During the 1920s, only three brands of chain-stores existed in America: Woolworth’s, A&P Groceries and United Cigar Stores. Today, chain-name restaurants, department stores and hotels dominate most city environments and popular tourist destinations. It is easy for consumers to find their favorite fast-food burgers, carbon-copy designer jeans and lodgings that feel like home in most American cities; however, it is harder to find delicious regional foods, one-of-a-kind artisan furnishings or lodging in boutique hotels.

Sausalito : An Exciting Alternative to Chains

While other communities were modernizing to include chain-name establishments during the 1960s, the San Francisco Bay community of Sausalito was offering inexpensive rents, empty commercial buildings and residential land for sale for development. During World War II, Sausalito was crowded with wartime shipbuilding activities; then, the war ended. After the war, ferry boats stopped services to Sausalito and community growth waned. As time passed, the City of Sausalito became an artist’s haven, removed from big city trends.

During the 1970s, after ferry service was restored, the commercial sections of Sausalito were established with family-owned restaurants, artist-owned boutique shops and fine hotels that did not belong to a chain-name club. The City of Sausalito covers about two-square-miles of land; the chain stores and franchises did not replace the locally owned businesses along this section of the San Francisco Bay. Today, Sausalito offers a unique small town environment that attracts thousands of visitors into the community each year.

Sausalito Foods:

Dining in Sausalito offers an exciting alternative to chain-name burgers. Residents and visitors dine on savory regional foods, snack on freshly made pastries and enjoy wines created nearby in local vineyards. For children there are real ice cream sundaes, teens enjoy the live music with meals and adults can experience foods from many lands that are not being created to match popular franchise requirements. Sausalito offers unique and boutique-style dining adventures that come with or without quality live entertainments.

Sausalito Stores:

Sausalito is a waterfront artist community; it is possible to find scrimshaw, tour a pottery factory or browse for hours among specialty shops, art galleries and artisan displays. In this town along the San Francisco Bay, many of the consumer stores are locally owned. Each owner supplies their unique tastes, display techniques and choices of inventory so that no two stores or boutique shops are alike. When people are searching for excellent bargains in distinctive interior fashions or exclusive gifts, Sausalito is the place to shop.

Sausalito Hotels:

Boutique hotels are thought of as the best choices in lodging by many global travelers. The hotels that are not copies in a chain of identical locations are free to offer old-time personalized services, extended room luxuries and package deals or bargains that are structured to include local attractions or discounts that cannot be offered under a chain environment. Sausalito has historic hotels, upper-quality waterfront lodging options and a large variety of owner-offered vacation rentals on houseboats or inside of private homes.

Come Visit Sausalito!

Sausalito can be the perfect location for celebration meals, weekend shopping excursions or family mini-vacations. This beautiful location offers small-town charms at every turn, offered to visitors freely. While in town, people enjoy walking between galleries, shops and eateries; or, bicycling from place-to-place. Visitors can schedule historic waterfront walking tours, enjoy the popular Discovery Museum for Children or easily access nearby points of interest throughout Marin County. For a small-town treat, come visit Sausalito!