Fair Oaks Developer Plans Large Village Retail and Foodie Complex

FAIR OAKS, CA (MPG) - If all goes according to plan, the empty parking lot and existing buildings (some vacant for years) at the east entrance into Fair Oaks Village at Winding Way, will showcase a multi-faceted food and retail complex by mid-to-late-summer.

Leon Corcos, resident and vice president of the Fair Oaks Village Enhancement Committee (FOVEC), now developer, said he purchased the buildings and adjacent parking lot that wrap the corner of Winding Way and Fair Oaks Boulevard in April of 2016 for $1.35 million.  His intention is to do for The Village what FOVEC and others have been simultaneously pushing for all along: Create a destination location for Fair Oaks, with a fresh menu of food, entertainment and retail choices to draw visitors from all corners of the region.  

Corcos is planning a large eat, shop and play project that encompasses six separate and existing buildings, including the former Russ Monroe’s funeral home, a 4,700-foot space he’s leased to prominent restauranteur, Sommer Peterson.  Peterson is co-owner of the wildly popular Mission Bowling Club in San Francisco.  According to Corcos, she intends to open a “Palm Springs” style restaurant in the space, with an outdoor patio and fire places, a bocce ball court and an open-air bar. 

“She’s an absolutely amazing restauranteur and what she’s planning here is going to be unbelievably popular,” said Corcos.  “She blows it out of the water.”

FOVEC is running up against a May deadline for gathering support for creation of a Public Business Improvement District for the Village to help fight blight, homelessness and crime, but also to attract a new mix of retail and food options to invigorate the area.  But FOVEC needs 51 percent approval from local business and property owners to get a PBID in place.  With a May deadline for doing so, coupled with a rather recalcitrant collection of business operators who oppose the idea, as well as a number of absentee property owners who can’t be reached, Corcos says there’s no time to sit and wait for a PBID’s viability.  The Village is crying out for more and he’s ready to make it happen.

“I moved to Fair Oaks in 1995 and I’ve watched over the years as The Village has struggled to get traction on trying to become more of a destination, a place to hang out and enjoy decent food and enjoy long after the sun goes down,” said Corcos.  “While I support the PBID 100 percent, I am not sure it’s going to ever happen.  So I bought the property with intention of seeing that this spot is earmarked for a revitalization.  My goal is to be the person that steps up and does something to make this happen now.”

Next door to the funeral home is a 1,800-square foot building Corcos has leased to a boutique marketing firm, currently operating in Sacramento.  On the opposite side of the lot is a two-story building, formerly home to the RE: Boutique.  Corcos has leased the 1,800 square foot space downstairs to a team of new restauranteurs who have pulled permits to bring in a bar and grill offering artisan burgers, sandwiches and craft brews. 

The upstairs “loft” space, roughly the same size footprint as the lower space, says Corcos, could potentially be leased to a “Hacker Lab,” or communal work space for start-ups.

Corcos also owns the buildings around the corner on Fair Oaks Boulevard that currently house Sherwood Florist, under new ownership, and Carisma Salon, which he said will be closing at the end of February.  He is hoping to bring a new coffee house into that space.

Capping the project, said Corcos, will be multiple outdoor seating areas at both eateries on the main lot, with lighting and “destination” features that will draw customers in.  Also, plenty of parking.

“When this is all said and done, it will be a huge draw and we will see this entire area completely transformed,” Corcos said.

Meanwhile, Corcos is not the only game in town working to expand food and drink options in the Village.  Gary Juels, who opened up the Fair Oaks Brew Pub across from the park in 2015, has purchased the building next door that housed the Regent Street Salon.  He is not confirming whether it will be a restaurant or perhaps a shop offering supplies for home brewers, nor would he discuss an opening date.  He is currently in a construction phase.

Juels confirmed he also has purchased the storied but shuttered Slocum House, which has been a through a few iterations over the last several years.  He said it was too soon to discuss his plans for the property, largely because of the myriad uncertainties that can and usually do go hand-in-hand with the county and local permitting process.

“I wish I could say more but right now it’s just too soon,” Juels said. 

Two doors down in the space formerly home to Village Bistro is the Wild Rooster Bistro, an upscale Mexican eatery that opened in fall of 2017.  West on Fair Oaks is O Café, which opened in early January, by French-born Chef Christophe Jusseaume.  O Café occupies the space formerly home to Dianda’s Italian Bakery and Café.

While permitting issues are bound to play a role in Corcos’ project, he says he’s ready to do battle with the red tape.  He admits to having lost money on his development already, due to the fact most of the buildings on the lot have been sitting vacant for some time.  But with or without a PBID in place, he’s banking on The Village’s future and has taken his time pinning down just the right mix of retail and restaurant operations needed to elevate its status from a quaint “shopping” hamlet to an essential food and retail mecca.

“While they are popular, we don’t need any more antique stores,” said Corcos.  “I know what will work and, while I’ve taken a hit with my buildings remaining empty for a while, I’m playing the long shot and I think that by summer people are going to see this part of the Village absolutely come alive.”