Q&A with Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce Board President Erin Mewes

As the northernmost city in Sonoma County, Cloverdale is used to a slower way of life. Some county people pejoratively have referred to it as “Clovertucky” to describe this ideal.

In recent years, however, with the real estate industry booming all over the county, Cloverdale has come of age. The city has made infrastructure improvements. New businesses have moved in. A husband-and-wife duo swooped in and restored the movie theater. Visitors are no longer just passing through Cloverdale on their way to Mendocino; now they’re making it a destination. Local business owner Erin Mewes is president of the board of directors of the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce and has watched this transformation unfold.

We asked the Mewes, who has been on the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce for four years, what makes Cloverdale about the town’s growth and what comes next.

Q: What businesses do you own and how long have you lived in Cloverdale?

A: I own two retail stores: a women’s clothing boutique called Erin Mavis and a modern five-and-dime called Heart City. The latter one is an all-ages gift store. I moved here five years ago.

Q: How would you describe Cloverdale to someone who has never visited?

A: It’s really quiet. It’s very simple. It’s a small local community. Over the last five to 10 years we have a lot of Bay Area transplants moving in, especially to the River Road vineyard properties. Cloverdale today is similar to what Healdsburg was back in the 1990s — a local, little-tourism sort of town. That’s what makes it charming. People tend to think Cloverdale is very far away because they don’t drive the extra 13 minutes it takes to get here from Healdsburg. It would be nice if people didn’t consider it quite so far.

Q: This notion of Cloverdale being a rural outpost has prompted some to use the phrase, ‘Clovertucky.’ How do you feel about that phrase?

A: Some people don’t like it, but I think it’s been embraced by locals. We have a local brewpub (the Railroad Station Bar & Grill) that has a ‘Clovertucky Special’ on their menu. It’s a fried chicken dinner. We try to have fun with it.

Q: What’s the business climate in Cloverdale like today?

A: We are very fortunate to have a really strong local following. Cloverdale is a little bit removed from the rest of the county geographically. People don’t want to get on the 101 to head north to Ukiah or south to Santa Rosa so people are really grateful and supportive of the local businesses that we have in town. A lot of downtown improvements have revolved around the Silverwood Building, which Barry Hoffner purchased in 2017 and renovated over two years after. That building runs from Cloverdale Boulevard almost the entirety of First Street. It has a large parking lot in the back. Hoffner renovated the building to house all sorts of new retail and restaurants. I wanted to be part of the project, and that’s where my shops are today. The building also has the Trading Post Restaurant, a yoga studio, an insurance office and our local print shop. There’s one more space available, too.

Q: How much more change do you expect to see in downtown Cloverdale?

A: We have a few vacant spaces in the downtown district. We would love for people to take those. Most of the spaces are leased. The old bank building – we’ve been looking forward to something happening in there. Permits have been pulled for a big project, and the wheels are in motion for something to open there.

Q: What role do you see tourism playing in Cloverdale’s future?

A: We certainly would like more tourism dollars. We don’t want to become crazy busy with tourism, but we are very excited about the tourism we think is going to start coming in. We have a large beautiful Victorian home that just opened as a bed and breakfast, the Simon Pinschower House. That was purchased by Ken Wilson, from the Wilson Winery family. They own multiple buildings in town. There are a lot of other projects going on that will be good for us. We have a lot of day tourism in Cloverdale but not a lot of overnight tourism. We get a lot of bicycle tourism, and a lot of people stop here on their way to Mendocino — they make it a tradition to stop at Pick’s for a burger or Plank for coffee.

Q: How important is building local business as well — that is, business among locals?

A: It truly is important. Tourism dollars are good but I don’t think we need tourism to survive. I’ve been a retailer for 30 years, the key to success and longevity is local business. And I know a lot of businesses here invest heavily in that. When you talk about serving local customers, it comes down to a few things: loyalty, relationships, philanthropy, sponsoring sports teams. Working with locals means creating a relationship where the community knows you support them and they in turn support you. Social media has been good for that as well — I have a national audience on social media but I target my locals through social media daily. The chamber does a good job of promoting local businesses on social media, too.

Q: What role do you see the Chamber of Commerce playing over the next five years?

A: The chamber will continue to be involved. During COVID-19 we took on the role of helping members with loans. Our local chamber also is responsible for events and festivals — the annual car show, the winter festival, our July 4 parade. We’ll be here to support our businesses however we can. One of the things we’ve been doing is helping businesses with social media; we offer free tutorials where members can learn how to create Instagram and Facebook pages. That way they can get their names out there. We have an active group of businesses in our chamber and I see that continuing.

Q: Looking forward, what are the biggest challenges facing Cloverdale in the years ahead?

A: I think the biggest challenge is to let the rest of the county know that we have so much to offer. We’re not that far away. If people want to get out of the busy climate where they live and come see what we’re about, then that’s amazing, come on up. Beyond that I think it’s important for us to just keep the relationships we have with folks who have been here a while and build new relationships with the newcomers so everyone feels like they are part of something special.