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Business owners cite various reasons for closing their doors
By Rebecca Ray
After running Fernwood Florist, 18840 Cox Avenue, for 16 years, former owner Jan Cheung sold it. Cheung now runs weddingbokay.com from her home on the border of Saratoga and San Jose.
Business owners in Saratoga have relinquished their storefronts, and not just because of the economic downturn. City Manager Dave Anderson says he hasn't seen much impact, although city officials have been on the lookout for signs of a faltering economy.
Some local shop owners, however, are singing a different tune. The recession affected business at Fernwood Florist, especially after terrorists hijacked American Airlines flights Sept. 11, Cheung said. She says people didn't buy as many luxury items, such as flowers. Cheung, however, listed her main reasons for selling as inflation and a 40 percent rent increase.
Cheung says she let go of her seven employees at Fernwood Florist because she would have had to pay them higher wages to stay competitive. It's hard for business owners to retain workers if they pay them only $10 an hour, she said.
Cheung opened weddingbokay.com after she sold Fernwood Florist Sept. 1. Cheung, the sole employee of her new company, says that working from home solves the rent problem. She sells only wedding flowers, she said, because the wedding flower business doesn't rely on walk-in traffic.
Jeffrey Breslow, owner of Le Mouton Noir, 14560 Big Basin Way, is selling his restaurant because the 50 percent rent increase seemed unreasonable, given the economy, he said. Breslow says he is negotiating with several potential buyers and is considering various future career options.
Poor foot traffic is one reason Delia Zemke, owner of Goldilocks Doll Cottage at 14435 Big Basin Way, is trying to lease or sell her space. Business has been terrible the last six months, she says, and the location has fallen short of her expectations.
Two and a half years ago, Zemke ran the business from 14419 Big Basin Way, where Audio Arts is currently located. Because she sold Beanie Babies at the time, business boomed. So she decided to expand, and she moved to her more-spacious current location. But after manufacturer Ty Inc. announced it would no longer make Beanie Babies, Zemke said, business dropped off.
Zemke, who sells and repairs dolls, says that if she could find someone to take over her lease, which ends April 2002, she'd move her business to her home in San Jose.
Anna Kashlinsky, owner of El Paseo Day Spa at 812 Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, closed the spa's Saratoga location two or three months after she moved there. She moved to 12201 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road in March. Kashlinsky said she did good business in Saratoga, and that she closed the location because of the logistics of running two businesses at once. Podiatrist Edward Rubinstein is working at the Saratoga location until Kashlinsky sells it.
Francisco's Jewelers was evicted from its former location at 14460 Big Basin Way in October. A sign taped to the front door said the store sought a new location. Although property manager Jan Yale didn't give a reason for the eviction, she said it had nothing to do with the economy. Phone calls to the store weren't unreturned.
Ann Fitzsimmons, proprietor of Corinthian Flowers of Saratoga, 14410 Big Basin Way, and Corinthian Corners, 14416 Big Basin Way, relisted both buildings in April. Fitzsimmons says she bought them 13 years ago for investment purposes and that now it's time to sell. Fitzsimmons, who lives in Saratoga and runs the Corinthian Corners antique store, says she will continue the antique business from another location after she sells the Corinthian Corners building.
Normally, retail businesses turn over fairly quickly, Anderson said. He said city officials would determine how the economy has affected retail businesses in the next few months by seeing how fast retail businesses sold.
One store location has changed hands. The Second Act, formerly at 12900 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, closed Aug. 24. Like Fitzsimmons, owner Jennifer Ritter said she closed the consignment shop because "it was time to."
Margaret Garland, owner of a framing store called The Mitre Box, moved in. She said she moved from 20605 3rd St. because she needed to expand. Garland reopened the store Oct. 19 under the name "Saratoga Framing."
Business offices have also left Saratoga. Bonnie Cotta, branch manager of Union Planters Mortgage, formerly at 14440 Big Basin Way, says the business moved a few months ago because of poor foot traffic. The business moved to its Los Gatos office, which had some extra space, at 540 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Cotta said the owner of the Saratoga Village Center space had also increased the rent, and that the company believed it could save money by combining offices.
Zen Research Inc., which develops technology to improve optical disc drive performance, had expanded from its Cupertino headquarters to 12180 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road in 2000. In October 2001, the company left its Saratoga location. The company still operates out of its headquarters at 20400 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Metropolitan Area Network Inc. moved out of 14415 Big Basin Way Aug. 1. The company still exists in the Las Vegas area.
Phone calls to Metropolitan Area Network and Zen Research were not returned.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
