Local businesses close for a variety of reasons By Shari
Kaplan Despite their
locations on Los Gatos' two busiest arteries, N. Santa Cruz Avenue and Los Gatos Boulevard, many
local businesses have nonetheless shut their doors, leaving empty storefronts for future tenants and
fond memories for past customers. Why
have so many businesses gone out over the past year? Every situation is unique, but there are a few
common reasons: retirement, owners moving, low revenues and high rent. The economy's slow-but-sure
recession and the collapse of many Silicon Valley firms also play a hand, according to Stephen
Conway, finance and administrative services director for the town of Los Gatos. "There's a ripple effect that can affect the
town," he says. "When people don't feel as secure about the economy, they're less likely to spend
extra money at retail stores." The
town's business licensing department does not require owners to say why they are closing shop; they
simply give notice that they're no longer doing business. The town also does not organize closed
business files in a year-by-year format. "For our economic health, maybe we should track that information in the future. The town's
finances are closely intermingled with those of the businesses," he says. Conway says he does
believe, however, that Los Gatos provides a favorable environment for businesses. It's certainly been that way for Los Gatan
Janee McKinney, who for 25 years has run a specialty shop called Bears in the Wood at 59 N. Santa
Cruz Ave. She, husband Howard and their mascot, Bosco the bear-like Bernese Mountain Dog, have been
saying their final farewells for the past month and are closing shortly. For McKinney, business was great, but
retirement sounded better. "One lady came in here and said, 'OK, what did your rent go up to?' It
has nothing to do with that," she explains. She says she briefly considered selling her cozy bear-filled store, "But I just couldn't
do it because of all the love and personal integrity we've put into it. If new owners changed it, or
sold junk, it would embarrass me because people would still associate the store with me." In her retirement, McKinney will help her
husband with his own business, Fish About, which organizes exotic worldwide fishing expeditions. She
also wants to be a "stay-at-home mom" for Bosco. Another couple, Mo and Pam Ghayoumi, are moving out of the area and decided
to sell their business, Juicy Burger, 217 N. Santa Cruz Ave., according to John Rahmani, founder of
the hamburger chain. He also says the
Ghayoumis reported that although business was "excellent at the beginning," it was only "average" in
recent years. The lease has already been taken over by someone who plans to turn it into an Asian
eatery, Rahmani says. Another
business leaving the west side of N. Santa Cruz Avenue is Images of Nature, which showcased the
nature photography of Thomas Mangelsen. One of many licensed galleries in the United States, it and
another in Palo Alto were owned by Tom and Linda Hunter, who decided to retire from the gallery
business after their lease was up.
According to Images of Nature company president Dana Henricksen, the company considered taking over
these Bay Area stores, but couldn't justify such a move due to current rent costs. Shoppers strolling the eastern side of N. Santa
Cruz Avenue may have noticed that Navlet's florist is also gone. Founded in 1885 in downtown San
Jose and owned since 1903 by the Mieuli family, Navlet's still maintains its San Jose location.
The Mieulis closed their Los Gatos shop,
according to San Jose manager Norma Acevedo, because business was not up to par. She attributes part
of this to the fact that Navlet's location was dark and not very visible. The eclectic gift and home accessories shop
Trebor & Cole, on the other hand, had a very visible location--in the Cornerstone Shopping
Center at the corner of Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road. Unfortunately, says co-owner
Nicole Kypreos, it closed its doors after one year, due in part to the economic downturn. "We wrote a business plan when the economy was
fat, but when you're a new business, you don't have the reserves to get through tougher times," she
says. "What we sold was discretionary--things people want, but things they don't really need."
Another Cornerstone business, Real Goods,
disappeared earlier this summer. The company, however, is still alive and well with retail stores in
Berkeley and Hopland; it also conducts sales via its website at www.realgoods.com. According to company founder and CEO John
Schaeffer, the Los Gatos store's failure was all about numbers. Although it made approximately
$600,000 to $700,000 its first year, it needed to have brought in between $1 million and $2 million.
"Customers aren't as interested in
environmentally friendly things down there as we'd originally thought," he says. He adds that this
made a little more sense when management at the neighboring Whole Foods Market revealed that
customers were initially slow to shop there as well. "They almost closed at first," he says of the
now thriving supermarket and health food store.
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Los Gatos, California Since
1881
