A letter in response to the article printed in the Jan. 7 issue of the Willow Glen Resident:

After a long-awaited vacation in Belize, I opened my shop on Tuesday morning to find my friendly copy of the Willow Glen Resident waiting for me. Front and center was an article on how Lincoln Avenue merchants had a mixed review for 2003. The article had a subtle, but unmistakable negative tone.

Was 2003 an easy year for business? Absolutely not. Especially small, independent retail. However, that does not imply that it was an unsuccessful year for many of us. As one merchant on Lincoln Avenue likes to put it, "I'm showing modest growth for 2003—but that modest growth is a comparison to my best year in over a decade of business."

It's easy to notice businesses that fail and the closing of a shop is an obvious event. However, considering how difficult running a successful small business is, I believe that Lincoln Avenue is not experiencing an extraordinary amount of turnover. Businesses run in cycles, there is start-up, maturity and often, naturally a decline. One of the tricks of the trade is to reinvent your business on a regular basis as your clientele and economy changes; the businesses that can do this will generally continue to show growth consistently.

I am happy to share that The Grapevine showed strong growth in 2003. Maybe we tried harder than others on the avenue, maybe we were in the right place with the right product, maybe we were lucky. Probably it's a combination of all the above. I am thankful to my local and loyal customers and trust their feedback. I will do my best to continue to give them what they want.

Two-thousand-four is full of promise. The community is settling down after many social and economic challenges and is clearly committed to supporting the businesses on Lincoln Avenue that provide services and products that they desire. When a business falters a good business person will ask themselves the tough questions: "Is this the right product at the right price?", "Do I need to amend my business plan?", "Am I in the right location?". Sometimes the answers to these questions lead to closure, sometimes they lead to vibrant, exciting change. Both are opportunities.

I look forward to 2004 and believe that The Grapevine and Lincoln Avenue will continue to see growth and success.

Cara Finn
The Grapevine
President, WG Business and
Professional Association

Gardner area should
get equal treatment

We are very happy that the ugly building at Bird and Auzerais/Interstate 280, one of the main gateways to Willow Glen, is finally being demolished. It is high time that the building got demolished or restored. We certainly do not mind vacant lots, compared to that true eyesore. The building truly illustrated the definition of blight, a highly visible, two-story abandoned structure with broken-out windows, unpainted and unmatching stucco, fire-hazard dry weeds surrounding it for years, surrounded by a chain-link prison-type of fence. Get the picture?

We've looked at it for decades, and this was Willow Glen's greeting to the outside world at one of its main northern "gateways" for decades.

But the real question that needs to be asked is why the northern Gardner part of Willow Glen had to put up with that incredible ugly hulk of a building for so long. Telling us that the city worked with various property owners over the years is an atrocious excuse for the 10th largest city in the country.

It is time for the Gardner Area of Willow Glen to finally be treated more equally and less like a stepchild now and in the future.

Gary Jansen

Willow Glen

Downtown needs to
clean up the streets

I've lived in Willow Glen since 1966, obviously a long time. Given this, I have a special love for Lincoln Avenue. But recently, I got to discover why people are frequently wishing Lincoln Avenue could be like downtown Los Gatos.

One afternoon, I had an early dinner with a friend at one of the many eating establishments in downtown Los Gatos. After, we took a walk, pausing frequently to peruse and go into several of the shops there.

And as we walked, I noticed something missing from Los Gatos that is quite prevalent and unsightly on Lincoln Avenue—bird droppings. Their main street is also more picked up and their trash cans don't look like oversize deodorant cans, like the ones on Lincoln Avenue do.

Get the picture? This should be an object lesson to the merchants on the avenue that cleanliness will make the downtown more inviting to visit.

I also noticed how teeming with activity downtown Los Gatos was during a mild winter Saturday afternoon. You can rarely say the same for Lincoln Avenue.

Much as I'd like to keep visiting the Lincoln Avenue, this resident will instead be making more forays to downtown Los Gatos, where the sidewalk is clean and where the stores have displays to look at.

June E. Cooley

Almaden Road