District Blog

You know how people were joking that April felt like an entire year? I think that's how December's going to feel.

A day after Governor Newsom warned all regions of the state of California to be prepared to enter a new Shelter-in-Place order once ICU capacity in each area's hospitals dips below 15%, the largest counties in the Bay Area made a joint decision to pull the emergency brake a week early rather than a week late.

This will hurt our already struggling businesses, but it's the right thing to do. Santa Clara County is already dangerously close to maxing out ICU capacity while hospitalizations are still ramping up and the expected surge from Thanksgiving gatherings hasn't even begun. Protecting ICU capacity saves lives from an entire range of preventable deaths, not just from Covid-19.

The new December Shelter-in-Place order will go into effect on Monday, December 7th (technically it starts at 10PM on Sunday).

Here's a summary of what to expect once the order takes effect.

• No outdoor dining. Takeout and delivery is OK.

• Barbershops, salons, and personal services (i.e. skin care) must close.

• Retail will be allowed to operate at 20% of capacity.

• Outdoor gyms can continue to operate.

• The Farmers' Market is not affected.

Those of you who are keen of eye may notice that retail capacity actually went up from 10% to 20%. Santa Clara County had previously imposed a stricter standard than the state was requiring, but decided to go with the State's guidelines. From what we know of our county's public health department, it's surprising, but not as random as it appears. With no outdoor dining, there's a reduced chance of crowding (and you don't need to take your mask off to shop). For many of our shops, a 10% increase in capacity only means an extra 1 or 2 people are allowed into the shop at the same time.

Retail will still be limited to 10% this weekend though, but you'll have an opportunity to get a last chance outdoor meal, haircut, facial, color, or massage. The earliest the Shelter-in-Place can be lifted will be January 4th, 2021.

The only way that's going to happen is if we all do as epidemiologists have been telling us to do all along. Avoid gatherings with people outside...Read More

For those of you who got turkeyed by your turkey or need some emergency dining options, there are a few places in Downtown Campbell open limited hours today.

• Desi Indian Cuisine: 11:30am - 9:30pm
• La Pizzeria: 4-8:30pm
• Steepers: Noon - 4pm

As you probably know, Santa Clara County's Covid-19 risk status was changed from Moderate (Orange) to Widespread (Purple) on November 16 by an order of Santa Clara County's Public Health Department. Until recently, Santa Clara County had been looking like quite the success story of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy risk framework that's being used by the State of California. We had low infection counts and high testing rates that allowed us to progressively do a little more every month or so.

Then November hit. The infection count not only started going the wrong direction, but accelerated so fast in the wrong direction that the Santa Clara County Public Health Department skipped the formality of allowing everyone to have two weeks to turn things around before dropping back another tier. We were scheduled to go from Orange (Tier 3) to Red (Tier 2). Instead, we skipped right over the Red level and went straight back to the most restrictive level (Purple).

What exactly does going from Orange to Purple mean for places like Downtown Campbell?

• No indoor dining.
• No indoor entertainment venues.
• No indoor fitness classes or gyms.
• Bars can only operate as restaurants with alcohol and not as outdoor bars.
• Retail stores have a maximum capacity limit.

For the most part, things didn't change as much as one might fear. This is because California's risk framework had been adjusted repeatedly to allow other types of services to continue operating at the more restrictive levels as the risks of certain types of activities were judged to be not as great as initially thought once safety mitigations were enacted.

Originally, barbershops, salons, massage, and esthetician services could not be done at the Purple Tier. That changed first for barbershops and salons and was later also changed for personal services such as massage and estheticians.

There are limits to the number of people who are allowed to be shopping inside a retail store at any given time, but let's be frank. When we're talking about small retailers, most were seldom ever in little danger of exceeding their current capacity limits even in normal times.

This means that most of what you would want to access is still available. You can do all of the following under our current Purple level of risk:

• Dine outdoors
• Order take-out and order craft cocktails to go with it
• Shop at a retail store or order something for curbside pick-up
• Get a massage, a facial, a wax job, or a haircut

On November 21, 2020 there was an additional limited stay-at-home order issued by...Read More

From November 23rd through December 6th, donate blood at Stanford Blood Center and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a Nintendo Switch!

This week's move into the Purple Tier of the Covid-19 guidelines does not affect the planned re-opening of the Campbell Farmers' Market at the Campbell Community Center on Sunday, November 22nd (except that the maximum number of people allowed to be inside the market area may be more limited than usual).

To help keep the farmers and everyone else safe, you must observe the following safety guidelines:

• Use only the designated Entrance and Exit to the market.
• Obey capacity limits. You may need to wait your turn to enter the market area.
• Wearing a non-valved mask is mandatory at all times in the market.
• Maintain 6 ft distance from others
• Shop with your eyes; Buy what you touch.
• To minimize crowding, please leave kids at home and keep traffic flowing.
• No dogs permitted inside the market.
• Keep all picnic areas tidy.

Read all of UVFMs Covid19 Safety Protocols.

As many of you know Tessora's is a family run business. Carol, her two daughters Jenni & Nikki, and what have now become family in her team, have carried us through amazing times and what are now very trying times.

So, as we three ladies were talking after a long night’s shift and saying how without our amazing customers this year could be a lot worse, we asked ourselves what more we can do for you?

Normally every year for the past 11 years we have had a huge Thanksgiving eve party (boy are we really missing Hootenanny!). Obviously, we can’t have that party this year, so instead of sulking and feeling down we again though, what can we do for you? Then the idea came to us, Dinner...cook for the people that have helped us to stay in business. So, for the first time ever Tessora's is cooking a Thanksgiving feast for you to take home and enjoy.

We are taking pre-order for the dinner via our website where you can place an online order for pick up on Wednesday 11/24 between 5-8pm. You can also email Carol at [email protected]. All orders must be placed between 11/19-11/24, we will not take any orders after 7pm on 11/24.

To thank you for preordering and enjoying Tessora's at your dinner table this Thanksgiving we will place your name in a raffle. Carol will pull a name on Wednesday evening and you can win a bottle of wine!

Thank you for letting us be a part of your holiday this year!

Tessora's Thanksgiving Dinners To Go

• Tessora's Dinner 2-4 people $75
• Tessora's Feast 6-8 people $150

No Menu substation will be available

Bottle purchases of beer or wine will be available for purchase separately.

Thanksgiving Dessert are available for pre-oreder via Le Chef Sucre by Jenni Facebook page.

UPDATE: We're actually going straight to the Purple (widespread) risk tier. An updated announcement was made this morning by Santa Clara County Public Health that the situation has devolved enough that we're skipping right over the Red Tier. This information is now out of date. More updates coming later today.

It's never a good thing when Santa Clara County's Public Health department sends you an email that reads like this:

After multiple weeks with slowly rising case counts, Santa Clara County is now seeing a sudden and rapid spike in cases. The average daily case count has jumped 56% in the past week for which we have full data. Similarly, hospitalizations are on the rise...

For several weeks, Santa Clara County seemed to be defying the odds. Despite escalating infection rates in counties around us, we managed to keep our rates low enough to stay in the Orange Tier.

Changes to What's Allowed

Our good fortune has finally run out. Starting on Tuesday, November 17th, the following activities will no longer be permitted or have to follow more strict guidelines:

• Indoor dining is prohibited
• Indoor gyms and fitness centers maximum capacity drops to 10%
• Indoor retail maximum capacity at 50%
• Indoor entertainment centers prohibited
• Outdoor bars cannot sell alcohol without also serving food on the same order
• Indoor museums reduced capacity to 25%

In October, the State of California's Covid-19 risk reduction guidelines were updated to allow for personal services to remain open with modifications in the Red and Purple Tiers. You will still be able to get massages, facials, and haircuts.

Please Be Responsible... Super Responsible

In the late summer months as our infection counts pressed downward and we were allowed to resume more and more activities, a lot of people let their guards down. If we all return to being our most cautious and responsible selves, we just might be able to avoid stumbling all the way back to the most restrictive tier of California's risk reduction guidelines or at least keep our stay in the basement as short as possible.

That's going to start and end with wearing a mask at all times except when it's simply not possible to be wearing one and limiting your interaction with people from outside of your household as much as possible. The virus doesn't care how long you've known someone or if you're best friends with them.

You can be vigilant and still be good friends so keep your mask on, keep your distance, and be super responsible.

Just in time for the extended holiday shopping season in this Year of Our Pandemic, we've added a Gift Ideas Gallery to our website to help you shop our stores online. Keep an eye on the gallery because we'll be adding to it several times a week throughout the holiday season. You'll be pleasantly surprised at all the wondrous things packed into our mighty little Downtown.

You can use our Gift Ideas Gallery to help you browse our shops virtually and plan out your shopping in advance so you don't have to wander into every single store in search of the perfect token of your affection. In normal times, we'd have hot chocolate and a red carpet out to welcome you to explore every last shop your heart desires, but it's 2020. We want what's best for everyone's safety and sanity. We want to help you find what you're looking for so you can get back home and stay away from people you don't live with.

The Gift Ideas Gallery also might save you a trip entirely too. Many of the items featured in it are available directly online from the e-commerce stores of our retail shops. For the items that can't be purchased online, a phone call to the store is often all you need to order the item for store-front pick-up or delivery by mail.

Take Me to the Gift Ideas Gallery!