Photograph by Johanna Carson
Book Page: Cathy Adkins, owner of Willow Glen Books, can take orders via email and will have a store web page soon.
Getting on the e-biz ball
Going online lets area businesses grow while helping WG retain its small-town charm
By Chantal Lamers
Let's get it on. Online, that is. Businesses all over Silicon Valley are getting online and opening up their doors to a whole new world of customers. Dot-coms have paved the way, and businesses in Willow Glen are hitching a ride.
Small business owners are getting hip to the fact that there are millions of potential customers who surf the World Wide Web daily. Customers who, perhaps, want coffee, catering services or kitchen cabinet knobs from a mom and pop shop out of Silicon Valley's loveliest suburb.
While mamas and dadas were pushing baby strollers down Lincoln Avenue, sipping smoothies and boutique coffee, business owners were putting together web pages with online order forms and email addresses. While so many Glenites were keen on keeping their pocket of San Jose a secret, merchants were busy letting the world in on their ebusiness.
Food and Bev E-biz
Food and beverage services are big business in Willow Glen. By going online, restaurant owners can cash in on customers from all over the area. The ease of conducting business electronically is soothing for busy Glenites, too.
Teresa Olague, The Glen restaurant's event coordinator and manager, said most potential clients would rather check out the business online than speak to someone over the phone. The majority of The Glen's clients come from a 60-mile radius, but many are seeking locations for wedding dinners and receptions, and private and company dinners. At www.the-glen.com, potential diners can read lunch and dinner menus, check out wine and beer selections and even make reservations by email.
Olague said people looking online are going through a process of elimination, deciding which facility suits them best, taking advantage of the quickness of the web.
Willow Glen's own Coffee Roasting Company spilled the beans when owner Chris Carris put the business online. The shop's beans and blends are available with the click of a mouse: Far East and Ocean blends like Sumatra, New Guinea and mocha sanani, and special blends like Lincoln Avenue light, Willow Glen Blend and Minnesota Dark. Now anyone can get the company's most mouthwatering flavors, such as coconut and apricot cream, chocolate, butter pecan orange and raspberry.
Companies and restaurants can get regular deliveries of the beans, with a minimum order of five pounds at a time. Order forms are just a click away at www.coffeewillowglen.com.
Talk of the Town Catering and Cafe offers party planners the ease of ordering online. Customers can choose from an assortment of catering options such as the breakfast express, general catering, banquet-facility cafe or gift baskets. Planners looking for a little pick-me-up can also order a facility espresso bar for their soirees.
At www.talkofthetown.com, customers can describe what kind of food they're interested in purchasing, the date and location of their event and the amount of their budget.
At the site, web surfers can search through menus to find the perfect cuisine for their celebration. Planners can choose from such hors d'oeuvres as kahlua pork skewers, Oriental chicken drummettes and chilled jumbo shrimp. For dinner, guests can look forward to hot entrees such as flank steak béarnaise and desserts such as pineapple cheesecake squares or Jamaican coffee mousse. Co-owners promise clients who stick with them they will throw a party that'll be the talk of the town.
The Retail E-biz Buz
Restaurants and beverage shops aren't the only businesses racking in extra chunks of change from Internet sales. Retail shops around town are establishing their mark, too. Ballet bars, books, bathroom cabinet handles and baseball caps have the potential to sell like hotcakes, too, with some www.com help.
Swingers Golf Apparel Shop may be Lincoln Avenue's newest business, but it's actually been around the web for a while now. Owner Johnny Carr, 25, has been selling the swinging golf gear for nearly two years through catalog and Internet sales. The website offers a line of sweatshirts, T-shirts, baseball caps, wind shirts, V-neck vests and an assortment of polos and club wear.
Across the nation and around the world, young and young-at-heart golfers shop at www.swingersgolf.com.
But Carr warns potential shoppers to be sure and type in "swingersgolf." Those who type in just "swingers" are in for a whole different kind of website.
Martha Stewart wannabes--or anyone looking for a little pizzazz for their home--can find it at www.bauerware.com. Bauerware offers an assortment of knobs and pulls, including contemporary, vintage, children's, traditional and game-piece knobs. With over 1,000 to choose from there's a little something for everyone at Bauerware Cabinet Hardware.
Owner Lou Ann Bauer set up shop on Lincoln Avenue earlier this year. A smaller Bauerware shop thrives in San Francisco's Upper Market area. Her stores and website offer knobs in all different forms and styles that range in cost from $3 to $1,500 a piece. The website's "showroom" features over 100 whimsical knobs by artisans, manufacturers and crafts people.
Willow Glen Books owner Cathy Adkins recently announced a new service. Customers can email their orders, and Adkins will email or call when the book arrives.
Increasing services is just part of being in business, she says. As for competing with those other online bookstores, Adkins says there's nothing like a physical, neighborhood bookstore. She's still working on her website. In the meantime, customers can request books by emailing wg.book@att.net.
Victoria's Dance Theatrical Supply isn't just busy around Halloween, when parades of people come wandering by in search of the perfect costume. Nor is the business only booming when ballerinas need a new pair of point shoes, a leotard or a tutu. In fact, the business passersby see on Lincoln Avenue is just a portion of the business Victoria's actually does. To people around the world, Victoria's Dance Theatrical Supply is known as Dance Equipment International.
Ballerinas and gymnasts can log onto www.danceequipment.com, where they will find some of the best dance equipment available. Ballet barres, sprung floors, portable dance mats, mirrors and gym mats are available with a few clicks of the mouse.
The electronics revolution may be making the world smaller, but ebusiness is making Willow Glen just a little bit larger.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
