On the occasion of the Olive Bar changing hands at the end of this month and retirement of its owners, Ed and Chrystie DeSoto, we're going to take a trip down memory lane and pull up photos from the year they opened the store.
In 2007, Downtown Campbell was a butterfly just emerging from its cocoon. If you look closely you can see signs of the struggling old downtown everywhere.
It may seem odd that I'd describe photos that appear to show a vibrant community as one that's struggling, but paradoxically it was because that things were pretty dead that we had the space and time to do some of these things. If a whole bunch of people wanted to dance to a band that was playing in the Courtyard, there'd be nothing getting in the way.
In 2007, Friday and Saturday nights weren't too happening just on their own so the Downtown Campbell Business Association organized some elaborate events to bring people down. I've written a number of times that the culture of Downtown Campbell is the "culture of doing stuff" and in these photos you see that culture taking shape. It's a bunch of people trying to do things to make their community a more vibrant place, but it's also a lot of people doing anything they can to keep their businesses viable.
It has only been 12 years, but Campbell was a much smaller place in 2007. You walk down the street and you probably knew half of the faces you ran into. Things are a bit different today, but we've hung onto the spirit of those days. #tbt
Photos and narration by DowntownCampbell.com editor, Sheldon Chang.
