Just six years ago, cowboys drove a herd of 30 longhorn cattle past banks and breweries in downtown Santa Rosa to herald the start of the county fair. Wine Country’s biggest city has been “kind of an overgrown cow town,” Mayor Mark Stapp said.
But Santa Rosa is fast changing.
This urban center on Highway 101 just over an hour north of San Francisco is attracting a new type of premium brand. Fashion retailers Anthropologie, Vuori and Warby Parker. Disneyland-famous Salt & Straw ice cream. Southwest Airlines. Publicly-traded Shake Shack. And, perhaps soon, driverless Waymo robotaxi service…