- Tom BrezsnyWelcome to Good Times
This week feels like a homecoming for me. Let me count the ways.
It’s been thirty years since a column of mine last appeared in the Good Times. In the 80s, I was the restaurant reviewer for the paper, a job that’s surely in much better hands these days.
I think my last story panned Schlotzsky’s, a deli chain from Texas that tried to make a go of it in the historic Leonard Building on Cooper Street. Being completely unsuited to Santa Cruz, it went belly-up in record time. As I recall, the piece was titled: “Texas Chainstore Massacre”.
Forty years ago today, I also landed in Santa Cruz. I spent my last $5 on gas and beer in Gilroy and rolled into town on fumes, literally and figuratively. I had only heard of Santa Cruz once before, while watching a Dating Game episode where the dream couple won a dream date to the lovely Dream Inn..
And in case you’re wondering, I’m not the same Brezsny who writes the astrology column. He’s the Brezsny who tells you which house your moon is in. I’m the one that tells you how to get your ass into a new one whenever the time comes..
My company, Sereno Group, just leased new office space Downtown and we’ll be moving in by Christmas. The last time I had an office Downtown was in 1989 when the quake hit and opened up a hole behind my desk on the 2nd floor of the old County Bank Building right across from the Cooper House.
I walked around Downtown the other day to catch up on the recent changes. And whatever else anyone says, the energy and activity there is exponentially more fun and engaging than it ever was in the 80s. You could shoot a cannon down Pacific Ave. after 5pm back then and never worry about hitting a soul.
Yep, it’s a homecoming of sorts for me. In the coming weeks, we’ll explore real estate topics from a local perspective. Through the eyes of someone who has been part of the community for forty years. What the market is. How the process works. Recent trends and emerging patterns.
And since every poll says that housing concerns are the number one issue on people’s minds, we’ll also wade into a few observations about how the paradigm around housing in Santa Cruz is changing.
Next to experience, the most important thing a Realtor brings to the table is local perspective. I’ve bought property all over California. And even though, I can always represent myself and save money, I’ve always worked with a local Realtor. I know too much about how real estate works not to.
More Next Week…
