Community space in City Heights reopens

The public open space called Fair@44 in City Heights that often featured food vendors, community organizations and outdoor events will reopen Saturday after a yearlong hiatus caused by the pandemic.

The grand reopening of the lot on El Cajon Boulevard takes place 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be complementary tastings from food vendors, prizes and live entertainment by local performers. The space offers outdoor seating and digital menus.

Guests will be encouraged to wear masks and practice social distancing while on the lot, organizers said.

“We are trying to be safe and trying to get back to a sense on normalcy,” said Darnelle Williams, who operates a coffee cart inside Fair@44. As vaccine efforts continue across Sab Diego county, all kinds of businesses and organizations are reopening. The county moved to the red tier on the state’s reopening blueprint last week, allowing more businesses to open.

Fair@44 is a former vacant lot that was transformed into a community space in 2017 by a group of nonprofits known as the City Heights Economic Development Collaborative. The group focuses on economic development and community engagement.

The lot serves as a business hub for local entrepreneurs and community events. Since its inception Fair@44 has provided space for dozens of events and food vendors, including the coffee cart The Dojo Café.

The café closed and the outdoor events were canceled last year because of the pandemic, so instead Fair@44 became a hub for a weekly fruit and produce distribution for City Heights residents.

Beryl Forman, marketing and mobility coordinator with the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association, said the lot’s reopening is exciting. The Dojo Café coffee cart has been the heart and soul of Fair@44 because of its work with community and students, she said.

Williams is leasing The Dojo Café from founder Carlos McCray in an attempt to bring the public space back to life, he said.