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Popular clothing store celebrates 20th year
By Melissa Matchak
In the 1950s, two sisters, Edna Coons and Lucille Garrett, opened a ladies' dress shop in the Cherry Chase Center in Sunnyvale. Today, a new set of sisters' runs the store, Lu Garre Fashions, and still serve many of the original clientele.
In 1980, sisters Gloria Ravetto and Bobbie Parker bought the dress shop from the second owner, who bought it from the original sisters. The store, now located in the De Anza Center in Sunnyvale, remains as one of the only stores from its time still open.
Ravetto, who does all the buying for the store, says Lu Garre is a store for those who look for the type of service all retail stores had 20 years ago. She says that on any given day there are at least five employees working, to ensure that each customer receives the best service possible while she shops. Her sister, Bobbie, handles all the store's bookkeeping.
According to Ravetto, many of her customers knew the original owners, and still shop at Lu Garre. She said the ages of her customers range from 30 to 101. For a customer's 100th birthday, Ravetto said the shop would outfit the birthday woman for free. Senior customers, age 65 or older, receive a 10 percent discount.
"It's fun to see regular customers," Ravetto says. "It's a warm feeling to have customers feel that this is their place."
Lu Garre Fashions was originally located in Cherry Chase Center at Bernardo and El Camino streets, but had to be relocated when the center was demolished in the mid-1980s. Ravetto says she and her sister moved the store to the Westmoor Center at Fremont and Mary streets. In 1987, a second Lu Garre Fashions was opened in the original shopping center after the remodeling was complete. However, due to economic concerns, the sisters closed the Cherry Chase store for good in 1992. After 10 years at the Westmoor Center, Lu Garre Fashions finally settled into a 4,000-square-foot building in its current location, the De Anza Center at 1348 S. Mary Ave., Sunnyvale.
Lu Garre Fashions also puts on fashion shows for any organization interested. Ravetto said she charges nothing for the show, but many times the shows are done as fundraisers. Ravetto provides the clothes, but the organization hosting the show must provide the models and the location.
For more information about Lu Garre Fashions, call 408.245.7440, or go to www.LuGarreFashions.com.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
