Everybody has a different bellwether for the economy, and sometimes little shifts go completely unnoticed. Living near the beach and riding a bike just about everywhere I need to go can really blind you to the “real economy”. I don’t buy much gas, all the food and fun I really need is within 20 miles. Fortunately, I visit clients and friend in the Reno-Tahoe area on a regular basis, and still race tin can cars in Texas. So I still see different viewpoints on the economy.
In Texas, it doesn’t take a genius to read the paper and figure out that the lawmakers are addicted to oil money. If the front page of the Houston Chronicle business section has oil with a green arrow and a price over $80, the news is good and the stores are filled. As long as oil stays above $80, the Texas economy rolls along and the politicians put the credit squarely on their shoulders.
In Nevada, the state was high rolling on gambling money. It seemed that gravy train would never stop, and when it did, it screeched to a halt. The housing markets in Las Vegas and Reno are among the worst hit in the country. Those really are the two main cities in Nevada. The state capital is buried quietly away in a town with no commercial air service, and quite distant from the suffering of Las Vegas and Reno.
In California, the state became high on something in the 70’s and started the entitlement train. If you made it across the border past immigration you were rewarded with more benefits than the Californians who were born in California. In fact if your state wouldn’t pay you, you could move to California and sign on for your own free ride. It has always perplexed me where people think they should get free medical, dental, education and money just for making it into the state. It is among the most resource rich states in the union. I am all for sharing, but paying people to stay? I don’t get it Governor Brown.
Another funny thing in California is the idea that Government work should be a career for all. Head lifeguards in some cities have broken $200,000 per year. Anyone who thinks pilots are overpaid should compare Baywatch and the Miracle on the Hudson to get an idea why California has worse financial problems than the airline business. The irony is the same Governor that started this spending spree now has to stop it.
An interesting thing about the economy in California is that more people are staying closer to home. During the last decade, Californians were vacationing all over the world, and little mountain towns returned to their quiet backcountry fell. They stopped being tourist vacation towns and were second home towns, which creates a very different economy.
The next phase was the sell of of vacation homes coupled with the people who retired and moved into their vacation homes. For instance, Truckee California just 18 months ago looked like many other resort towns. For Lease signs were the window dressing of choice at many buildings in town, and for sale signs fell over in the yards of foreclosed homes.
This winter visitors to Truckee might be in for a surprise if they haven’t been for a while. Out in Glenshire, the Glenshire Store made it another year with the awesome breakfast burritos and coffee deal. Coffee & is still the same, with slightly higher prices. Squeeze In got famous on TV. If you think you are going, there is a great deal on a gift card at Costco in Reno. My favorite fish sandwich place, Burger Me! made it on TV too and expanded to Reno. The second location still needs work. Truckee is growing into a micro gastronomic town complete with its own reality TV ready food truck, simply called the Red Truck. It will probably be at the Truckee Ski Swap today.
Among the new contenders is the Trokay Cafe. Sitting where Elijah Blues Coffee Shop attempted an entry into the Truckee food scene last year, the Trokay Cafe is a very different experience. The shock and confusion are clearly visible on the faces of last years patrons when they enter to find a chalet style interior with open beams and gentle lighting that was occupied by the Cajun-Creole Folk Art inspired Elijah Blues.
At the Trokay Cafe the menu is clearly aimed at the few locals who decided to move into their former vacation homes, and the bay area ski-mountain bike – tourist crowd. Catering to this group two years ago was a recipe for closure as the locals would avoid your business. Today it might be a different story, and the experience at Trokay Cafe might just be enough to keep the locals coming back.
The Palmiers at the Trokay Cafe are so good, the crowd from Incline Village and the North Shore make the trek into Truckee to eat at Trokay and take some home. At breakfast this morning, while dipping my Palmier in hot chocolate I realized there is something good when everyone has to stay a little closer to home.
The economy might still be sliding downward, but my bellwether says there are some good deals out there if you are willing to look.