Richard Hassett with his dad Larry Hassett

When traveling north on Interstate 5, people often take Highway 45 into the little town of Colusa to play at the casino. Me? I detour there to shop at the Ace Hardware store. Yes, I do have a thing for hardware.

Today I paid a visit to a new hardware store closer to home. I loved it the moment I walked in. A rack of sun hats to the left, keys hanging to the right and garden tools straight ahead - lovely. I give Larry Hassett and his sons credit for starting up a new ’small’ business in this new age of big-box chains. The Ace at the corner of Lincoln and Curtner will be so handy.

Mr. Hassett is very happy with the number of neighbors who have come to visit his Willow Glen store. When I asked what products were selling the best, he mentioned garden supplies and that he was pleased with the popularity of the Weber Barbecue Grills. It should smell good in ‘The Glen’ this summer!!!

The Grand Opening is a Big 3-Day Event
May 16, 17, and 18
Doors Open 8am

Free Refreshments - and more.
Spin-to-Win
Grand Prize Drawings

Saturday 9am Ribbon Cutting - San Jose City Council member Mr. Oliverio

2253 Lincoln Ave
San Jose, Ca 95125
(Willow Glen)
408 - 267 - 0223

The Hassett family is not new to the hardware business. Together they have years of experience and the product knowledge to resolve a variety of household problems. They tell their story here.

Mary Maroon and that guy.

I stopped by the Cupertino Bike Shop to ask about their upcoming bike swap meet. Mary Maroon (got-ta love her name) told me that the swap will be held in the rear parking lot behind the shop. I discovered that over 50 vendors will have great deals on new and used bikes and related items. Cupertino Bike Shop and ROMP will donate vendor space proceeds to help support off-road trails etc.

Cupertino Bike Shop - Sunday Apr 27 - 10493 S. De Anza Blvd, Cupertino California -10 Am - Admission is a mere $2.00 - Bring cash - no plastic or checks accepted at the swap meet. (408) 255-2217 

ROMP

VanderKitten  

In the weekend edition of the Morgan Hill Times, is a comment to the paper’s hotline about the vacant Target building at Cochrane Rd and US-101. The building is an 80,000 sq ft facility, now vacant since Target moved to the massive shopping center on the eastern side of US-101. One by one the businesses in the center see less traffic, relocate, or close altogether because of the absence of the traffic brought in by Target. It’s not surprising, however, that the new Target Center (complete with Circuit City, Staples, Men’s Wearhouse, Petco, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Quiznos, Chili’s and soon a nine screen theater) is the major draw in the area of Cochrane Road.

The question asked of the Times ‘Red Phone’ column is, “Why not Whole Foods?” Whole Foods is a good, healthy (and social) fit for this town. Forget that Wal-Mart claims to be bringing a more ‘upscale’ version of its store. There’s still quite a cultural gap between Wal-Mart and Whole Foods Market.

So, why not Whole Foods?

The answer is depressing and complicated.

The explanation from the Times explains the desire of Whole Foods to be here, and much of that is determined by demographic and psychographic profiles. The math involved points to about 50,000 people within a five mile radius of the market, but that’s not good enough– Whole Foods may want that density in a one mile radius.

This is complicated because of the vast amount of open space and farmland in the area.

Trade Joe’s encountered the same situation, being begged to come here. Eventually, TJ’s did make it, and is located right off of US-101 on Dunne Avenue.

So, for all the restrictions on growth to preserve a natural environment, the return is that to sustain some business and income is by bringing in yet another big box retailer. On the other hand, when Morgan Hill turned down the type of retail presence now dominated by Gilroy to the south, all the tax dollars went–guess where?– not here. Most of the time, to get any real shopping done, I find myself driving either 12 miles south to Gilroy, or 12 miles north to south San Jose.

A perplexing situation?

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photo under creative commons license, That Other Paper

Recently I heard of Los Gatos being home to millionaires and about its quaint yet chic downtown. The small city nestles between San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell and the Santa Cruz mountains. Downtown is Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street, which lie near Highway 17.

We checked it out on a cloudy Saturday. Many of the buildings retain their Victorian past. The shops, mainly catering to the wealthy residents, include a whole lot of boutiques, “home stuff” places and a good variety of restaurants. There is an Apple store and even a Lamborghini showroom!

Parking is free. You could park on either end of Santa Cruz Avenue and walk the stretch. Thankfully for us, a soon-to-be-closed Sharper Image store gave us the opportunity of a free massage to relax, after hanging around for a few hours there.

If you want to spend a day in leisure, away from the regular fast-paced life, check out Los Gatos Downtown.

(Target on Coleman Ave.)

I met Nina Hautumm while waiting in the lobby of the San Jose Repertory Theatre. We were both there to see the World Premier of Sherman’s Way. I discovered that Nina herself was a moviemaker. Sharp Cookies is a short comedy (17 minutes) and is one of the winners of the ‘Vuze Audience Favorites.’ I told her that I would catch it on Sunday.

Reaching into her Cinequest Gift Bag, she came up with a 12oz bag of Peet’s Coffee. She asked, “Do you like coffee?” Nina doesn’t drink coffee is the reason she gave it to me.

Nina asked me, “Where are the shops?” She wanted to pick up a few things, maybe some new shoes. Without going into the whole where in the heck are the shops in San Jose debate, I directed her to Santana Row and Valley Fair.

Sharp Cookies

Vuze Audience Favorites

We know about the Tesco efforts to open a ‘Fresh and Easy’ grocery store at Bird and Minnesota. Although I heard that there was a problem with the liquor license (the city doing their best to encourage new business?) things must be moving forward. This morning Tesco announced the opening of yet another ‘Fresh and Easy’ in San Jose. The second grocery, not far from Bird and Minnesota, will take over the soon to close Safeway at Almaden and Curtner.

It is interesting that both ‘Fresh and Easy’ stores will be located in the Willow Glen neighborhood.

I heard about Tozeero consignment department store on the radio one morning while channel surfing for a traffic report. Being a thrift store and garage sale connoisseur, my ears perked up. I was hearing about a new shop where goods for sale drop in price as time goes by. The story gets better. Most everything in the store can be viewed online, along with the declining price scale. Tozeero offers in-store space for those who wish to display and sell their no longer needed items on a consignment agreement.

That afternoon I checked out their site, and found it interesting enough to pay a visit in person. My first impression was a good one. The personable owners, Heather Pham and Rudy Klemencic seemed pleased to help. I found the layout easy to navigate. The refreshing lack of any funky thrift store smell was nice.

They get points for offering to pick-up your items to be sold. And, I find that Buyer Notification is a cool feature too. Just let them know what it is you are looking for and an e-mail buyer notification will be sent out. I’m in the market for a two-piece pool cue.

The only drawback I can find is the requirement that items to be sold must be covered by the sellers homeowners insurance.

p.s. I want the clock.

Tozeero
1040 Park Ave.
408-971-4948.

Noon to 6 p.m. Monday - Saturday
Noon to 5 p.m. - Sundays.
Tuesdays - closed

The weather conditions for San Jose are looking brighter, but my old black umbrella has seen better days. This afternoon I had some time to kill, so I popped into University Art on Meridian Ave. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but there is was. A dragonfly to keep me dry in style when the next storm comes to town. Can’t wait.

The nice young woman at University Art got my new umbrella down for me.

Before Santana Row, there was Town & Country Village, a sprawling one-level, Spanish-style buildings with stores and restaurants. Before Town & Country Village, there was a 65-acre pear orchard. This Sunday Santana Row celebrates its 5-year anniversary with its first annual Pear Festival.

Festival attendees will be able to meet pear farmers, taste the pear-influenced creations of chefs during the Santana Row Chef Challenge, attend a pear dessert demonstration, enjoy performances by local folk, country and jazz musicians, visit the farmer’s market, along with other activities.

Learn new pear recipes, growing techniques and more from the growers themselves; also, sample different types of pears from across the country. 10:00am. - 6:00pm

The Santana Row Chef Challenge with Chefs David Bastide (Left Bank), Vittal Shetty (Amber India), Michael Dunn (Yankee Pier), Stephen J. Romeo (Straits Café) and others compete using fresh ingredients from the Santana Row Farmers’ Market, as well as any spice or meat/fish they wish, the chefs must create a pear-themed dish in only 30 minutes. The lucky spectators get to be the judges. 11:00am, 2:00pm & 4:00pm

Bay Area chef and author of award-winning dessert cookbooks Alice Medrich will demonstrate her pastry techniques when she prepares a special pear dessert. Noon

Santana Row
Winchester & Stevens Creek Boulevards, San Jose
Sunday, Oct. 7
10:00am. - 6:00pm
Free

Driving Directions