During these unconventional times, businesses have had to be innovative and creative in order to overcome the decline in business due to the pandemic. One successful example of perseverance is the Mission Bar, a minority woman-owned business in Downtown Santa Ana. Owner, Vanessa Pozzobon, opened Mission Bar in 2017, which has done well over the past three years, until the pandemic forced her to close for over 8 weeks. Full business closure is financially devastating and Vanessa approached City staff about creating a pop-up Food Island in the parking lot adjacent to Mission Bar. Fortunately, the City of Santa Ana approved Executive Order 5-2020 to allow for outdoor dining and Resolution 2020-055 that allowed for mobile food vending in certain city-owned parking lots. Both initiatives assisted with the launch of a very successful Food Island for Mission Bar, where people can enjoy food and drinks outdoors. Mission Bar has taken this opportunity a step further to assist other businesses in the area. Recently, Vanessa began incorporating different types of food trucks and restaurants from Downtown, such as Pizza Press and Next Round. This model has positively activated an underutilized parking lot keeping Mission Bar’s business going, and sharing the business opportunities with other restaurants in Downtown. Below are before and after photos.
