures offerings.  We are trying many angles to  provide healthy options to our busy fast paste life.

Lunch will offer Carnegie Deli style sandwiches, monster best burger in town, Panini's, Fish Taco's, amazing salads including a Kale and Quinoa Salad, Beet Salad, etc.  Each day will also have a healthy soup of the day.

Dinner entrees will include Argentinean Steak, Peurvian Seviche, Spanish Seafood Paella, British Lamb Shanks, French Duck, South African Bobotie in addition to many comfort food options such as Southern Fried Chicken, Braised Short Ribs, etc.  Our concept is to provide cuisine you know and love with many items you may never have had a chance to try.

Starters feature unique items such as Duck Nachoes to Lamb Sliders to Escargot to Oysters on the half shell.  Desserts are as well unique featuring over 10 options per night, ever changing, including Australian Pavlova, Crème Brûlée to Warm Homemade Apple Pie made the way Mama used to make it with Vanilla bean Ice cream, etc.

In short, so many great dishes that you know and love to dishes you have possibly never heard of all prepared by a master chef and his team.  Our entrees are paired with fine wines from all around the world as well as an option and discussed with you by our Sommelier.  The Socialight is a place for those in our town who have passion for great food, enjoyed in a peaceful setting (we our keeping the same feel and vibe if you have ever been in our store currently, you will know what I mean) and served by educated staff with a healthy and nutritional focus.

The demographic of the consumer for this restaurant will be no different than Naschmarkt or Pino's Trattoria or any other high end restaurant.  This is not a place for young twenty something's to come and get drunk and urinate on public lawns.  We are beer and wine only which means no hard alcohol in addition to being open until 12:00am at the latest.  Most nights will close down by 10pm.

Mr. Hernandez and Liz Gibbons showed up at the City Planning meeting with PowerPoint presentations very eager to try to stop The Socialight from going forward.  It was very odd and aside from them, no other community members were there to share their odd views.  This is what we were expecting as Campbell City Planning lead by staff Daniel Fama had already issues a CUP recommendation of approval.   Who could possibly not want this greatness in Campbell? One has to wonder why anyone would be against such a restaurant.  Maybe it is just a coincidence that Liz Gibbons is running for Council this year.  Neither of these two have ever meet myself or anyone associated with The Socialight to get any real truthful information.  They have countless hours to write letters to the editor at the Campbell Express.  Comically, the letter is from Joe Hernandez who coincidentally needed to thank Liz Gibbons.  Let's boost up the candidate!  Then writing blogs in the Campbell Patch about senseless associations of The Socialight adding more disturbance possibilities or using comparisons with issues arising out of young hard drinkers who party till 2am to showing up at meetings where no one else is attending to push his agenda.  Anyone wonder what his agenda is yet?

Let's take a look a little bit closer at his last hours of work on the computer:

·         You write a letter to council yet you post it on a blog.  Odd.  Why not send it them directly, you have their emails?

·         Mr. Hernandez, you do not know me but yet you feel comfortable telling anyone who will listen to you that I am bringing a petition signed by supportive people, discounting the Petition saying they are not local.  Here is a bit of truth for you Mr. Hernandez, something you are lacking.  The Socialight since November 1 has been helping and serving the Campbell residents.  They love our staff, they love our store and they are extremely excited to try our new restaurant.  They have been pouring into our store asking what they can do to support us.  You are the first person ever to even whisper a negative concern and are in your own microcosm.  You do not represent in anyway shape or form what Campbell is wanting.  You represent only your own platform for your own reasons.  You do not know me, my staff nor have you ever tried.  But you put a lot of time in disparaging my restaurant.  You are not influencing anyone and not in touch with the Campbell residents except possibly those that might buy into your scare tactics.

·         You cite the Campbell General Plan and try to address it in some form of Legal perspective.  I was shocked that you failed to tell whomever you think you are misleading that both the city and the Campbell police have recommended approval because it "Complies with the General Plan".  There is nothing more "Vibrant" than a classy restaurant with multi colored lamps all over, art and spiritual decor. 

·         Your "True North Compass" has about as much strength in point as the rest of your rhetoric.  The good news is, you make it easy for the council to approve my restaurant.

Here is an exerpt from your patch letter above...

            The vision and General Plan for Campbell serves as your compass pointing to true north.  It       is with that direction and responsibility that you need to consider the Socialight appeal. 

            In order to grant the appeal and approve the permit, you must make two key determinations:

            1)  that the project is consistent with Campbell's General Plan and the Downtown Campbell Development Plan and

            2)  you can identify special findings that the use will not result in the following: 

• the potential over concentration of similar alcohol establishments in the surrounding area,
• the potential to create a nuisance or disturb the neighborhood, and 
• the potential to increase demand on city services

So if this is the criteria, then it is settled.  Campbell City Staff who know more about the General Plan than I ever will and yourself have stated in its recommendation that The Socialight meets with all the criteria to satisfy the General Plan.  Check off #1.

Concentration of similar alcohol establishments in surrounding areas.  By definition, I am assuming you are referring to those establishments that are serving alcohol as their primary and revenue source.  Is the Naschmarkt or Pino's Trattoria an alcohol establishment because they serve beer or wine with dinner?  I would call them restaurants that serve alcohol and not "Alcohol establishments" such as a bar that serves food to keep you alive but generates more than 50% of their revenue in alcohol sales.

Regarding your over concentration concern.  The reality is, the Campbell residents will decide what is right by the simple laws of supply and demand.  The best restaurants will survive and the substandard will be weeded out meanwhile Campbell is a better place for it.  Do you need hard alcohol to be similar?  Both Naschmarkt or Pino's Trattoria or A Bellagio have it but I do not.  So am I similar or less similar than the others.  Within a two block area on Campbell Ave east and west of Central, there are approximately 40 businesses providing an array of services and retail offerings.  There are 30 retail shops in this small area.  Only 10 of those are restaurants and only one restaurant exists on my block.  A very good one named Naschmarkt.  It is exciting to see Regal Winery is coming in soon as well.  These types of places do not pose a threat to safety, public drunkenness or behavioral issues.  To try and lump us under another category or as catalyst to past problems is senseless and unfair.  So creating a nuisance or disturbing...NO.  Check off #2

"City services" is a no brainer.  With the Campbell police already identifying there is no issue, I do not believe you will be able to convince anyone of this unless you think our police is wrong too.  Check off #3.

Regarding all your "Potential" underlining's, there is a potential for rain tomorrow but I am still not going to carry an umbrella because it is extremely unlikely.  Just like your hidden agenda to hurt my restaurant and deprive the Campbell residents of a fantastic place to dine has in succeeding...you have potential if you can scare them enough and hide the truth...but not very likely.

Regarding your pretty pie chart of Campbell business use.  You sure spend a lot of time walking around to find data and compiling it in pie charts but it is too bad it is not meaningful.  So I am viewing the E. Campbell Ave Mix pie chart first.  Not sure where it starts on E Campbell and where it ends.  Not sure if side streets are included or only businesses listed with an E. Campbell address.  But what I do know is there is no model or any form of regulation that says it must be more or less in any category.  Next year when you lose your political campaign will your point be we have too much retail or salon's.  I see a lot of salon's downtown, will they be your next target.  What do you think it is supposed to be.  You have a chart that does not accurate but in any event, are you the one with the crystal ball to say how many salon's are needed in Campbell?  Regulation is good and we must have rules to mold our society but you are trying to make up the rules as you go, for your benefit.  Not for the benefit of Campbell.  Your soap box does not take into account the multiple retail businesses that have failed in that same location yet you think you have the right to say what mix a given block or a town should have.  Maybe you liked Campbell better with empty store fronts and no one here.

Campbell is now a vibrant town with events happening regularly, great shops and restaurants and it is a place where people want to come.  With all things good and with all things evolving and improving, there will be a small amount of bad.  You cannot kill the 98% good to solve the 2% bad.  With festivals comes people that drink too much.  That is part of the deal.  I am not saying I am for them or against them but they are not that often and the town comes to life.  Do I wish it was 100% good.  Yes I do, but that is not realistic.  The point is, all of that does not have anything to do with me or my restaurant.  With a vibrant city full of life, parking and traffic become more concentrated but that still does not have anything to do with me.  I am a small restaurant with my own VIP parking for my clients and a public parking lot that is huge only two blocks away.  Let's take a look at your attempt to misguide our community.  You stated this:

"B.  The profileration of alcohol service establishments has created an ongoing nuisance to the surrounding downtown neighborhoods

            It has been well documented at previous planning commission and   council meetings that the surrounding residents have been negatively impacted by the steady increase of late night alcohol establishments.  Incidents of public drunkenness, lewd behavior, vomiting, urination and fights are now part of Campbell’s “vibrant” downtown scene.  "

What does public drunkenness, lewd behavior, vomiting, urination and fights have to do with Naschmarkt or Pino's Trattoria, La Pizzaria, A Bellagio or any fine restaurant.  I am on this corner of Central and E. Campbell Ave every day for the past 3 1/2 years and have seen a lot happen daily.  Never have I seen or heard of an incident out of any of these places or other places like them.  Your issue is with hard alcohol places serving till 2am to a young crowd that has not discovered a hangover hurts too much at 6:30 a.m. when we have to get our kids ready for school.  Further, we need to perform at work all day so we can take care of our families.  You are completely out of touch with the demographic of the common restaurant foodie who occasionally enjoys an amazing glass of wine with dinner versus the college kids and young adults wanting to do a keg stand and shots of hard alcohol all night then once obliterated out of their mind, need to urinate badly and hardly know what they are doing and most likely would not remember it the next day.  All things have some pros or cons but the point here is clear, either way, it is not my demographic you are referring to nor do I have the ability to stay open until 2 a.m. (or the desire) nor do I serve hard alcohol.

Regarding the legal obligation the council has to follow the general plan, that is exactly right.  If you read the City of Campbell's report, you will see what they found.

Campbell City Staff reports the following:  Findings for Approval of File No. PLN2014-57
This can be found at:  http://cityofcampbell.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=20745495-2ccd-1032-aaea-c81612194a28

Page 112 states below, word for word...

Based upon the foregoing findings of fact, the Planning Commission further finds the concludes that:

#2 The proposed use is consistent with the General Plan
#7 The establishment will not result in an over-concentration of these uses in the surrounding area
#8 The establishment will not create a nuisance due to litter, noise, traffic vandalism or other factors.
#9 The establishment will not significantly disturb the peace and enjoyment of the nearby residential neighborhood.
#10 The establishment will not significantly increase the demand on city services

Now, if the above is true and accurate, than what you are suggesting is that the Campbell City Council go against the findings of the Campbell City and the General Plan because you have an agenda and they should listen to you.

It is pretty sad to see a person spend so much time trying to mislead people into believing his way with such limited truth behind him.  You should be ashamed if you had a conscious.

I must end this reply as my 4 year old daughter has a ballet recital right now at the Heritage Theater and I cannot be late.  I have not had a chance to check for punctuation and spelling but I cannot afford to waste any more time on your nonsense.

Steven Bonner