New Taylor Farms building opens in Oldtown Salinas

The new Taylor Farms building is open in Oldtown Salinas. The company headquarters is being promoted as the centerpiece for the area. Other businesses in the area are staying open an extra couple of hours late to welcome their new neighbors to town. They are inviting all new employees as well as the public to come visit The Girls on Gabilian.

For the last two years, Crush Consignment has been a fixture in Oldtown Salinas, re-selling clothes. But owner Sylvia Fratangelo said Oldtown was losing its buzz.

“We’ve had a lull in the past few years so with the Taylor building coming up. It’s just really brought a whole new excitement to the area,” Fratangelo said.

We requested an interview with CEO Bruce Taylor. But Taylor Farms declined, sending a video press release with this pre-recorded statement.

“For me personally, I was born and raised here 59 years ago and I’ve kinda watched downtown deteriorate for those 59 years and yet Salinas for us from a business perspective is the key to our success. It’s the core growing area for all of our raw products, the core area for innovation, it’s got our headquarters. So I want to make sure Salinas is healthy,” Taylor said.

The new headquarters for Taylor Farms, all 100,000 square feet of it and adding an expected 150 employees to the mix.

“I think especially during the lunch hour we’re going to have a lot more people in Oldtown milling around, walking around enjoying the great restaurants and shops that are here, hopefully we’re doing a good job to keep their interest and their dollars here,” Fratangelo said.

The Oldtown Business Association said it’s on board, as offices, restaurants and retail will be a part of the building. For Fratangelo she hopes to welcome in her new neighbors, possibly turning them into new customers.

“We’re just excited and we’re hoping that not only the employees around the area and Taylor Farms join The Girls on Gabilan tonight but also the public is welcome,” Fratangelo said

Some people are sharing their opinions on social media, said while the building may look nice, maybe a parking garage would have been a better fit or even a large grocery store like Whole Foods. But in Oldtown Salinas Thursday evening, there were mostly positive vibes about what the new Taylor Farms headquarters means for the area.