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Patio Concepts by Helm locates on LG Boulevard
By Don Callahan
On the Boulevard ... Helm of Sun Valley, longtime ski and patio specialists in Santa Clara Valley, have opened their third store at 15736 Los Gatos Blvd. Although the other two stores carry winter sports items in the winter and patio furniture in the summer, the Los Gatos store will only carry patio furniture year-round under the name Patio Concepts by Helm. Eric Plane, owner, and Stu Nuttall and Kim Tackwell, managers, are all longtime Los Gatos residents. "We opened on the Memorial Day weekend and our sales have continued to be outstanding," according to Nuttall.
Ask Jeeves ... The helpful butler "Jeeves" has spread his wings from his headquarters in Emeryville. The Ask Jeeves company has opened a Decision Lab in Los Gatos where it does resource and development work as a part of its ecommerce branch. The office is located at 335 N. Santa Cruz Ave. If you have not heard of Jeeves, check out his site at www.ask.com. He usually has the answer.
Local vintagers ... Firefall Vineyards, owned by Los Gatos residents Robert and Laurie Jones, is located in the Sierra foothills region in El Dorado County, but the headquarters and sales office are right here in Los Gatos. Robert is a third-generation grape grower and he "... dreamed of creating estate-grown wines that made people excited to enjoy them with family and friends," according to his wife, Laurie. She continues, "We are extremely small, 1500 estate-grown cases per vintage, but of the highest quality. My husband and I have created our winery literally from the dirt up." The hope is that the winery will become the full-time business for these two vintagers.
The old and the new ... Somerset Auctions Inc. has moved its corporate offices just down and across the street from 330 to 225A N. Santa Cruz Ave. The corporate offices were moved to Los Gatos in 1995. The warehouse facility is still in Santa Clara where it has been for the last 25 years. "Home decor and antique items are what we put up for auction," according to Mel La Russa, vice president. "We do 50 auctions a year each in Northern California and Southern California. We have put on an auction at Fisher Middle School for many years. We rent the gymnasium and it has become a big community event with a large following. As a matter of fact, this year's auction will be on July 2."
Virtual tours ... Although founded in Los Gatos in 1997, Realtyvision has just moved to its new location at 635 N. Santa Cruz Ave. To quote their brochure, "Realtyvision is devoted to high quality visualization of real estate on the World Wide Web through the use of "Virtual Tours." Our virtual tours include a 360-degree panoramic view and a multi-photograph walk-through." Although this is a great tool for the real estate agents in the area, you, as a potential buyer, will be able to do your "walking" through the "Virtual Tours."
Life's passion ... Recently Tammy Winter joined Julie Larsen as an owner of Body Firm, a physical fitness center with personal training. Winter was an officer in an escrow/title company and decided she had enough of work with no internal satisfaction. Since she kept herself in good physical condition and has a passion for the quality of life that goes with feeling good about yourself, she decided to change professions. According to Larsen, Winter was out of town at this writing, "Julie is as happy as can be and truly enjoys helping others feel good about their physical being." Larsen's is another Garage story. She started Body Firm in 1985 with exercise classes in her garage. Now, off the courtyard at 51 University Ave., Body Firm has a full line of exercise equipment and two personal trainers.
Breathe easy--help is on the way--That's the tag line for Barbra (Toren) Drizin's new company, O2 Staffing & Training. As many may remember, Barbra was the executive director of the Downtown Association. Back in Los Gatos, Drizin is in the business of placing executive administrators, receptionists, customer-service persons, accountants and other general office support staff. Finding there is a dearth of competent receptionists, Drizin has created a Reception Basic Training course she offers to employers and potential receptionists. Topics offered include communication and customer-service skills, teamwork, motivation and inspiration techniques, stress management and appearance and presentation manners.
On the move ... California Fencing Academy has left its longtime home at 459 N. Santa Cruz Ave. for a shopping center spot at 5289 Prospect Road., Units A & B in the Westgate West Shopping Center. According to Maestro Daniel Tibbetts, owner, "This is one of those good and bad stories. The bad is that we are being forced out because of a huge rent increase. Our lease was up for renewal and the new owners of the building wanted $2.95 per square foot and we were paying $1.55. That took the rent from $4,200 per month to over $8,000 per month. Having been a resident in Los Gatos for over eight years and a downtown business owner for over six years made the move even tougher. The good news is that the radius of our market has expanded tremendously. Life moves on and I hold no ill will toward the new landlord in Los Gatos. Business is business. I just hope the trend of rent increases does not drive too many businesses out of town."
Got a business item for Don Callahan's column? Contact him by fax at 408.354.2741, or by email: decallahan@home.com.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
