Almost every shop proprietor agreed that compared to 2000, which was a benchmark year revenue-wise, 2003 was still a tough year. With that in mind, shop owners talked candidly about the challenges each business faced in 2003.

With the end of the year, the reality of a revenue statement in the red is hard to ignore, and Lincoln Avenue Gold Star Jewelers co-owner Alex Kharmandaryan knows this fact all too well.

He's watched his jewelry sales drop 50 percent since the peak years, 1999 and 2000.

"The retail boom that was expected at Christmas didn't happen," he said. "But a lot of people in the industry have experienced the same problem."

He said it is his custom jewelry work that keeps it afloat, but is optimistic that by the middle of 2004, more customers will be coming into the store.

Gold Star has been at its location for 14 years, and he hopes that with the addition of new jewelry more custom work will keep him there for years to come.

Like Gold Star, Cooking Etc. co-owner Dean Sales said business is down from a year ago. But he isn't too concerned about the decrease because he partially attributes the paltry decline to the business's April move from Meridian Avenue to its new location on Lincoln Avenue. And, he said, September was a particularly bad month for his specialty foods, cooking and baking store.

Longtime women's clothing business Alta has seen its share of ups and downs on Lincoln Avenue for 20 years. Alta business manager Laura Swenson said the business is down this year from 2002, but she isn't overly concerned

about the decrease, which was around 12 percent, and is predicting 2004 will be a better year for the business.

"For this store, the holidays do not make or break us," she said. "Our big business is in the spring and fall."

She said the store's Lincoln Avenue location recovered the quickest from the bad economy, compared to its two other Bay Area locations.

For 2004 Swenson said, "We will order over by just a tad for the customers and see how things go from there."

Willow Glen Books owner Cathy Adkins said she doesn't have the final numbers 2003 performance, but she said that from the end of November to December sales amount to almost an extra month of sales for her book shop.

Looking ahead, she said she hopes the parking situation is remedied in downtown Willow Glen so it is more attractive to shop on Lincoln Avenue.

"It's important that we make people feel welcome, and the parking style is not welcoming," she said.

Despite many Willow Glen retail woes in 2003, home-furnishings shop Casa Casa emerged as a diamond in the rough economy.

Co-owner Nancy Biagini observed more positive customer attitudes by the last quarter of 2003, which resulted in increased sales.

"It seems like people are much more confident now," she said. "This was our 12th Christmas here, and we really focused on what we thought people wanted."

In fact, Biagini said pricier items that she didn't expect to be sold were so popular that she had to frequently reorder them.

After a booming three months, she said revenues for 2003 are close to her benchmark 2000 business year, and she is anticipating 2004 will continue that success, although she admits she's planning conservatively.

For more information about Willow Glen businesses, visit http://www.downtownwillowglen.org.