Saratoga News
News
Photograph by George Sakkestad
The Break Away Bike Shop opened at Corinthian Corners in February, but business has been slow because of the March weather. David E. Berkstresser walks out of the shop after stopping by to get some information on bicycle seats. Lack of foot traffic in the Village is a concern for downtown merchants.
Character of Saratoga's Village is evolving
But lack of foot traffic is a merchant concern
By Jason Sweeney
New businesses open and old businesses close. With each opening and closing, a city's character evolves.
The question for Saratoga is where the character of its downtown Village is going. Will it become a retail hub? Or will it be primarily a destination for upscale diners? Will it be a trendy locale to sip cappuccinos while browsing antique shops and art galleries? Or will it fill up with franchise stores and restaurants?
One thing most people agree on is that businesses will not remain in town if the Village remains a sleepy place without foot traffic.
Some recent openings point to signs of an improving business climate, although record rainfall over the last few months has kept foot traffic down.
The Saratoga Village Development Council, a group of merchants and concerned citizens working to revitalize the business climate and improve the appearance of the Village, held a meeting on March 28 to discuss the business climate downtown. Brian Berg is secretary of the SVDC. "I think the climate is definitely improving," he said. "There are fewer empty storefronts than there used to be. If businesses are moving in, that's got to say something. How many of those businesses are struggling, I don't know. I think some have a tough time."
Dave Horne opened the Break Away Bike Shop at Corinthian Corners on Feb. 14. During the dot-com boom, Horne worked in customer service management doing technical support. After the bubble burst, he found a job managing a bike shop in Menlo Park. He liked the work and decided to try his luck running his own bike shop.
"I think Saratoga is a great choice for me," he said. "It has always been a cool place to come to."
Horne said the Starbucks opening at Corinthian Corners was a big factor in choosing the location, and he found the city council very positive. "I felt like people wanted a bike shop in town. Being right here by the memorial park, I feel it's just the greatest location for me.
"Business is going fine," he said. "Of course, the weather is causing a little slowdown."
The lack of foot traffic in Saratoga concerns Horne. "There's not a lot of places to come walk around and go shopping. We need like a bookstore or a movie theater."
Another recently opened store is Fine Antiques European, which is across Big Basin Way from Corinthian Corners. Lorrie Smith officially opened the store on March 22. She said she liked the friendly, neighborhood feel of the Village. "My goodness, it's just a beautiful downtown. It's historic. It's where I'm raising my children."
Smith's store offers a collection of antique furniture and artwork imported from Europe. She said so far she's been getting about 10 customers a day, with more coming in on the weekend. "And that's just having the front door open without any advertising yet."
She said she often sees people coming in to her store holding coffee cups from Starbucks and from the other coffee shops in town. "Starbucks is booming," she said. "Whether their customers go across the street and look at other stores is another question."
She would like to see the Village become a destination where more shoppers come to walk around and browse. "I think people like the ambience of the Village. The food is here. It's just a matter of getting places for people to browse."
Up the street is another antique store called Indo Teak and Gifts. Greg Riter opened the store last October but sold it to Steve Shin on Jan. 5.
"In the three months I was open, I had some good numbers," Riter said. "I had a lot inventory from Bali. I did the math and said I could walk away and make a little profit."
Riter had decided to open the store in Saratoga after discovering that his friends in Maui were stocking their homes with artwork and furniture from Bali. "In theory, it sounded very romantic to have a retail store where you could sit and read and paint. But in reality, it can be a little lonely. Saratoga is a little quiet."
Riter decided to go back to work for City Beach, two indoor recreation facilities owned by his family. His wife works for City Beach and he said it is a busier, more active environment.
"There are ebbs and flows in retail," Riter explained. "Sometimes you have days when nobody comes in, and sometimes you have excellent days. And sometimes it was in between. I feel like Saratoga is in a growth stage. People are opening more than they are leaving. I'm hoping Steve will experience some of those good days."
Shin, who lives in Saratoga, said since he took over, business has been slow because of the rain. "I love this area," he said. He thinks Saratoga has a good customer base. "The people here are educated and affluent," he said.
Shin plans to expand his store's merchandise to include antiques from other Asian locales. He also wants to use the workshop at the back of the store for antique renovation. He said more art stores and upscale restaurants would provide a good mix that would help his business.
Sherri and Tosh Bakhtian opened Saratoga Ladies Shoe_Topia last June. They own another shoe store in Los Angeles and decided to try their luck in Saratoga to be nearer to their daughter, who lives in town and who just had a baby.
"We heard that there was no foot traffic, but we went with a two-year lease to see what will happen," Tosh Bakhtian said. "They were right. There is no foot traffic. We have two or three sales a day. We can barely survive on that.
"We need more retail shops so people come here for shopping. We have too many food stores and not enough retail."
He said more shoe stores in town would increase competition but would also be a draw. "I believe in competition. It not only keeps the prices down but it brings more customers. It gives more choice. Customers don't see the Village as a shopping destination.
"We were planning to move up here and live up here. We have another year and a half to go. We will see what will happen."
On March 25, Dr. John Tang opened the Rejuvé cosmetic clinic at Corinthian Corners. His clinic is an aesthetic and laser center that offers services such as Botox and laser treatments. Unlike retail and food stores, Tang is not dependent on foot traffic. "The majority of our patients are through word of mouth and specialized advertising," he said. "We chose Saratoga because a lot of our patients are based in the vicinity. The name Saratoga has a very good reputation. We wanted to carry that over to our business."
Although Tang is not reliant on foot traffic, he would like to see a livelier downtown, especially at night. "During the night, the Village is basically dead. I think a bookstore would be very nice. We don't have one. It attracts people."
Lillian Benson, who works at M.E. Benson's Antiques, has been in the Village for 24 years. She said while some businesses struggle, her family-owned antique store is doing fine. The key, she said, is to stay open later in the evening when people are in town dining at restaurants.
"There's all kinds of wonderful things to do in Saratoga," she said. Villa Montalvo, Hakone Gardens and the Mountain Winery are big draws, she said. "People can go see the redwoods. They can stay at the Inn of Saratoga and the Saratoga Motel. People like to come here and spend the weekend."
Benson said she hopes Saratoga is able to retain its small town ambience and not be overrun with franchises. "There are people who are dying to get into Saratoga, but the rent is too expensive. That's the problem."
On April 5, the council will consider whether to allow a Subway sandwich shop to open at Corinthian Corners. Benson and Berg both said the Village is set to get its second Thai restaurant, which will move into the former location of the Village Rendezvous restaurant, which closed its doors on March 26. Berg and Benson have also heard rumors of a clothing store moving into 14527 Big Basin Way, the former location of Patrick James, an upscale men's clothing store. Patrick James was lured into town in 2000 by a $20,000 subsidy from the city but shut its doors early in 2005 and the storefront has remained vacant ever since. Prime Retail Inc., which manages the property, has not confirmed whether a new tenant has been found.
