Photograph by Mark Kocina
Linh Mai puts her many years of sewing experience to good use at Sumi's Tailoring and Alternations, whether that means hemming a pair of slacks or taking in a bridal gown. No wonder her shop won as best tailor.
Best of Los Gatos 2001: Goods and Services
Good services and serviceable goods--that's what it takes to get a business going and to keep it running successfully. Fortunately for Los Gatans, this town is brimming with examples of these twin terms in action. Old favorites and new winners mingle freely in this category--they include the best yoga studio (we've never asked voters about this before) and the best bakery (the perennial winner has won again). There's lots more added to the mix, however. From where to board a pet to where to have prescriptions refilled, Los Gatos businesses have it covered.
On the way, there are also plenty of opportunities for indulging in facial peels, gourmet shopping and gift store browsing--even pet boarding at a "spa!" With everything else going on, sometimes it's important to simply stop and smell the flowers--and Los Gatos has that taken care of too, with a florist shop so popular that it's sprung up in a second location.
Best Tailor
Sumi's Tailoring and Alteration
Linh Mai's dream of owning a small shop in Los Gatos came true when she bought Sumi's tailor shop in 1998. Los Gatans must like her work because they are still voting the tiny alterations shop on N. Santa Cruz Avenue the best tailor.
Mai, an attractive, young seamstress, comes from a long tradition of seamstresses and tailors, including five brothers and sisters, her grandparents and her uncles and aunts. She trained in Vietnam and has 14 years of experience, including years of altering clothes for Macy's and Bloomingdale's as well as working for Sumi.
Mai says people in Vietnam order custom-made garments. "It's different here," she says. "People buy their clothes and then have them altered." Her clients often have her working on expensive designer clothes, including beaded and sequined clothes, and suede and leather. Some people bring older garments in to be restyled, she adds.
Sumi's Tailoring and Alteration, 116 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.4906
Best Yoga Studio
Yoga Center of Los Gatos
After being in operation a mere six months, the Yoga Center of Los Gatos has quickly become a favorite. Even before its April 2 opening, some classes were already full, and owner Jan Hutchins had to recruit additional instructors and add new classes.
Hutchins, a former Los Gatos Town Council member and mayor, has been practicing yoga for more than 30 years and wanted to concentrate on the form after his term ended. The business he opened is in the heart of downtown, a spacious studio with mats on the floor and Chinese paraphernalia adorning the walls.
The Yoga Center offers a variety of classes, ranging from Pilates to meditation to Vinyasa, a specific style of yoga. Rates vary, depending on the number of classes attended weekly.
Yoga Center of Los Gatos, 9 Montebello Way, 408.395.5356
Best Place for Garden Supplies
Green Thumb Nursery
Walk into Green Thumb Nursery and it's like being in the secret garden described in Frances Hodgson Burnett's book. As far as the eye can see, there are plants and flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors. Totaling one acre, most of the nursery is outside, with a greenhouse for some smaller varieties.
Along with the greenery, Green Thumb has all the accessories and supplies one needs to create a floral paradise. Customers can find necessities such as weed killer, pottery and plant food as well as fun things like tiled tables, fountains, garden ornaments, gardening books and birdhouses. And if they can't find what they're looking for, customers ask owner Steve Molho, whom many know by name, for advice.
Even without needing garden supplies or being a gardener, going to Green Thumb is a delightful experience in and of itself.
Green Thumb Nursery, 15796 Winchester Blvd., 408.395.6050
Best Place to Buy a Cell Phone
Parrot Cellular
As an authorized agent of Cingular Wireless phones, Parrot Cellular employees say they try to get their customers the best deals around on calling plans.
The store, although small, is clean and well-lit. A couple of chairs are provided for the people who are waiting. Easy-to-read displays line the walls, with explanations of the various calling plans and the types of phones available. Also in stock are phone accessories such as headsets, faceplates and cases.
The employees at Parrot Cellular are helpful and friendly; the site is prominent and accessible for those who want to do serious business or who just drop by while window-shopping.
Parrot Cellular, 11 1/2 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.395.2295
Photograph by Paul Myers
As usual, the popular gift store Domus picked up many accolades from this year's voters: best import store, best home accessories, best eclectic shop and best store for browsing. Among those eclectic items is imported glassware.
Best Import Store, Home Accessories, Eclectic Shop, Store for Browsing
Domus
In the 30-plus years that Domus has been in Los Gatos, the store has become a favorite of locals and a kind of landmark for visitors. Described as a place of kitchen goods, only about half of the items are for the kitchen. Instead, shoppers take delight in the assortment of brightly colored candles, a wide range of gardening accessories, cute little knickknacks and fragrant soaps offered at Domus.
Those who walk into Domus find it hard to tear themselves away. The store is often filled with customers who exclaim every two seconds, "This is so cute!" And people seldom leave empty-handed.
The staff at the store take pride in selling items that are rarely found at other shops. Some of the dishes are specially imported from Italy, and a set of Asian knives was made in Japan. Around this time of year, Domus devotes an entire section of the store to calendars--wall and desk--some of which can't be found even in calendar stores.
Domus, 40 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.6630
Photograph by Tsutomu Fujita
Rich Lang, owner of Los Gatos Tire & Automotive, joined by manager Donna Johnson, works hard to make sure customers of all budgets and vehicles can find the right tires at the right price.
Best Place to Buy Tires
Los Gatos Tire & Automotive
"It must be the service," Mark Breen, assistant manager at Los Gatos Tire & Automotive says about the shops selection as the best place to buy tires. "Rich and Andy know tires inside and out." Owner Rich Lang and tire specialist Andy Davis find out where their customers live and what roads they drive before recommending a tire. "We try to get a comparable tire that costs half as much," Breen says. "Andy has an amazing mind for numbers and remembers the tires he sold to a customer a year ago."
Customers come from as far as South San Francisco, Palo Alto and Milpitas. Breen says the shop sells tires to all income levels too--from people who actually live in their car to multimillionaires. Vehicle types also range from beat-up cars to European autos that require special high-performance tires.
Los Gatos Tire & Automotive has been around some 50-plus years and used to be on the corner of Roberts Road and University Avenue. Lang has owned the business for more than 30 years, and it's been at its new location on University for about 10. The shop also does brake work, major repairs, pre-vacation trip checkups and lubrication and oil-filter changes.
Los Gatos Tire & Automotive, 809 University Ave., 408.354.3540
Best Gourmet Food
Oakville Grocery
Voters didn't choose a four-star restaurant as the place to pamper their taste buds with gourmet delights. They chose a grocery store with a Mediterranean country market feel.
Oakville Grocery offers shelves of canned and bottled goods, including ones produced by local families, as well as wines and cheeses from around the world.
The store's centerpiece, the deli counter, also draws customer raves. Each day, Chef Jeff Heicksen prepares his recipes, which include leg of lamb, tiramisu, dolmas, tiger prawns and calamari vinaigrette. Customers can sample most treats throughout the store before buying them.
The flagship Oakville Grocery in Napa Valley was founded as a place where travelers could grab lunches before picnicking in the wine country, and the Los Gatos store operates the same way. Party hosts who don't want to cook can pick up dishes on the go. However, those who wish to linger can either eat at a table toward the back of the store, or sit at a table on the patio.
Oakville Grocery, 50 University Ave., 408.399.9902
Best Bakery
Icing on the Cake
The bakery may have moved in February, but customers still rate its cookies, cakes and pies as scrumptious. The roomy, 2,100 square-foot shop continues to make tasty delights out of butter and pure cane sugar, instead of lard, shortening and beet sugar.
Also, bakers still prepare goods from scratch. When owner Lynn Magnoli opened the shop 16 years ago, every dessert was made from a family recipe. She learned how to bake from her mother ever since she could pull a stool over to the counter.
The display cases show several pies, cookies and cakes, and customers know what they're getting. The workers have stuck a sign on each item that has a rubber-stamped picture and tells what the item is. Magnoli, who says she'd love to work on a baking book someday, owns thousands of rubber stamps and used to help her mother run a rubber stamp store.
A compulsive doodler, Magnoli and her staff also custom-design cakes. They bake desserts around the clock, including white chocolate cookies with pecans, browned butter shortbread cookies and their most famous treat, chocolate buttermilk cake. Low-fat and flourless baked goods are also available, as are plentiful free samples.
Icing on the Cake, 50 W. Main Street, 408.354.2464
Best Consignment Shop
Labels of Los Gatos
Los Gatans shop at Labels of Los Gatos, formerly known as Apres Vous, to get designer threads at non-designer prices. Unlike some other consignment shops, which sell garments similar to ones found in thrift stores, Labels sells upscale women's clothing brands such as Ralph Lauren and Versace.
Co-owners Renee Argent and Glynne Lewis acquire their merchandise from boutiques that consign what they don't sell, and then sell the attire for lower prices.
Argent and Lewis chose to sell higher-end apparel because when they opened their store six years ago, other nearby consignment shops sold lower-to-middle-end garments, and Argent and Lewis needed to find another niche.
Labels is hardly distinguishable from a department store. Although the attire is predominantly used, no item is more than two years old. In addition, the store sells brand new shoes and next-to-new accessories, including purses, jewelry, belts and bags--but definitely not used lingerie.
Labels of Los Gatos, 320 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.399.5152
Best Facial
The Spa of Los Gatos
Locals chose The Spa of Los Gatos as the best place in town to soften skin, diminish pores and eradicate wrinkles and scars.
Downstairs, the staff strives to create a relaxing atmosphere. Before receiving treatments, clients--clad in robe and slippers--wait in a dimly lit room with soft music, comfy leopard skin furniture and a choice of hot tea, water or wine.
Modern and Impressionist paintings hang along the golden walls of the hallway, where Italian columns and statues stand. The staff aims to pamper clients by providing various skin care products and catering to clients' individual needs.
Upstairs is the laser center, where Dr. Stuart Melnick treats wrinkles with collagen injections and non-ablative lasers. Unlike other lasers, non-ablative ones don't require that clients wear bandages or dressings. Melnick also treats wrinkles with botox, which involves needles. But needlephobes need never fear--they can hold onto the soft and squishy Botox Bear. Clients can also receive VersaPulse laser treatments to remove spider veins, tattoos and age spots.
Staff members describe the full-service European day spa's focus on both beauty and health as the perfect marriage.
The Spa of Los Gatos, 100 S. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.5901
Best Fresh Produce
Lunardi's
Since Alfredo Lunardi opened his first market in San Francisco in 1953, buyers from his six Bay Area stores have traveled to a market in the city each weekday at 1 a.m. to choose which fruits and vegetables to sell in their stores. Evidently, their efforts paid off, as readers voted their local Lunardi's market as having the best fresh produce in town.
Although Lunardi's buyers acquire crops from various locations, they try to stay as local as they can, said produce manager Phil Lonardo. The store carries both organic and conventional green goods, which employees in the produce department stack by hand. The department also offers mountains of specialty items, including peppers, baby corn, mache lettuce, raspberries and blackberries--even when they're out of season. Lonardo says the market may offer as many as a dozen varieties of tomatoes at a time. However, he said, strawberries are the customers' top pick.
Lunardi's, 720 Blossom Hill Road, 408.358.1731
Best Deli
Delizioso
Although owner Tim Jacobs took over the full-service Italian delicatessen nine months ago, Delizioso, which means "delicious" in Italian, still ranks number one among voters' taste buds. Every food is made on the premises, including gourmet salads, daily specials and hot foods. Each day, the staff prepares different assorted entrees, including meatballs and lasagna.
The display case of desserts is enough to make anyone's mouth water. Customers can find cookies, including chocolate ones with peanut butter chips, and various cakes like tiramisu, chocolate mousse and chocolate chocolate cake, not to mention rich cheesecakes: white chocolate raspberry, strawberry, Baby Ruth and Oreo. The store, which is also a bakery and cafe, serves sandwiches, coffee, cold cuts and 38 different kinds of salad.
Patrons don't necessarily have to dine there. They can also take out food and buy gnocchi, sauce, olive oil, bread, Italian rice, vinegar and cheese, which sit on high shelves along one of the walls.
Delizioso, 133 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.395.7737
Best Women's Clothing
Time Out Clothing
At first glance, the Time Out Clothing logo looks just like what it's supposed to be--the stylized figure of a person making the "time out" signal used in most team sports. On second glance, it could also resemble a person throwing a basketball, swimming, stretching, doing jumping jacks or even cheering.
Appropriately, those are all actions a person could do in apparel from Time Out, which is known for its activewear and sportswear that can be worn just about anywhere. Many of the shop's colorful clothing lines are suited for jaunts to the beach or the country club, while others are more suited to the gym or the trail. Some of Time Out's merchandise can even be worn to the office.
Complementing this eclectic array are accessories such as hats, sunglasses and bags--and that's just for starters. There's even a selection of clothes and gifts for babies and children for the savvy shopper who also happens to be a little one's mother, grandmother, aunt or friend.
Time Out Clothing, 108 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.8653
Best Pharmacy
Walgreen Drug Store
Behind aisles of cosmetics, candy and garden supplies, customers at the two Walgreen stores in Los Gatos line up at the pharmacy windows. The store may sell a variety of goods and have a one-hour photo lab, but locals know it best as the place to pick up their meds.
Both local stores are in stock with various medications, and employees at both places fill hundreds of prescriptions a day. Workers credit their efficiency to Intercom Plus, the computer system used by Walgreen stores across the nation. Intercom Plus, workers say, is fast, has few errors and stores information. The system can look up patient history and issue automatic refills. An automated system calls customers and tells them their refills are ready.
Customers don't have to read magazines or stare at number boards to pass the time before employees fill their prescriptions. They can browse through isles of toys, cooking wear, pet supplies and stationary to pass the time.
Staff members announce that prescriptions are ready over the intercom.
Walgreen Drug Store, 444 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.395.4011; also at 14100 Blossom Hill Road, 408.356.2511
Best Card Shop
Fiori's
Owners Bob and Patty Bagnato may have designed Fiori's as a destination store, where customers pick up cards and gifts, get presents wrapped for free and then head home. But shoppers can also linger among the racks of cards and gift displays.
Although the store sells mostly Hallmark cards, it also sells such brands as Caspari and Shurman, and hand-painted cards by local artists. Buyers will find funny and serious cards for birthdays, secular holidays, religious occasions and anniversaries, as well as for inspiration, good luck and impromptu moments. Employees also custom-make invitations.
Gifts range from $2 to $2,200 and encompass baby clothes, Santon de Provence figurines from France, monogrammed jewelry, bath products, hand-blown glass ornaments, silk flowers that look and smell real, candles, lamps, linens, yard ornaments and coffee table books.
Each year, the store hosts a Holiday Open House, when it sells Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas items all at once. The shop holds this year's event Oct. 27.
Fiori's, 728 Blossom Hill Road, 408.358.2133
Best Place That's Now Gone
Chrislow's
Once Los Gatos had its own department store called Chrislow's, owned by Deal Christensen and Robert Whitlow. It was a place where local youngsters could gain their first retailing experience and take their first steps to earn money for college or to begin a career.
Full-time employees at Chrislow's were friendly, helpful, even sympathetic. Familiar with the merchandise, they sensed just what the customer needed and where to find it, even when the customer may not have known.
Last-minute gifts, accessories, wardrobe musts--all were answered at Chrislow's. "A box and a bow and off you go," as Nancy Christensen said.
Placed reassuringly on N. Santa Cruz Avenue for 42 years, it fulfilled the role of gathering spot almost as much as it did as a store. Its closing in 1993 with the retirement of "Bud" and Nancy Christensen, son and daughter-in-law of Deal Christensen, is still lamented. However, both Christensens continue their strong personal commitment to the community--as service club leaders and enthusiastic bidders at fundraisers.
Best Shoes
Soles
Soles of Los Gatos may be bedecked with glitzy hats, socks, Raffia bags, purses, scarves and Nomination Italian charm bracelets, but it's the store's mainstay--shoes--that best fit customers' tastes.
The independent store sells varied footwear from $15 flip-flops to $300 designer shoes.
Customers can find black leather rock star boots with silver studs as well as brown and pink boots that look like they're made of snakeskin, but aren't. Comfortable yet feminine high-end Taryn Rose fabric and leather pumps are also in stock.
Although the store is definitely more fashion-driven than athletic-driven, says owner Heidi Rehbock, athletic shoes strongly influence current fashion, and so the store is selling more sporty footwear than usual.
The shoe business requires stores to stock various shoes of different sizes, and it's a wonder some stores last. But in October, Soles of Los Gatos celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Soles of Los Gatos, 130 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.399.5162
Best Pet Supplies
Pet People
After passing scratching posts outside the front door that twine around like tree trunks, pet owners enter rooms of rattling stuffed animals, squeeze balls, heated pet beds and animal wrappers made of leopard skin and fur. Pet People caters to pet owners who love to spoil their furry, four-legged friends.
Throughout the 1,200 square feet of space, customers find holistic, rather than generic, cat and dog foods, pet cologne and collars with leopard skin patterns, stripes, shamrocks and beads. The independent store carries specialty pet supplies, such as collars with American flag motifs. It also stocks Science Diet brand food on shelves.
Dogs from poodles to Great Danes can wear raincoats and boots, cashmere sweaters and 49ers T-shirts. Steve Askin, who's run the store for 11 years, also offers Halloween costumes for dogs, such as Country Dawg, Pound Hound, Party Animal and Rag Dog.
Cats and dogs aren't the only animals the store caters to. It also offers supplies for rabbits, various rodents, fish and birds.
Pet People, 514 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.8888
Best Jewelry Store
The Yellow Brick Road
At Gary Shepcaro and Diane Disbrow's jewelry store, objects sparkle like Emerald City and shine like ruby slippers--which is why they named the shop The Yellow Brick Road.
Not all objects in the store are jewels. Sterling silverware for babies, hand-blown art glass and clocks--including a black cone-shaped clock that looks like a witch's hat--align the shelves.
But it's the trinkets that catch customers' eyes. Disbrow and Shepcaro sell adornments that are fine and fun, traditional and trendy, for adults and children, and that range from $25 to $25,000.
At the full-service jewelry store, where Disbrow and Shepcaro repair jewelry and have it custom-made, childproof watches and watches with gold, silver and leather bands sit on a display rack. The couple also sell Carrera y Carrera 18K gold adornments sculptured into angels and animals, and George Sawyer wedding bands, which are made of iron folded to look like wood.
Each season, Disbrow and Shepcaro also feature new earrings, necklaces and rings from Israeli designer Ayala Bar, whose latest lines of jewelry include turquoise and indigo stones and colored beads that form floral patterns.
The Yellow Brick Road, 17 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.395.9225
Best Hair Salon
Adeline's
Los Gatans and anyone else who goes to Adeline's hair salon seem to keep going back--forever. Gail Okumura says a friend referred her to Adeline's once, and she's been going there for 15 years. "I like it here because the girls don't move around," Okumura says.
Another customer says she's been coming to Adeline's for more than 20 years. "I get a better cut here than anywhere in the world," the customer says. One customer comes from Redlands and one from Washington state. Feng Shui guru Linda Lenore, who's been a customer at Adeline's for years, comes all the way from Redwood City to get her hair done by Addie.
Addie is Adeline Pearson, a Los Gatos resident, who opened up shop at the little house with wooden floors on Los Gatos Boulevard. 25 years ago. She's made the house cozy, filling it with antiques and plants.
Customers are not the only ones who stick around. The staff stays for years too--two of the hairdressers for 25 years. Receptionist Linda Parsons is the newest member of the staff, and she's been there nine years. "We're like a family here," Parsons says. Even Addie's husband, a retired San Jose Police captain, is part of the scene. "He fixes and keeps everything running around the place," Parsons says.
Adeline's Hair Designers, 15760 Los Gatos Blvd., 408.356.6250
Best Home Furnishings
Los Gatos Porch
Susan and John Corcoran, the new owners of the Los Gatos Porch, are thrilled Los Gatans have once again voted the longtime store best of Los Gatos. It's no wonder, when simply wandering through the store is fun. All three floors are filled with traditional furniture, Italian and French hand-painted tables, Asian imports, clocks, one-of-a-kind ceramic pieces and topiaries. The shop also boasts antiques, art and a lot of gift items.
"People come from all over to shop here," Corcoran, who's an interior designer, says. One woman from Monterey told Corcoran that she comes to the Porch because there's no other store anywhere like it. People wander in and always seem to find something to buy, Corcoran adds.
The store's been around for 31 years, but the building is a Los Gatos original. Built in the late 1800s, the place was once a sheetmetal works. The highly lacquered floors are the originals. The store got its Porch name when one of the original owners began his topiary business on the back porch of the Opera House. When they moved into the current store, they brought the name along.
Los Gatos Porch, 32 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.9595
Best Gas Station
Los Gatos Chevron
Los Gatans like to pump gas at Fred Ebrahimi's station. Ebrahimi, a Los Gatos resident, says he has customers who've been coming to the station on the corner of Blossom Hill and Los Gatos Boulevard since the day he bought the business some 21 years ago.
When he first bought the station, he sold Texaco gas. He changed to Exxon and finally to Chevron. In 1980, he says, customers were pumping 30,000 gallons a month. Today it's 200,000 gallons a month.
He installed a drive-through car wash in 1985. The nearby Lark Avenue car wash is expensive, Ebrahimi says, and his is inexpensive and convenient. Customers can pay for the car wash at the same time they pump gas; they can pay cash, or they can buy a club card, which gets them a 10 percent discount. In the near future customers will be able to use credit cards at the entrance to the car wash.
Ebrahimi has a mechanic on duty 5 1/2 days a week. "We can do enhanced smog checks, too," he says. This means a car owner from cities like Los Angeles, with more stringent emission standards, can get smogged right here in town.
Ebrahimi owns another gas station at the corner of Leigh and Los Gatos-Almaden Road. His wife is a preschool teacher at the Jewish Community Center.
Los Gatos Chevron, 700 Blossom Hill Road, 408.356.6803
Best Art Gallery
Tercera
Tercera Gallery has been serving Los Gatans since 1988, the year before the Loma Prieta earthquake. For it to survive that devastation and the hard times following, the place must have something Los Gatans especially like.
Director Michele Scott, also an artist, says she tries to get a good mix of artists and to give clients something new and unique to see. "We like to emphasize emerging and established artists," she says. "Some tourists come here every time they come in town to see what we are showing."
Perhaps the main reason Los Gatans like this gallery is that the staff wants people to feel comfortable with art. Scott says when someone comes in and says they want to buy art for their home but don't know anything about it, she helps them find out what they are drawn to. The store will install art in a customer's home and even has a layaway program and a framing shop downstairs.
Owner Seb Hamajian loves art and has been collecting in the Bay Area for 23 years. The Los Gatos gallery has been so successful that Hamajian opened another in Palo Alto and recently one in San Francisco. Scott says each gallery is unique.
Tercera Gallery, 24 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.9484
Best Hotel or Inn
Toll House
Los Gatans keep coming out to vote for the Toll House because it's their place. They come to the 17-year-old hotel for dinner, for brunch, for weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, meetings, holiday buffets and anniversaries. Some locals come after 4 p.m. just to chat in the cozy lounge that looks more like an elegant but cozy men's club. Toll House owners recently added more rooms, but true to their word, the 115-room establishment still has the feel of a small hotel.
"We try to keep the hometown feel here as well as give first-class service to our customers," Mary Tallman, general manager, says. Hometown doesn't mean the Toll House is behind the times, however. It has the latest high-tech hookups, including wireless Internet access. Nine suites have Jacuzzis and remote controls that close the drapes, turn off the lights, the fireplace and stereo. Tallman says the hotel offers holiday specials at very good rates that include breakfast.
But the town of Los Gatos is one of the big reasons out-of-towners return to the Toll House, Tallman says. "People love this town," she says. She says she loves Los Gatos too, and she's involved. Currently, she serves on the Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee.
The Toll House Hotel, 140 So. Santa Cruz Ave. 408.395.7070
Photograph by Paul Myers
For the pampered pooch or finicky feline who has everything, Los Gatos offers something more: The Pet Spa, which among other services provides boarding for dogs, cats and rodents. Los Gatans think it's the best!
Best Place to Board a Pet
The Pet Spa
The name "Pet Spa" conjures up images of a ritzy, glamorous salon where animals soak in bubble paths and have their nails polished while they watch television. Not so the real thing. The actual Pet Spa is a homey, inviting shop, with down-to-earth services and down-to-earth people.
Offering services such as pet grooming, pet sitting and obedience classes, the Pet Spa is perhaps best known for its day care and boarding functions. The Doggie Day Care is popular--canines are dropped off after 7 a.m. and kept until 7 p.m., when their "parents" get home from work. In between, they are kept in large playpens with their peers for social interaction and are walked at least twice a day.
Under the supervision of pet boarding supervisor Mindy Talluto, cats and smaller animals are boarded at the Pet Spa. Co-owner Reeni Elise says part of the appeal of the Pet Spa is that its kennels are larger than other businesses of its kind, so that cats have plenty of space to roam.
The Pet Spa, 1516 Pollard Road, 408.379.8911
Best Dry Cleaners
Ford Cleaners
Linda Swenberg and her husband haul their cleaning all the way from east Los Gatos to Ford Cleaners because their clothes come out so nice. "The shirts don't smell like chemicals," Swenberg says. Apparently, a lot of people feel the same way because voters have again named Ford Cleaners the best.
Owners Chong and Rosemary Kim, who have 30 years of experience, and daughter, Acacia, want their cleaners to be the best in Los Gatos. Acacia says they upgrade their machines almost every year, and as members of the International Fabric Institute, they keep up with the latest improvements in dry cleaning.
Customers come through the back door and the front door with piles of shirts and other clothes cradled in their arms. Regulars pick their name cards off a rack on the counter for easy registration. Rosemary sits in an alcove on the left side of the store with reels of colorful threads and a sewing machine lined up in front of her. She also does mending and alterations.
Ford Cleaners has been a fixture in Los Gatos since 1917. "The original owners were very good," she says. "We've just kept up the reputation."
Ford Cleaners, 33 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.354.2050
Best Bike Shop (Tie)
Los Gatos Cyclery
Summit Bicycles
"Some bike stores have an attitude," says Joel Koitmaa, longtime manager of Los Gatos Cyclery. "They don't take customers seriously unless they are really into biking." Koitmaa says Los Gatos Cyclery helps anyone and sells everything from children's tricycles to $3,000 bikes and all the gear and accessories to go with them.
This store has been a part of Los Gatos since 1964. It's on its third location, Koitmaa says, and the new store on N. Santa Cruz is only one block from where the original store used to be. When Walter Greenham bought the bicycle store in 1986, Koitmaa came along with the deal. He likes working there because, he says, "We help everyone."
On Main Street, Leslie Austere, owner of Summit Bicycles, is loaded with enough enthusiasm about riding bikes to fire up any customer. "Many people don't know how much fun they can have riding bicycles," says Austere.
"There are unbelievable bicycle trails everywhere through the mountains and redwoods of the Bay Area, and there are hundreds of miles of road-bike trails from Monterey to Santa Rosa," he says. Austere should know because he owns three Bay Area bicycle stores.
He hung out in Los Gatos years ago when he was attending the UC-Santa Cruz and fell in love with the town. When it came time to open a second store, after the success of his Burlingame shop, he returned seven years ago to open up on Main Street. Since then he's opened another store in Berkeley.
Los Gatos Cyclery, 652 N. Santa Cruz Ave., 408.399.5099
Summit Bicycles, 111 E. Main St., 408.399.9142
Best Place to Work Out
Los Gatos Athletic Club
"This place is like Cheers," Shirley Burke, co-owner of the Los Gatos Athletic club, says. "We don't emphasize the latest body style or outfits. We are a family operation."
Burke says their mom-and-pop business has regulars of all ages--from three months old to seniors in their 90s. She says the 90-year-olds started coming 20 years ago when Shirley and her husband, Ed, a three-time Olympian, built the club. They have all the latest workout equipment as well as handball, racquetball and basketball courts. They offer water exercises in their large pool, team sports and even new Pilates exercise equipment.
Burke says over the years they've seen marriage proposals, weddings, births and deaths. "Some of the babies of our first customers are at Los Gatos High School now," she says. And because of Ed's continued involvement on the Olympic committee, members of Olympic teams have trained at the club.
Burke says the club has no contracts. Membership is month-to-month. "Just like renting an apartment," she says.
Los Gatos Athletic Club, 285 E. Main St., 408.354.5808
Best Florist
Bunches
Los Gatans have been voting Bunches the best since the flower store opened in 1992. Years ago, Roger Copolillo's wholesale flower business in Watsonville was big. He had 40 acres of field flowers and trucks heading out every day to grocery stores. But he says the wholesale flower business was not a lucrative one. That was when he used to stop for a sandwich at the Los Gatos Market on N. Santa Cruz Ave. Copolillo recalls how he used to say, "If I ever open a retail store, it will be here in Los Gatos." He and wife Nancy liked the town, and because his flowers at Nob Hill grocery store sold well, he knew a flower shop could succeed.
But when the time came to open a store, Copolillo had to convince the town. "The city wouldn't let us in," he says. The Copolillos got themselves a couple of architects who kept drawing up plans and going back to the town council until their idea for a flower shop was approved.
Copolillo says when Bunches first opened, his wife sat on a stool with a counter, buckets of flowers and a cash register in the store while he headed off to do deliveries to the grocery stores. "By Valentine's Day the place was going crazy," he says. The couple still grow flowers in Watsonville and bring them fresh every day. Now Bunches has another store, too, in the Cornerstone Shopping Center.
Bunches, 14 1/2 Santa Cruz Ave., 408.395.5451 and 15994 Los Gatos Blvd., 408.358.6575
Best Antique Shop
Antiquarium
Los Gatans love the Antiquarium. Seventy-year-old owner Shirley Henderson and her daughter Denise Harr, 52, aren't just in the antique business for the money. They love their old stuff. They love their customers, too, and they love Los Gatos. They're also fun, and their shop might even be considered a therapeutic place to visit. Shirley is the type folks can tell their troubles to, and Harr could pass for a stand-up comic.
The tiny store--chock full of everything from fine china to old egg beaters to doll's eyes--could be called the heartbeat of Los Gatos. "We are always here, so come back," Harr says. And they are always at the tiny antique store on Main Street, watching for what their regulars are collecting. Los Gatans and other regulars from around the Bay Area stop in to look over the merchandise and also for a down-home, how's-it-going connection.
"They come in for the whole package," Harr says
"We--meaning our customers--are like a family," Henderson adds.
Antiquarium, 98 W. Main, 408.354.7878
Best Vanishing Resource
Parking
Most Los Gatans know that, to get to downtown during the lunch hour or on weekends, forget driving--walk if you can. Those peak times of people coming in and out of town not only increase traffic, but make parking spaces impossible to find. And after waiting forever for a space to open up, one hesitates to irritate other drivers even further by attempting--several times--to park along the curb on N. Santa Cruz Avenue.
Even old-timers, who have their secrets for finding parking, are increasingly losing those spaces. Hopefully it won't be as a much of a problem this year, since the town approved some measures that will open up more spaces.
Best Health Foods
Whole Foods
It's not surprising that Los Gatans have chosen Whole Foods best place for health foods. The town loves any place that has the warmth and service of a small town business, even if it is part of a large chain.
In a attractive and upbeat atmosphere, the store sells everything from free-range chickens to bulk snack foods and organic produce to vitamins and yoga mats. Customers can get ready-made food there too.
The deli is filled with healthful, gourmet delights, and there's a juice bar that blends up delicious smoothies, even sugar-free ones. And don't forget the fresh soup and salad bar! Customers can sit at tables inside and out while munching their food, chatting or reading the latest issue of the Los Gatos Weekly Times.
Whole Foods, 15980 Los Gatos Blvd., 408.358.4434
Best Kitchen Supplies
Sur La Table
While big chain stores are not what Los Gatans like to like, Sur La Table seems to have wound its way into the town's heart. The large, spacious store with some 13,000 items--everything from frying pans to greeting cards to an extensive cookbook section and a large one-room cooking school--is a whole lot different from the original store, which was a tiny, crammed-full shop across the street from Pike's Market in Seattle, Wash.
Now there are 24 stores. Assistant Manager Milva Gobbi says the chain's owner, Renee Behnke, wants people to be reminded of their past when they come in the store. That's why it carries plenty of old-world items from Germany, Italy, France and Mexico--stuff that grandma might have had in her kitchen.
The store scored a coup when world-famous Julia Child arrived in February for a book signing event, when approximately 1,000 people lined up to see the cooking diva. Gobbi says there were tears in people's eyes when they met her.
Los Gatans can also enjoy classes taught by local chefs like Miles Neal from the California Café. Gobbi says some big companies, such as Intel, even use cooking classes for team-building programs.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
