Novato’s vision for making the city a center for biotech has lingered. While Marin’s northernmost berg will likely never rival San Diego, South San Francisco or Boston, when it comes to getting life science companies to settle in, it recently took a step toward growing the companies already here.
The city put together parameters allowing those in Novato Industrial Park near Bel Marin Keyes to expand. The city’s move makes sense, considering the population of companies in the area including BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN), Ultragenyx Company (RARE), Raptor Pharmaceuticals, Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX), Marin Biologic Laboratories Inc. and Sutter Instruments. The city council approved the measure 3-1 on May 24.
Marin’s never been a place filled with smokestacks or manufacturing plants and that isn’t an accident. The county is an interesting mix of wealth, education and good intentions. Life science jobs pay well and don’t pollute so they are right down the middle of the fairway when it comes to desired growth of industry.
Novato and Marin County understand only too well that a number of companies have chosen to move to other locations when they couldn’t grow in a meaningful way.
That beer train keeps on runnin’…
The old train depot in downtown Novato has been waiting patiently since the city acquired it from SMART in 2012. Proposals for the one-acre property at 695 Grant Ave. have come and gone over the years until the city agreed to negotiate with the San Francisco Beer Company, which wishes to put an outdoor beer garden on the site.
The company currently has a location at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco that boasts 14 regular and seasonal beer choices, along with five honoring the Golden State Warriors and their playoff chase. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner, as well as brunch on the weekends.
The proposed eatery is seen as a family-friendly place and the city believes a design will come to the city council in 2023. The company had an earlier version of the beer garden, but scrapped those plans after the city said it would only lease it.
But the street closing grounds to a halt almost…
Still in Novato, the city experimented with a limited closing of Grant Avenue between Manchin and Reichert on Friday night to Sunday, April to November. But the closing was a mixed bag at best and now is set for the first Friday only of each month from May to September.
The traffic closure was designed to stimulate foot traffic for merchants and restaurants dealing with changing business environment due to Covid.
With only five days closed to traffic to keep track of, it will be interesting to see if Novato reaches out to the impacted merchants to gauge the program. Such a move makes sense, which is why it’s almost certain the city won’t bother.
Your Marin moment
It’s with a low spirit and a full glass I report winemaker, language master, art appreciator and raconteur Sean Thackrey has slipped this mortal coil. Thackery died May 30 after battling cancer for the better part of a decade.
The Bolinas resident came to winemaking the way he embraced everything else in his life, sucking up knowledge while at the same time turning a wary eye towards what was easy or convenient. While Thackery was never going to go toe to toe with the largest names in Napa and Sonoma, they all knew who he was and more importantly the beautiful wines he produced via purchased grapes and a tiny operation out of his property on Horseshoe Hill Road in Bolinas.
Up until last month, Thackrey a life-long scholar, had the most expansive wine book library in the world. He sold the collection in May for $2 million.
When it came to the making his wines, Thackrey was not marching to the beat of a different drummer, he had a whole orchestra playing, while he glided along on a skateboard. He loved Syrah and Rhone varietals and no blend was out of bounds as he shaped his wines. He’s best known for his annual Pleiades, a blend that was different every year. It was always interesting, mostly delicious and found in the Bay Area. He also produced Orion, a wonderful red that sold out at $100 plus a bottle. I was introduced to Thackrey’s wine by friends and after that I took to looking for it, rejoicing when I found Pleiades at Whole Foods, where we splurged on half a dozen bottles and guarded it from the likes of Dodger fans and Trump supporters.
While it’s always polite to say the dead will be missed, in this case it’s too true.
