SECOND STORIES
by Tricia Tellier
Each weekday morning I park my car in a garage that peeks into Petco Park and then I walk along Fifth Avenue past the quiet storefronts of a wide variety of shops, boutiques and restaurants that will grow busier and busier as the day progresses. I turn to walk through an unassuming door and often catch a tourist’s eye as they suddenly see the door and staircase beyond it. Their eyes have been too busy scanning enticing menu boards and artistic window displays to be aware of the upper floors of the Victorian buildings but my quick disappearance into one gets their attention. I see people look up at the building as I enter and a whole new world appears before them. Suddenly office windows register in their conscience and they begin to wonder about the people who are quietly doing business above the bustle of the streets within the Gaslamp Quarter.
In the Bakesto building, where I work for the Gaslamp Quarter Association, we have nearly 20 contemporary businesses on the upper level of a structure that is 128 years old and that's just one building. The fact is that there are more businesses doing business above the street level merchants of the Gaslamp, than there are nightclubs, restaurants and shops combined. Gaslamp is blessed with 94 gorgeous examples of historic architecture and nearly all have reinvented themselves as icons of mixed use and host many different tenants. The shared space serves a multitude of lawyers, management companies and insurance agents, as well as a hefty amount of secondary business related to keep the charismatic Gaslamp functioning.
It takes more than meets the eye to run a successful dining and entertainment venue, and the Bakesto has five offices that manage almost 20 restaurants. Some manage one location, located nearby in the Gaslamp like Bondi and others support as many as eleven unique locations, both locally and in places as far away as Hawaii.
A corporate office like The Cohn Restaurant Group covers everything from printing the menus, email communications and human resources to managing contracts for all of their leases. They host meetings with advertising partners, investors and sales reps while staying close to their street level operations.
We also have companies down the hall that throw large scale block parties and sleek corporate soiree’s that have grown to tackle other industries and more neighborhoods.
Restaurant Events began as a service to book corporate groups into multiple locations.  They’ve proven the value of their local knowledge to San Diego’s meeting planners and their company has matured and diversified. These days they sell gift certificates that are good at Gaslamp’s top dining destinations. They plan special outdoor events for convention groups that offer the wonderfully varied amenities of several Gaslamp locations all within one space. They’ve even developed and manage a luxury spa built from the ground up to ensure flexible functionality for large groups.
McFarlane Promotions is the behind the scenes host of popular annual Gaslamp special events like Mardi Gras and shamROCK! From their small space at the top of the stairs, they become involved in almost every event happening downtown these days and they have been tapped by other communities like La Jolla, Hillcrest and Chula Vista to throw events for their business district too. It was the natural progression of things when others saw how beneficial public events can be for an area.
Some businesses just like being close to all the action, I see our neighbors from TR Financial having lunch with clients on a sunny Gaslamp street-side patio enjoying the view or out at great events like the Taste of Gaslamp all the time. They don't need to process loan applications or post their real estate offerings from an office in the thick of things but they have chosen the location for the great atmosphere Gaslamp provides. It makes going to work a treat!
 Attorney Terry Price had a great excuse for opening his law office in the Gaslamp, he's an expert in Business and Employment Law with many Gaslamp clients but I suspect the reason Terry keeps his office space here after all these years is that he's fallen in love with the neighborhood just like everyone else that visits the Gaslamp.
Learn about the vast variety of businesses upstairs, visit our PROFESSIONAL SERVICES pages. As you scan through the many categories, imagine how many "Second Stories" that list represents and next time you're here - look up!
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