When we built the Palo Alto knOwhere Store we envisioned a Store that was open to the street and embraced it. We believed the Midtown Shopping area would change and become a community-focused version of University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. We designed and built our Store, with it's folding-back doors and opening dome, to be a living, walk-in marketplace for 21st Century knowledge-workers. We are a long way, yet, from this vision and so is Midtown. But knOwhere and Midtown are coevolving together, on the way to establishing a vital community that will work for everyone in the coming years.

Yet today, we are faced with a movement to formulate and pass a City Ordinance to bring "neighborhood-serving" retail space back to the Midtown Shopping area that could threaten our business. We believe there is a general lack of understanding of our purpose here in Palo Alto and a misunderstanding of our business model. We believe the trajectory the community is on will continue with or without knOwhere and that this path will require a whole new definition of community-serving.

We acknowledge we are the ones most responsible for these misunderstandings. This letter is only the opening round of our efforts to improve communication and to work more vigorously, with the community, to create a future that works for us all.

What follows are some comments about various aspects of our situation, an explanation of what the knOwhere Store is as a concept and where we are going, and last, an offer of our capabilities to help facilitate a creative and sustainable solution.

Community-Serving Shopping and Effectiveness of Ordinances

Needed: an Objective Definition of Community-Serving

The Palo Alto knOwhere Store

A Personal Note from our Founders

Our History of Community Support

Recommendations