Yet liquor store owner Jaswinder Singh is rather nonchalant about the whole thing, and perhaps his attitude is not unusual for a shopping center that is home to a gun shop, a safe store that displays dead animals, a beauty salon and framing store.

All of the stores in the center are part of a complex built in a Mission-style design. The center, which was built in the late 1960s, is owned by longtime Willow Glen resident Joe Castello.

When Castello bought the property he wanted the center's design to have the look of an old California mission, so he took his plans to an architect and told him if "it wasn't designed properly, he would be fired." The end result is a Spanish-style center that looks different from every other strip mall in the area, simply because Castello likes it that way.

Castello, who also owns Castello's Guns and Sporting Goods, doesn't consider his role as landlord or gun shop owner a real job; it's only a hobby, he says.

"Doing this keeps me out of the bars," he says.

But, after prodding him for what he really enjoys, he mentions his favorite pastime is restoring old cars and motorcycles.

Castello's never been too interested in the businesses that occupy his shopping center, saying, "I don't really care what the businesses do, as long as they pay the rent."

A good example is the Tea, Travel and 'Tiques Store, which has temporarily closed its doors, a fact that doesn't seem to alarm him.

But not all the business owners in the complex are so nonchalant about their neighboring shops.

The Phoenix Gallery is one of the center's original businesses, having been in operation since 1969. Owner Michael Kwiecien says he has seen many businesses come and go during that time.

From his recollection, the original tenants included Posey Garden Flower Shop, a Chinese restaurant, a laundromat and Castello's gun shop.

"There are a few stores here that I could live without," Kwiecien says. "When we were first here, I liked the mix of stores much better. Some of the stores here now attract a clientele that we aren't really happy about."

Thirty-year gallery employee Sherri Clark says she recently heard customers make disparaging comments about American Safe, a neighboring store in the complex. The store displays dead and stuffed animals like grizzly bears and elk from its owner's safari collection.

Yet the tenants and most of the customers who visit the complex don't seem to give a second thought to the rather eclectic grouping of stores, including the tea shop that recently closed.

Kwiecien says he is happy about his business' location because after decades in the same place, his store is well-known in the community.

"This is really different from your average strip mall," he says. "There are a lot of parking spaces available, and we have repeat customers that have been coming to us for decades."

Singh, who took over the longtime Mission Glen Center liquor store eight years ago, concurs with Kwiecien.

He says about 90 percent of his customers probably live within a three- to four-mile radius of the store. He also likes the location because of its ample parking and its proximity to a bus stop.

Willow Glen resident Caroline Northrup, who's been going to see her hairstylist Diann O'Brien, owner of Diann's Salon, for more than two decades, says that all these eclectic shops have never fazed her. She enjoys the salon and also frequents the other stores at the center.

"I buy my Lotto tickets at the liquor store and occasionally use the frame shop, too," she says. "The complex really hasn't changed much over the years. There used to be some different stores, but generally it is about the same."

Only three stores remain as the original tenants of the center—the gallery, the gun shop and the salon.

O'Brien, who has worked at the salon for 22 years and bought the business three years ago, says, "We plan to stay here for years to come. It is a wonderful location for us and our customers."

O'Brien thinks the unique shopping center still has a lot of potential and would like to see the property spruced up a bit, especially since the complex's design is so different from other strip malls in the area.

But Castello likes things just the way they are and considers his center to be one of the remaining jewels in Willow Glen. He isn't a big fan of change and doesn't like all the renovations that are continually taking place downtown.

He says that after years of buying and selling property in San Jose, he takes pride in the fact that his rents have remained low. Although he didn't want to divulge his rate per square foot, he quickly mentioned that owners of properties on Lincoln Avenue are charging $5 to $6 per square foot.

"Since it opened, this complex has always been full, and I will not charge exorbitant fees to these businesses," he says.

Harold Cox, who has been coming to Castello's store for the past 25 years from his residence in Morgan Hill, says there aren't many good gun shops like Castello's.

"We are very fortunate to have this man," Cox says. "Whenever he retires, he will be sorely missed by many."

Despite the unusual mix of stores, Cox, Northrup and other longtime Mission Glen patrons keep coming back to the shopping center because the stores continue to meet their needs. And the storeowners say they have no plans to move either.