Aiming to elevate the food scene in Lodi

Editor: Interesting article in Sacramento Bee on Sunday concerning small town dining. The town of Winters earned national attention finishing fourth in a USA Today’s 2018 list of the country’s best small town food scenes.

Imagine this metropolis (population 7,000) garnering kudos for its restaurants, cafes, shops and beer houses. Winters’ population nearly triples on weekends as customers come from Sacramento and the Bay Area to spend their money. We here in Lodi have the wineries and brew houses but are woefully lacking in quality restaurants in the numbers needed to entice tourists. (I know, we have Dancing Fox, Rosewood, Pietro’s, Zen Bistro, M Sushi and others but we have lost businesses like Fenix.)

Lodi seems to place roadblocks on businesses that want to expand while allowing the ubiquitous chain food factories to populate like rabbits. There is light on the horizon but we need more eateries, inns, hotels and shops to keep tourists in town for more than just a day. What business wouldn’t appreciate increased foot traffic, but our city seems to hang out its red stop sign whereas Winters will encourage proposals and figure out the particulars later.

Winters has created a dining culture and it can be attributed to its leadership at the city manger’s level. We lack those elements needed to complete a successful tourist destination. I encourage Lodians to read the article in Sunday’s Sac Bee (Life & Style section).

Who knows: it’s possible Lodi might even decorate the downtown area for the holidays. DUANE WAHL Lodi