Downtown Really is the Sweetest: A love letter to shopping local
By Paso Robles Press · Fri Dec 12 2025
We are deeply grateful to be a part of downtown Paso in our 13th holiday season at General Store PR. Our first holiday, we had no idea what to expect. We were knocked out by how many people came to Elegant Evening, underestimated by about a million yards how much ribbon we’d need, and made the wishful-but-impractical choice of wearing boots and sweaters on December 24. With a broken AC and the athleticism required for speed gift-wrapping, we nearly melted. A few days before that Christmas Eve, we ventured back to the store room, hoping to discover an emergency stash of cocoa … anything to fill the shelves. We found a stockpile of bagged woodchips, made by our candlemaker’s husband, forgotten after the summer grill season had ended. “WOODCHIPS! Today, we will be offering woodchips!” We gleefully/nervously put them on a shelf trimmed with pinecones, cranked up the Tony Bennett, and hoped for the best.
This year, we are well-stocked with everything from SLO County Farm Bureau Bean Soup Mix to peppermint maltballs. A lot has changed since our first holiday, but one thing that hasn’t: our appreciation for the trust you place in us to bring joy to holiday gifting.
And just in case you’re thinking of shopping online, we thought we’d remind you why coming downtown is so much more fun!
1. The lights in the park. Really, when are the Hallmark movie crews showing up?!
2. Popping in to Just Baked for a sweet treat
3. Real, non-AI interactions with live people
4. Smelling the tuberose or cedar in a candle before you gift it
5. Ziggy’s fries to fend off the mid-afternoon energy dip
6. Festive windows (Emily at Firefly always does something artful and gorgeous, and we have little mice with General Store aprons in ours!)
7. Small businesses, owned by friends and neighbors
8. Finding that white elephant gift when you only have two hours until the party starts
9. The "a-ha" of pulling together things you never would have thought to search for online
10. Finishing the day with a bev in hand by the glow of the firepit at the Backyard
It’s a pretty charming place we all get to live in. To our guests and neighbors, our families, our team … thank you for another joyful holiday.
The Team at General Store Paso Robles
PASO ROBLES PRESS MAGAZINE
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