If you're just passing through or you call this town your home, Downtown Turlock has a lot to offer. It has its traditional downtown shops like thrift stores, restaurants, and bars but what really stands out are the spots that most people overlook.

The first stop you should check out is at 10 East Kitchen & Tap House. It’s a great restaurant for lunch and dinner. Even though the building itself is facing Central Park & Turlock Chamber of Commerce, I didn't realize that this was a restaurant for years. It doesn't blend in or anything, I mean there's a train caboose that is attached to the building as a private seating area, but it was still overlooked.

The atmosphere is overall great, not so much a bar or pub but a higher end restaurant with prices not too high. Not too many kids inside so it's a nice place for a date night, birthday dinner, or some other celebration. I'd highly suggest the 10 East Nachos or the Loaded Beer Cheese Fries. Simply delicious.

After lunch you can walk down W Main St. towards Lander to get some cookies at Lisa's Cookie Jar. Now before Crumble Cookies came to Turlock, this small mom and pop shop was the go-to place. Sadly, with the competition, Lisa has not been able to keep up with those big numbers. It really is sad to see a small business struggle so whenever I'm downtown I try to pop in and get a few cookies for later.

If I were to compare the two, I'd say Crumble is a very sweet version of any cookie I've had. They're frosting hurts my teeth and instantly gives me a sugar high. While on the other hand, Lisa's Cookie Jar goes down smooth and the chewy texture is worth the trip. Being a smaller shop, it really feels like you're visiting your aunt's house and she just baked some sweet cookies for you to try. The colors inside are warm and cozy, workers are welcoming, overall, a great place to relax and enjoy someone's company.

With the rise of online shopping, food delivery services like DoorDash, and of course Covid, most downtown shops were hit pretty hard. The number of customers depleted and since reopening, most stores have been struggling to get back to where they were prior to 2020. That being said, it is our duty to support our local businesses and help our small-town economy thrive.

Turlock Self Storage

I always make it a habit to go to the smaller mom and pop shops and buy something. I don't have to break the bank but at least a few bucks. Like they say, a few dollars goes a long way. I usually go to the thrift/antique stores when I’m downtown but lately I’ve had so many different things that I've been collecting that it's made it hard to find storage. But thankfully Turlock recently got our own Turlock Self Storage to help with all of my and your space needs. No more closets filled to the brim with boxes and boxes of stuff. I will say Turlock, judging off the amount of thrift/antique shops and the flea market, has a good amount of hoarders here. I am one of them, proudly. That being said, TSS has helped out so much and if you’re like me and live to collect everything and anything, I'd highly suggest looking into their low prices for their units!