Merced economic update: More entertainment spots returning, plus new Dutch Bros opening
With the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in Merced County and statewide this week, more local businesses who halted in-person operations during the pandemic are slowly coming back.
Plus, a few new businesses are also setting up shop, hoping to benefit as life slowly moves closer to normal.
Topping the list of things happening this week, one of Merced’s most popular bars and nighttime entertainment spots is scheduled to open its doors for the first time since closing in March last year.
The Partisan will open this Saturday, bringing back live music back to downtown Merced starting at 7:30 p.m.
The show features local bands Early Empires and Good Time Diner. Travis Strang, who owns local record store Tigers & Daggers, will also be playing records throughout the night.
The Partisan over the years has established itself as a smaller venue to catch acts in an intimate setting.
Partisan co-owner RC Essig says it’s a great feeling to return after more than a year.
“The thought that we can start opening up our stage to the community and once again be able to bring live independent arts to The Partisan, that we opened in 2007, is a breath of fresh air that I feel lucky to still be able to take,” Essig said.
Plus, the 17th Street Public House, a local bar that’s also co-owned by Essig, will be reopening on Tuesday, June 22 with a 12-tape takeover from Modern Times Brewing.
Essig says he and his partners weren’t comfortable opening their establishments until they felt it was safe to do so for their staff and their customers.
“For the last 15 months, we have been so worried about the health of our community. And though we are not out of the woods yet, there is this sense of relief knowing that those who are willing to get the vaccination have had the opportunity,” Essig said.
“There is no way we could have expected our staff to jump behind the bar until they had the option to be protected.”
Saturday’s show at The Partisan has already sold out.
The Partisan is also scheduled to have a Pride party on June 26. Essig says The Partisan will also bring back weekly events like Braingazm on Wednesday evenings.
The Star Club, another local bar that also features live music, posted on social media they reopened last weekend.
The post said live bands are not back yet, but will be returning soon.
Live music hasn’t returned just yet to the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre. However, the center is open again, showing family films, including some which are free to the public.
Downtown community theater will soon be returning too, as Playhouse Merced recently announced its 2021-22 schedule is set to resume in September.
The reopening of local bars and nightlife comes after California officially reopened on Tuesday, as Merced County moved from business and capacity limitations in orange Tier 3 of the state’s four-tiered coronavirus blueprint to an atmosphere of full reopening of most economic activity.
Bars that were closed entirely under the more restrictive purple Tier 1 and red Tier 2 of the reopening blueprint, and open outdoors only under the orange tier, can now resume normal indoor operations.
Second Dutch Bros opening in Merced
Merced’s second Dutch Bros location is set to open on Friday, according to City of Merced Director of Economic Development Frank Quintero.
The new Dutch Bros is located at 575 West Olive Ave., where the old Pizza Hut building was located. The coffee shop will open at 5 a.m. Friday.
Merced’s first Dutch Bros, located at 2005 East Childs Avenue, opened March last year.
The new Dutch Bros is on one of a number of new businesses coming Merced in the near future. Many of the new businesses are in the construction phase.
Another Taco Bell is coming to Merced. It will be located on the southwest corner of Yosemite Parkway and Parsons Ave.
Chicken Shack is still under construction at 560 West Olive. The restaurant offers fried chicken, chicken strips and wings.
Bitwise is renovating a building on the corner of West Main Street and M Street. Bitwise is a Valley technology company geared toward making it easier for low income citizens to get a tech-based education.
Bitwise is expected to provide a tech-centered workspace for budding entrepreneurs and startup companies to accompany its education component, called Geekwise Academy. The academy trains people in coding and other skills highly-sought in the job market.
