Photograph by Paul Myers
Hélène Simone, owner of The French Tailor Cleaners and Deli at 14577 Big Basin Way in Saratoga, stands outside her shop.
Shop tastefully combines two disparate businesses
By Suzanne Cristallo
Locals know where it is. The French Tailor in Saratoga is at the far end of town, but its name can be misleading for those not aware of all its services. It's true that owner Hélène Simone alters men's and women's clothing, even copying haute couture originals. But the fact that her store also offers pizza and bagels is somewhat unexpected.
"It's just a small place," she says of the shop where dark dress suits hang neatly along one side of the establishment, and a counter with salt and pepper shakers at the ready lines the other.
Simone has been in business in Saratoga for more than 20 years. Fifteen of those were spent solely as a tailor next to Wells Fargo Bank. About the time of her husband Roberto's death in 1996, she moved the business to its present location, where the Country Store Café had been for years. Not one to pass up a business opportunity, Simone decided to continue what the building had a permit for and bring in food herself. While the old café had occupied the whole building, her need for space was not as great, so she sublet the extra room to several other businesses and created the new French Tailor Cleaners and Deli with pizza, sandwiches, hot dogs, spaghetti and espresso in the downstairs store.
Now, mornings with Simone may be spent over a hot bowl of oatmeal. In the competitive world of restaurants, all of which strive to claim they use the freshest ingredients, customers may find it refreshing to hear Simone say, "You just add water." Besides, there's a choice of honey, brown sugar, raisins, banana and milk to go with it. "I go with what people ask for," she notes. She also offers a breakfast of muffins and bagels from Saratoga Bagels.
The 50 or so customers she serves at lunch may choose a bagel dog or a variety of sandwiches with ham, turkey, tuna or salami. The choices are more extensive if one chooses to try something from Select Foods, a vendor of high-protein foods that Simone uses. There's an Italian turkey meatball and spaghetti and soy sausage with rigatoni and manicotti. "They're all prepared, so I can just pop them into the microwave," she says simply.
Customers are likely to stick around over a bowl of something just to be able to shoot the breeze with Simone, play a little keno or try the state lottery. Her 44 years of marriage with Roberto and life with sons Silvano, 37, a tennis instructor at West Valley College, and Vincenzo, 45, a state employee, are likely to reveal a few insights, such as: "My sons are not married. You know, they had an Italian mother, so they don't marry young," she chuckles.
Her growing years in Montreal, Canada, reflect a sense of peace and happiness. "There was always music," she recalls. She was one of 11 children who grew up speaking French with their mother and Italian with their father, who came from Frosinone Province south of Rome--the same area where her husband was born. She remembers her father always cooking, especially on Sundays. "It was a big house. Our parents were patient. There was lots of food," she says. "We had a beautiful life."
They also had a restaurant, and Simone went to a special school to study tailoring. The two experiences now are reflected in her store, which she runs six days a week. "This is my life," she says with a smile.
The French Tailor Cleaners and Deli, 14577 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 408.867.6255 for more information.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
