BEST
Hair Salon

FUSION HAIR STUDIO

There's a new top salon in town. Sherry Hammons' Fusion Hair Studio has been named the Willow Glen Resident's Best Hair Salon for the first time.

Located at 112 Brace Ave., the upscale Fusion Hair Salon has been a fixture in Willow Glen for about a decade and a half, which has allowed the salon to develop a loyal following of customers who know and trust the people who work on their hair.

All the stylists in Fusion have been doing hair for 15 to 20 years, Hammons says. And Hammons herself grew up in the neighborhood. She has worked at the salon from the year it opened and has owned it for six years, she says. Customers go to her shop because they believe that she and the other stylists there not only know hair, but they know what Willow Glen people want.

"We're edgy," she says, "But we're not crazy."

Fusion Hair Studio, 1112 Brace Ave., 408.286.9274.

BEST
Florist

FLOWER FLOUR

With a European flair, Flower Flour is smitten by cute and charming. It's impossible to walk into the shop to buy flowers without walking past something delectable made of flour. The pastries are as beautiful and delicate as the flowers.

Owner Mimi Brown cut her baking teeth working for her family's restaurant in the East Bay, and her flower-design skills blossomed while working for Bloomster's in Almaden for 10 years. Shopping—for a gift such as a small, beaded purse or a footed vase—while sitting is easy at the cafe-style tables and chairs that beg indulgence on pastries and espresso for breakfast or a salad and sandwich for lunch.

The typical is atypical here, and Brown says she wants to offer something in the way of flowers and desserts that won't be found at the supermarket. From bunches of brightly colored wavy cockscomb to Gerbera daisies to sedum to exotic-looking orchids, Flower Flour stands out from the rest with reasonable prices for outstanding quality.

Flower Flour, 896 Willow St., 408.279.0843.

BEST
Bank

WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK

Scarlet Myers, general manager of the Willow Glen branch of Washington Mutual Bank, says her bank's "quirkiness" is probably a main reason why neighborhood residents voted her branch the Best Bank of Willow Glen.

"We try to be offbeat," she says. "We don't want to have the image of the old, stodgy bank."

Corporate headquarters even tells its employees that they must be "different," to set themselves apart from competitors. And employees have taken to calling themselves "WaMunians."

However, it isn't just the out-of-the-box culture there that makes them special, Myers adds. Even though Washington Mutual as a company has been in town for about eight years, the bank on the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota avenues has been there under a different name since 1973—but it was called Home Savings. And because many of the employees have been working at the location for almost as long, Myers says, they've had the chance to develop more personal relationships with their customers.

Washington Mutual Bank, 1402 Lincoln Ave., 408.998.5444.

BEST
Spa/Salon

SACHS DAY SPA

Lose yourself in luxurious aromas and pampering at Sachs Day Spa. Winner, once again, the spa has many of the same products including DDF and Essential Elements, but this year it has added its own line of lotions, gels and skin-care products.

Dieters beware; the Jaqua "Bakery Collection" line of skin-care products could cause instant weight gain if they were edible. The Orange Vanilla Sugar Scrub features Hawaiian pure cane sugar and kukui nut oil, the Buttercream Frosting shea butter says it is "sinfully rich body butter," and the Buttercream Frosting Hydrating Shower Syrup sounds as if it requires a luscious pound cake accompaniment, but it doesn't.

The full-service spa offers massages, body treatments, facials, peels, brow tweezing, brow tinting and the ever-popular and most often requested service, waxing.

For the ultimate splurge and spoil, try a heated-stone massage where smooth, warm stones are applied to pressure points, and follow that with a mango body polish body treatment.

Sachs Day Spa, 1375 Lincoln Ave., 408.298.1375, www.sachsdayspa.com.

BEST
Dry Cleaner

ELITE CLEANERS

Elite Cleaners is no stranger to being at the top. Residents of Willow Glen once more declared the dry-cleaning establishment on Willow Street the Best Dry Cleaner in the neighborhood.

Elite is owned and operated by Christopher Yi. He's had the Willow Street location for more than 11 years, and uses it simply as a place where customers drop off their clothes. Cleaning operations are actually done off-site, in Campbell, says employee Celeste De Leon, who has worked there for about seven years. Elite also normally has on hand a seamstress who will tailor clothes to custom-fit customers.

De Leon says most of the people who come into the shop have said they appreciate the fast and personable service they get there, often chatting with employees long after they've picked up their items.

"We talk to them," she says with a laugh. "A lot of them. They come and they'll tell us when they're mad at their husbands."

Elite has cleaned up again.

Elite Cleaners, 1102 Willow St., 408.292.4929.

BEST
Deli

BERTUCELLI'S LA VILLA

It's a secret. That's what Chris Bertucelli says when asked what's in the most popular sandwich at Bertucelli's La Villa deli. The deli, located on Lincoln Avenue, sells 20 to 30 Chris Combo sandwiches—named after him—every day.

"And no one even knows what's in there," he says.

No one complains, either. In fact, customers like the combo and other items on the menu so much that they chose Bertucelli's La Villa deli as the Best Deli in Willow Glen for the second consecutive year.

Bertucelli's La Villa, a Willow Glen institution since 1947, was formerly called La Villa Delicatessen, but its official name changed to reflect the past 15 years of ownership by Dave and Patty Bertucelli, Chris' parents. Today, Chris and his brother, Carlos, manage the shop, which has more than 20 sandwiches on its menu.

It is also known for its raviolis, Chris says, which are always fresh and handmade.

Bertucelli's La Villa, 1319 Lincoln Ave., 408.295.7851.

BEST
Women's Clothing

DETAILS

The storefront to Details is deceptive because the shop is deeper than it appears, both in length and in product.

Though this clothing store has won again for best women's clothing, men who stop in looking for a gift for a lady in their life will be pleasantly surprised by what there is to offer them.

No need to sweat the small stuff, because owners Bernie and Robyn Levine have already done that in their purchasing. The clothes are trendy, stylish and eye-catching. Friendly, knowledgeable and sociable staff are ready to assist in selecting and coordinating an ensemble fit to be seen strolling Lincoln Avenue, grabbing a bite to eat at one of the nearby casually elegant eateries, or people-watching from a cafe table at Peet's Coffee & Tea.

Details, 1322 Lincoln Ave., 408.286.5555.

BEST
Recycled Clothing

OUR SECRET

It's no secret that Our Secret is a bargain, especially for those enticed by designer labels.

"It's the difference between a Mercedes and a Ford," owner Julie Painchaud told a man when he asked why a particular label commanded a higher price tag.

The consignment shop sells the same high-end names as pricey Santana Row but at a fraction of the cost. Giorgio Armani, Ellen Tracy, Prada, DKNY, Chanel, Escada and more stand tall in the quaint old house that has been home to Our Secret for 1 ¹/2 years. Sophistication rules each room of the house, with bags and shoes in one, evening gowns in another, and everything in between.

It's all women's wear until Christmas, when Painchaud brings in men's sweaters and Italian ties. When she moved to the new location, she added a home décor selection accessible from Lincoln Avenue.

Items that go unsold and unclaimed get donated to local charities such as Career Closet.

Our Secret, 1357 Lincoln Ave., 408.289.9290.

BEST
Eclectic Shop

FLEURISH

"Fleurish." It's not even a word in the dictionary, but residents of Willow Glen have come to know its meaning very well. Fleurish, a play on the word "flourish," is actually the name of the store that Willow Glen residents voted 2004's Best Eclectic Shop in Willow Glen.

With a product line that even shop owner Natalie Thompson finds hard to describe, the small retailer on Lincoln Avenue draws customers from around the neighborhood and surrounding communities, who browse and shop for unique home décor items, holiday gifts, bath accessories and garden merchandise.

"We try to have things that you won't be able to find anywhere else," Thompson says. "We have purses and totes made of vintage upholstery fabric, handles made of recycled belts and antique button jewelry that dates to the early 1800s."

She notes that her store is only a 1,000-square-foot establishment, "but I order from hundreds of stores."

Fleurish, 1335 Lincoln Ave., 408.294.5557.

BEST
Exercise Studio

BALLY'S TOTAL FITNESS

Once again Bally's has been named by Willow Glen Resident readers as the best exercise studio in the neighborhood.

Mario Bugarini, sales manager, says it's the kind of place where people who are concerned about their health and fitness come to work out. "It's not a meat market," he says.

The dozens of pieces of cardiovascular equipment, including treadmills, stair-steppers, ellipticals and stationary bikes, are just the beginning of what is offered. Free weights and classes such as spinning, aerobics, yoga and more add to the list of choices.

But the thing Bulgarini says is what makes Bally's stand out from the competition is the one-on-one training.

"It's all about the training and customer service we provide," he says. "It's the attitude we have. We show that we really care about the person."

Bally's Total Fitness, 1570 Hamilton Ave., 408.267.1900.