Market Place
Avery's given a last minute eviction notice
Gift store will move into temporary home in portable building
By Renee Canada
Things aren't looking so good at Avery's of California this Christmas. When we last spoke to them in September, the china gift store had announced its intention to relocate to Kirkwood Plaza in the spring of 2001. But thanks to a loss of their current lease at 3666 Stevens Creek Blvd., in San Jose, Avery's has had to scramble to vacate the premises earlier than they expected--by last Friday.
Avery's was just gearing up for they holiday shopping season when they received their 60-day notice on Sept. 18. A new Courtesy Chevrolet dealership is planned for the site, and General Motors told store that they had to leave.
Avery's was shocked to find out they might be homeless until their new location at 1600 W. Campbell Ave. is ready for occupancy in 2001.
"We were surprised because we thought we had at least through Christmas," President Nancy Trainor explained.
Avery's will move an abbreviated version of itself to a portable building in front of the construction site of their future home at Kirkwood Plaza. The store will have to temporarily scale down to a tenth of its current size, from 15,000 to 1,500 sq. ft.
Forced to liquidate inventory by up to 20 to 70 percent, Avery's had to downsize its holiday collection, as well. However, it still plans to offer uninterrupted service to their special order customers and registered brides, and to allow access to their most collectible holiday lines, such as Christopher Radko, Department 56 and Waterford.
Avery's had their last special event two weeks ago with a special appearance by Herr Christian Steinbach, a descendant of the family that started manufacturing nutcrackers in Germany in 1832. He was there to sign new designs from the Steinbach Factory, including a Scarecrow Nutcracker that is part of the Wizard of Oz collection.
With Avery's final day of business last Friday, Trainor had expected the new, temporary location in Campbell to be open to the public by Nov. 15, but she admits that might be a bit optimistic. To find out when they can head over to the new store for holiday shopping, contact the store at 408.984.111, or visit their website for updates at: www.averysofcalifornia.com.
Campbell, California
