Pedro’s modifications, espresso home provides beer and wine, new cookbook launches and extra – The Mercury Information
Photograph by George Sakkestad
The Catamount restaurant at Old Town is set to open May 1, which is why workers installed the restaurant’s new sign on Tuesday morning. Since Los Gatos means ‘the cats’ and the town is at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the restaurant’s name is designed to pay homage to the town’s history and landscape.
Pedro’s Restaurant & Cantina has graced the corner of North Santa Cruz Avenue and Petticoat Lane since November 29, 1972, when it opened as a twelve-table Mexican restaurant. But big changes are coming to Pedro’s.
The town’s “pending planning” section at losgatosca.gov lists plans for the “Los Gatos Cafe” at Pedro’s current address, which is 316 N. Santa Cruz. But that’s confusing since the Los Gatos Cafe is a few doors down at 340 N. Santa Cruz and cafe owner Robert Morcat says he’s “perfectly happy” at his current location.
Turns out the “Los Gatos Cafe” is a placeholder for a new restaurant, but architect Anthony Fish is mum on the actual plans.
“That’s not the name,” Fish said. “That’s a working name.”
He went on to say that Pedro’s will be “completely remodeled” and the “concept” is changing.
“I can’t say anything else because I signed a nondisclosure agreement, but people will be proud,” Fish said.
The proposal that’s online says the new restaurant and bar would have 88 seats, instead of the current 237 seats, and a new entrance and chef’s garden will be added.
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There are also changes afoot at the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company, 101 W. Main St. Tuesday night, the town council green-lighted owner Teri Hope’s plans to provide beer and wine, and entertainment before 10 p.m.
Although the coffeehouse already serves food, Hope will expand the menu to meet town requirements and better accommodate patrons who order beer or wine. The menu is expected to include dinner and dessert crepes, and nightly specials.
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The Catamount at Old Town is set to open for dinner only beginning May 1. Although the California Cafe sign has been gone for a while, its ghost remained evident at the front entry until Tuesday morning, when a new sign was erected.
Restaurant owner Ray Tang plans to source locally-grown produce for salads, with chops, steaks
and fresh steamed seafood also available.
Visit facebook.com/thecatamountlg.
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An unusual fundraiser is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. April 27 at the Skin Maven, 219 N. Santa Cruz Ave., where owner Deborah Berry will be collecting feminine hygiene products for homeless women served by the Bill Wilson Center in Santa Clara and Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence in San Jose.
“After meeting with staff at each of these organizations, I discovered that donations of feminine hygiene products were minimal to nonexistent,” Berry said in an email. “Yet this is a very real need for women, teens and young girls who are in situations where they are unable to purchase these necessary goods for themselves each month.”
That’s why Berry is calling her fundraiser the “Time of the Month Project.” Her goal is to collect 500 boxes of feminine products.
Call 408-406-7241 for more information.
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Los Gatos resident Kathy Strahs is releasing a new cookbook on May 9 called “The Lemonade Stand Cookbook: Step-by-Step Recipes and Crafts for Kids to Make … and Sell!”
“The book is all about empowering kids to get cooking, get crafty and become entrepreneurs,” Strahs said. “Lemonade stands are a wonderful way to get kids outside doing something productive and fun. They’re out there yelling, ‘Lemonade,’ and they don’t realize all the skills and life lessons they’re learning.”
Strahs ticked off working together, setting goals and handling money as a few of the skills kids can learn.
“You should see their little faces when the first person comes up for a cup of lemonade,” she said.
There are a dozen Los Gatos kids featured in the cookbook that includes a Classic Lemonade recipe, along with treats like Chocolate-Dipped Marshmallow Pops and Polka Dot Blondies. There are also tips for setting up a successful lemonade stand and creative crafts.
Paperback copies of “The Lemonade Stand Cookbook” can be pre-ordered at amazon.com, BN.com and Indiebound.org. Hardcover copies are at burntcheesepress.com.
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Did you know that the first “… for Dummies” book was “DOS for Dummies” that was published in 1991? The disk operating system book is undoubtedly outdated, but Los Gatos resident Brian Lawley is keeping the franchise hot with the release of “Product Management for Dummies.” It’s described as a one-stop guide to becoming a product management prodigy.
Lawley co-authored the book with Pamela Schure and said it’s been “well-received” since hitting bookstores in January.
“It reached No. 1 in three business categories on Amazon in its first week and already has almost 40 positive reviews,” Lawley said in an email.
The topic is all-too-familiar to Lawley, who is the CEO of a product marketing company, The 280 Group, at 142 S. Santa Cruz Ave.
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A Kickstarter campaign is underway to fund a new teen communication game called “Talk About It!” that’s really 12 common card and dice games that have been adapted to encourage communication with teenagers. “Talk About It!” was created by Lindsay Smith, who founded the Los Gatos-based Teen Therapy Center of Silicon Valley, 246 Union Ave. Smith says the game will help adults build strong relationships with teens in a “fun” way.
“I wanted to create a game that would provide an easy way for parents, therapists and educators to learn more about the teens in their lives,” Smith said in a news release.
The Kickstarter campaign runs through May 10, with a goal of raising $32,000.
“Talk About It!” consists of card and dice games with a twist–think Go Fish, Crazy 8s, Old Maid and Knock Out.
Visit teentherapycentersv.com for more information.