Yes, here in Silicon Valley (and Seattle) there’s an app for that.

Starbucks is testing an iPhone/iPod touch app in San Jose, Cupertino, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale, CA. Why here? Because we are cool, or it may be because Apple is here.

My Starbucks Card app was free. It was easy to load my account with my major credit card. I can check my balance, and view my transaction history, etc.

There is a drink and food menu – with cute little pictures. I love it, but the app is only good to use in selected stores.

There is one in San Jose, one in Cupertino (not far from 1 Infinite Loop), one in Sunnyvale, and five (!) in Mountain View. There is even a Starbucks listed for Castro High School. Do they drink more coffee in Mountain View?

There is a place on the app to let Starbucks know what we think. I wish my favorite store (14801 Los Gatos Blvd) was participating.

My iPhone is always with me, and now so is my Starbucks card!

Participating:
20520 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014
5180 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA 95129
1037-C El Monte Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040
1380 Pear Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043
Castro @ High School: 750 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041
809A Cuesta Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94040
2410 Charleston Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043
1687 Hollenbeck Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Safeway's new The Market store opened today.

One of the most anticpated events of this summer has finally come to downtown, as Safeway opened its new “The Market” store downtown. The new store is in The 88 apartment tower, at 2nd and San Fernando.

The store is a little bit of a different concept for Safeway, a smaller store focusing on “grab and go” foods and prepared foods like deli sandwiches. In addition to ready-to-eat food, there was a good selection of produce, including organics, and also packaged and frozen food. Visiting this morning, I didn’t notice that there was any meat counter at all, though I only stopped in quickly on my way to work, and I could have missed it. Prices were similar to other Safeway stores, and a manager from Safeway’s district office told me they intend to keep it that way.

Safeway managers were all over the store and seemed to be enthusiastic about developing a new kind of store for Safeway. I was told if the concept works out they have several other locations picked out where they might put similar stores. I was also told that Safeway is committed to stay in downtown for the long haul, and they have a long lease on the store location.

Bakery counter at the new downtown Safeway.

The new store is clean (naturally) and perhaps “cozy” but not cramped. The fruit and vegetable selection and the competitive prices will be a big gain for people living downtown. Fans of Zanotto’s Market are of course concerned about Safeway stepping in to their “territory” after Zanotto’s took a big risk to bring groceries to downtown when nobody else was willing to do it. I can also imagine the new store threatening Su Vianda, which has done a great job maintaining a clean, spacious store with fresh products in a space that had none of those features under the previous operator (Lucky/Albertson’s). I hope all three of these groceries can find their niches, because competition will keep them all motivated to provide better service and prices.

After my last post on Willow Glen Books, I was disappointed this past weekend, when I was walking on Lincoln Ave, to see Willow Glen Books was finally closed. The doors were shut, the sign on the facade had been taken down, and the interior fixtures were stripped down to a dusty carpet. I figured the announced buyer for the business just hadn’t come through. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that Silicon Valley Business Journal reported today that the deal might not be totally dead. Apparently the buyer, Roland A. Vierra, wasn’t able to get financing to buy the business before the former owner went out of business. But, Vierra is now saying he hasn’t given up hope. He’s still seeking a loan to buy the building and the business so that he can re-open Willow Glen Books. With some luck, San Jose will soon have an independent general book-dealer again.

Back in January of 2008 I put up a post on a then new consignment shop called Tozeero located at 1040 Park Ave. Now there is a new kid on the block. Joanne Perez has opened a cool shop of her own called Time Zone Vintage just across the street at 1045 Park Ave.

Perez has put together a vendor block sale featuring vintage collectibles.

Saturday, June 27th
10 AM to 3 PM
1045 and 1040 Park Ave.

Guru's Market today.

I was recently pointed at a discussion thread on Yelp!, on the topic of the proposed Little Italy district somewhere near downtown San Jose. The post that caught my eye was near the top, where Anthony B. says “Gurus liquor store was the first grocery store in San Jose, Jeoy Francos PW, and it was Italian owned.” Earlier investigation had led to the information that the Guru’s Liquor building was built in 1934 by the same contractor who had earlier built my house, back in the 1910’s; so I wanted to find out if he had really also built San Jose’s first grocery store, and started the Joey Franco’s chain that’s still around today.

Unfortunately, it turns out Anthony B.’s claim isn’t quite true, but there is an interesting story connecting the building and the Franco family.

First, this wasn’t a Joey Franco’s PW Market. As the story is told on the PW Markets community page, Joey Franco started out in the grocery business working for his cousins, the brothers Henry and Joseph Franco, at their Franco Brothers Markets. The 13th and Washington Street store was one of theirs, and it was known as Franco’s 13th Street Market.

Second, this wasn’t the first grocery store in San Jose. It wasn’t even Franco Brothers’ first store. Visiting the California Room at the San Jose Public Library to review the old city directories, I found out that as early as 1925 they had a store on Santa Clara Street. It might have moved in the interim, but in 1932 they were located at 5th and Santa Clara, a site that is now, I guess, buried beneath City Hall. One of the key selling points was their own “$25,000 Ice Cream Factory”. They built the 13th Street store in 1934, and by 1945 they had added a third store on The Alameda. They were still listed in the directory in 1950, but by 1960 Franco Brothers were out of business.

So, what’s now Guru’s Market and Liquors wasn’t actually San Jose’s first grocery, and it wasn’t Joey Franco’s PW Market; but it was Italian-owned and in the Franco family. And that’s still a nice piece of San Jose history to keep in mind.

Franco's Thirteenth Street Market, circa 1945.

From the Good News department, the Mercury reported today that Willow Glen Books, San Jose’s last independent general interest book store, may have found a buyer. Absent a buyer, owner Cathy Adkins had planned to close the store when she retires at the end of this month.

The newly renamed Chase Bank branch on Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose

It looks like JP Morgan Chase is finally rebranding the local branches of Washington Mutual, which it “rescued” a few months ago. More information for WaMu customers is here.

John Morris, a member of the family who founded Mervyns, may be planning to revive the chain. It would be good to see the now empty stores back up on their feet – fresh paint, new fixtures, quality goods, and happy employees.

Cathy Adkins, owner of Willow Glen Books has announced she will sell her business, or else close the store by June. Given the state of the local bookstore business, I’ll be shocked (but ecstatic) if she’s able to find a buyer. It will be a shame to see this local institution go.

Willow Glen Books can’t compete with the major chains on the size of its inventory, but they always have a selection that shows its chosen with care. When browsing the store, I always feel as if I could take any book on the shelf to the register and be told exactly why the staff recommend it. Willow Glen Books also has the best selection in town of local interest and local history books. From recollections of frontier life in Las Gatos to the complete history of The Alameda, there was always something to learn about the Santa Clara Valley at Willow Glen Books.

The yarn shop Commuknity on The Alameda went out of business on Sunday. I didn’t shop there myself, but my girlfriend would go in a couple of times a year. She was glad to be able to get supplies for her hobby so close to downtown. The store itself was very upscale, and had about twice the floorspace of many of its competitors. A very ambitious venture, and one that seemed to be successful for a couple of years. But 2009 doesn’t seem to be the year for ambitious ventures.

Hopefully no more of our favorite near-downtown stores will be forced to close. I’ve been impressed with how San Jose’s small business owners have hung in there so far. There don’t really seem to be more shuttered businesses around than there are even in good times, but surely many small businesses are having a hard time. When you’re out shopping this year, please remember to shop local!