Kismet owner Jennifer McRay, left, Romantiques owner Susan Testa and Time Out owner Ginger Rowe shared the Business of the Year award at last week’s Chamber of Commerce annual dinner that was attended by more than 150 local business and town leaders. (George Sakkestad/Staff Photographer)
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce honored local business owners at its annual dinner on Oct. 12 at La Rinconada Country Club. This year, a three-way tie made for a friendly Business of the Year celebration. Owners of Romantiques Lingerie, Time Out Clothing and Kismet Boutique were each on hand to accept.
Romantiques owner Susan Testa, Time Out owner Ginger Rowe and Kismet owner Jennifer McRay—friends for years—are well-liked local business owners.
“They’re all incredible businesswomen,” Chamber president Patti Rice said. “They’ve learned the art of customer service and they’re dedicated. I’ve shopped in their stores for years.”
Also recognized was Business Person of the Year Linda Lester, who owns Lester Square at the corner of Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road.
“She has a head for numbers and pays attention to details,” Chamber Executive Director Catherine Somers said. “She’s also a philanthropist who’s sponsored Jazz on the Plazz, Unity Care for foster kids, the humane society—the list goes on and on.”
Lester says she loves seeing her donations “working for the community and making a difference,” and believes in being fair to her tenants.
“We’re in this together and we’re one team with a common goal, which is to succeed in business,” Lester said.
Los Gatos Ballet’s Executive Director Marcie Ryken, meantime, accepted the award for Nonprofit of the Year.
“We have a big Los Gatos Ballet community,” Ryken said. “We do a lot of outreach and we asked them to support us for this award, as they always have.”
The Chamber held a silent auction during the event and raised nearly $3,000 that will be donated to the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce to help the fire-ravaged city rebuild its business community.
New name takes off
There’s some surprising news from Hult’s owner Alex Hult, who plans to re-brand his restaurant at 165 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road as Flights. Hult opened the first Flights tapas restaurant in downtown Campbell in June.
“We’re full every single night with lines out the door,” Hult said. “The best way to describe Flights is by the menu: If you order tuna, you get it prepared three different ways. If you order chardonnay, you get a flight of French, Italian and California chardonnays.”
One reason for the change is the “incredibly expensive” cost of fine dining, Hult said.
Hult’s will serve its final meals on New Year’s Eve, then close for remodeling. Flights is tentatively scheduled to open in February. Visit flightscampbell.com.
Halloween ha-ha
Funny Monkey Comics, 114 Royce St., is holding a Halloween Comic Fest in conjunction with its one-year anniversary in downtown Los Gatos. The comic
fest is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, with two free Halloween-themed comics for everyone and two more for costumed visitors. “The free comics are for all ages, from young children to adults,” shop owner Kevin Wu said. “We’ll have titles like Caspar, Archie, DC Super Hero Girls, Batman and Star Wars Darth Maul. We’ll probably have some candy, too.” Visit funnymonkeycomicslg.com.
Mickey and Minnie visit
Also at 114 Royce St. you’ll find Mon Amie Harlow, the indoor children’s play space that opened in February. They’re planning a “Halloween Bash with Mickey and Minnie” that includes a meet and greet with the famous characters, a costume parade, photo booth, snacks and other activities. The event is Oct. 27, 4-6 p.m., and Oct. 28, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. It’s for kids ages 6 months to 7 and costs $25. Call 408-560-9692 or visit monamieharlow.com to reserve a spot.
Juice joy
There’s a new health-oriented juice store in town called juice co. LG at 155 N. Santa Cruz Ave. This is the juice company’s first brick and mortar location, and it’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The company specializes in cold-pressed, organic juices like CO1 that includes apple, lemon and ginger flavors, and GO2 that has kiwi, cucumber, spinach, celery and kale.
“Our juices are made in our Dell Avenue kitchen in Campbell,” employee Jeanette Connolly said, “but at some point we’ll be moving the kitchen to North Santa Cruz Avenue. It’s under construction now.”
Because juice co. LG uses a cold-press process, each 16-ounce bottle has two to four pounds of fruits and vegetables that maintain their nutrients for up to four days.
You can also purchase juice co. juices in Los Gatos at SoulCycle, the farmers’ market, Los Gatos Roasting Company, the Purple Onion’s Winchester Boulevard cafe, Southern Kitchen and CycleBar. Visit juicecolg.com.
Weekend brunch
The Catamount restaurant at Old Town, 50 University Ave., is now offering brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The brunch menu includes dishes like Maple-Ginger Scones, Challah French Toast, Chilaquiles, Beef Brisket, Poblano Hash and Oysters on the Half Shell. The beverage menu features fresh-squeezed juices and pitchers of signature cocktails that have names like “Savannah Sunset.” Visit thecatamount.com.
Smooth talker
If you’re looking for an auctioneer for a nonprofit event, look no further than Testarossa Winery owner Rob Jensen. He was the keynote speaker at a recent fundraiser for Palo Alto’s International School of the Peninsula and raised $40,000 for a luncheon tour of the winery at 300 College Ave. The bidding started at $3,000 and quickly jumped to $10,000. “It was the perfect opportunity to quadruple our donation and let the top four bidders win a luncheon for 10, bringing the total for that auction item up to $40,000,” Jensen said. The school, by the way, offers inquiry-based bilingual classes in French and Mandarin. Visit istp.org and testarossa.com.
Medical mindfulness
El Camino Hospital, 815 Pollard Road, has a new online price estimator that people can use to obtain out-of-pocket estimates for 80 medical procedures and services. “The most common and popular services that people are running online estimates for are diagnostic and screening colonoscopies, lab services, and C-section and normal deliveries,” El Camino’s Jennifer Thrift said in an email. The tool also factors in insurance benefits when calculating costs and is supported by financial counselors who are available by phone. Visit elcaminohospital.org.
