Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Oakville Grocery wants to serve food and wine

By Jeff Kearns

Oakville Grocery will come to the Planning Commission on Feb. 11 seeking approval of a combined specialty food and wine store and cafe-style restaurant. Oakville, which is based in Napa County, has already signed a lease for space in Old Town.

"We've been trying to get into Los Gatos for years, and we've finally found a space large enough and suitable for our use," Oakville owner Steve Carlin said.

Oakville will serve pizzas, sandwiches and salads, as well as sell gourmet foods and specialty cooking supplies.

The 5,000-square-foot cafe will probably have about 50 seats, both indoors and outdoors, general manager Richard Tarlov said. He hopes to open for business sometime in July.

The amount of seats, however, may be limited by parking concerns. To determine the maximum number of seats allowed in a restaurant, the town looks at the number of parking spaces at the site and the proposed use for the property.

Oakville currently is working out the details of parking allotments with California Cafe, which leases the space next door.

Oakville's plans to have a wine-tasting bar in the store may be subject to a conditional-use permit, which could regulate the serving size of wine sold at the bar. Customers drinking wine at the bar would be required to order food as well, town planner Sandy Baily said.

The Los Gatos cafe will be the fifth location for Oakville, which has stores in Healdsburg, Palo Alto, Walnut Creek and Oakville, Napa County.

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