Best Of The South Bay

Happy Friday! I hope you’ll pardon the dust. I’m in the middle of changing themes, so things aren’t as polished at the blog right now as they soon will be. It’s a nice colorful theme, but I’ll need to tweak it to make it more personalized.

I got an email from someone, so I’d like to just say a few things so people understand where I’m coming from regarding the free business marketing I’m providing here at the blog.

I love writing articles about local business. It’s very exciting for me. I love enthusiastic business owners. I find their enthusiasm for what they do is very inspiring! I love the relationships I build and the friendships I make. I love helping other businesses get what we all want… more customers! I’ve loved marketing since I was a teenager and was writing programs and tv commercials for my high school in a Radio & TV class I took. My son says he’s always thought of it as kind of my calling.

I plan to keep this going for many years. It’s part of my own business in that it’s a way I can be of service to the other businesses and people in my community. I believe that one’s own business will grow when one is in service to other businesses. I think people are reluctant to trust people they don’t know and that things go smoother if you give them something of value before you expect them to give something to you. It’s part of my business philosophy.

With that said, I am a full-time student at Gavilan college and will be until at least the end of 2009. I’ve been designing web sites and writing web site and other copy since 1998. Since I was mostly doing it for myself, I only learned what I needed to know to get things done, which means there were gaps in my “education”. When doing things for yourself, you don’t spend time learning what other people might need to know - you study what is applicable to you. So I went to college to fill in the gaps and become an even better designer so that my web design services are of value to a wider range of people and businesses. I’m on the Dean’s List, so you know I put a lot of time and effort into my school work. I don’t want to waste this opportunity.

In addition to going to school full-time, I’m trying to secure enough freelance employment to stay alive while I’m in school. Writing these articles is an excellent way for me to get out in the community and meet prospective customers and people who may be able to refer my services to other people they know.

I don’t get paid for writing these articles. They are just a way I can be of service to the people and businesses in my community. What I’m trying to say is that, since this is not income for me, this isn’t what I do all day. It’s important to me and it’s important to what I do, but I also have to spend time on income-producing activities or I can’t afford to spend time writing these articles.

So if you’re waiting for your story to run, please know that I’ll get it written and posted at my very first opportunity. If you want to help, you can refer me to your friends, family, and business associates who may be in the market for web design and/or copywriting services. I also lead Break Out of Negativity workshops in the area, which help people stuck in repeating problems or locked into worry and other negative feelings find their way out again. It’s easier to make time for article writing when I’m not wondering how I’ll pay my rent.

Thanks for your patience and your understanding. Have an incredible weekend!

My son manages a really interesting business called Garden Essential.  It’s located in the old Zen Garden greenhouse on the frontage part of Monterey here in Gilroy.  Their address is: 5350 Monterey Rd.  They’re on the left and you park outside the gate.  If you want to give them a call, their number is 408-842-5497.  You’ll get Joseph.

This place is amazing! It’s got tons of big pots, beautiful statuary, small pots, medium pots, small all the way to large water fountains, bowls you can use for ponds, and more.  It’s fun to walk around and see everything they have.

They prices are already marked 70% off retail so you’ll always get a great deal. If you’re a business and have a resale number, you can buy in quantity at wholesale prices.

I own one of their fountains with a ball and it’s truly gorgeous.  I can’t wait to get more stuff.  I have plans for a pond using one of their big ceramic bowls.  Expand your notions of big - some of these bowls are the size of small man-made ponds.  Go see for yourself!  Tell Joseph you read about the store at his mom’s blog, “Best Of The South Bay”.  I don’t get anything for directing traffic there - other than the joy of having nice people walk into my son’s work place and say, “Your mom told me this store was great!”

Last night Tim and I went to Red Robin in Morgan Hill, CA. We didn’t have anything in particular we were in the mood for, but just wanted something good. Finally, we settled on Red Robin because of the allure of their Garlic Parmesan Fries. Mind you, I’m not normally a fries eater because cooked potatoes are like pure blood sugar and never mind the fact that I never know what oil in which those bad boys were cooked. But we were hungry and wanted “something good” so we threw all caution to the wind.

Red Robin is a nice place to sit and eat. You can take your time even when it’s busy. We’ve never felt like we were rushed out of there. I normally have the prime rib dip, but last night I had the Shrimp & Cod duo. The shrimp was pretty predictable for a restaurant of this type, the cod was very nice done, and their cocktail sauce is nice and hot just like I like it (not overwhelmingly hot, just tongue tingly in that way horseradish has). Tim had a food-gasm over his Bruschetta Chicken Sandwich. It had a chicken fillet on ciabatta bread with provolone cheese, pesto sauce, balsamic cream sauce & typical bruschetta veggies.

And their Garlic Parmesan Fries? So good! These nicely done steak fries have raw, hot garlic on them in little clusters as well as shavings of Parmesan cheese. I like to put on the Red Robin Seasoning they have on the tables. Dip them in ketchup and I could almost eat just the fries for dinner! If you gotta die by french fries, these are the ones! If your meal just comes with regular steak fries, you can upgrade to the Garlic Parmesan Fries for just a little more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cynthia Clinton offers web design, graphic design, Dreamweaver instruction, copywriting services, document formatting services, and photo enhancement through her primary business Cloistre Media. She also leads life changing Break Out Of Negativity workshops for individuals in the evenings as well as corporate clients during the business day. Additionally, she’s been a Jewelry Designer since 1997 and has published 4 jewelry making books. She is available for jewelery making classes on weekends and sells her jewelry making books & projects online.

La Flor de Jalisco is about a block away from my house, so as you can imagine, I stop in a lot. This is my favorite little store on the planet.

I’ve loved little stores ever since I was a little kid living on El Camino Paraiso in Hollister, CA. in the late 60’s. My parents used to give me and my little sister each a quarter and a nickel so we could walk up the road to a little liquor store to get an ice cream and a candy. Later the prices went up and we had to bring a quarter and a dime! Ever since then, I’ve had a warm fondness for little neighborhood stores (even though you can’t get Tootsie Rolls 2 for a penny anymore lol).

The store is run by Gil, Graciela, and Jesse. This isn’t just work for them - this is a life. These are good, hard-working people and my day is always a little better after seeing their smiling faces.

This little neighborhood store is jam-packed with stuff you might need. They have a great variety of soda, juices, milk (even chocolate milk), beer, ice, etc. If you’re cooking mexican, they also have a pretty nice array of grocery items you’ll need.

The prices are just about the cheapest in town for soda (excluding the machines at Walmart) and you can’t beat those smiling faces behind the counter. I can’t tell you how the beer prices stack up because I don’t usually buy that stuff, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t priced competitively. They take credit cards.

They have a Gilroy Dispatch newspaper machine outside as well as pay phones (which are increasingly hard to find these days), so if you have a need, drop by.

You can find La Flor de Jalisco at 144 Lewis St in Gilroy. They are nestled on the block between Alexander Street and Railroad Avenue. If you’re traveling west on Lewis, they’re on the left. If you’re traveling east on Lewis, they’re on the right. They’re open 7 days a week from 9:30am to 9:00pm, though it seems they open later and close earlier on Sundays. Their phone number is 408-848-8371.

If you stop by the store, tell them you read about them in Cynthia’s article. They know me by name. As with all my recommendations, I don’t get any kind of compensation for recommending them. They’re just good and deserve to know where their traffic is coming from. Stop by!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cynthia Clinton offers web design, graphic design, Dreamweaver instruction, copywriting services, document formatting services, and photo enhancement through her primary business Cloistre Media. She also leads life changing Break Out Of Negativity workshops for individuals in the evenings as well as corporate clients during the business day. Additionally, she’s been a Jewelry Designer since 1997 and has published 4 jewelry making books. She is available for jewelery making classes on weekends and sells her jewelry making books & projects online.

I submitted a Red Phone about this topic to the Gilroy Dispatch, but they didn’t publish it. To be fair, it was submitted through a digital medium (their form) so perhaps it was lost in cyberspace and they did not receive it.

But could it be that Gilroy doesn’t want to talk about the rampant pandhandler problem? Is it an untouchable subject?

I can’t be the only one who’s noticed the seemingly inordinate number of panhandlers we have in Gilroy. And I say panhandlers rather than homeless because not all panhandlers are homeless. And, dare I say, not all homeless people panhandle. There are many homeless who prefer to be invisible. There are some pandhandlers who aren’t even poor, judging by the guy who pulls into a local fast food chain in his Escalade, goes into the public restroom, and then exits in filthy rags, complete with sign (he must have bought in on the franchise opportunity).

I think word has gotten out that Gilroy is an affluent community with dollars to spare and we don’t run off the panhandlers. And we obviously don’t run them off because I see the same guy, but sometimes with a different vehicle, with a sign outside of the Chevron near the truck stop on Monterey Hwy, that claims each time that he’s run out of gas and is “stranded” here.

The retail area over at Gilroy Crossing off of 10th Street generally has large numbers of panhandlers at any given time. In fact, my son and I counted 8 pandhandlers in the road medians at the same time one day. They each were on a different median - all with difficult-to-impossible to read cardboard signs. I don’t understand why the city allows people to sit in a median with a sign all day (or even for an hour, for that matter). Motorists strain to read the signs as they go by which will one day cause an accident if it hasn’t already. I’ve seen the light turn green and a motorist actually stop in the middle of the road, holding out money to the panhandler and traffic is effectively stopped during this exchange.

Allowing people in the medians is a hazard to both panhandler and motorist. I think the only person that should ever be in a road median is someone who is desperate for emergency help, like someone who has just been in a accident and needs to flag down some help (and no being desperate for a bottle of Thunderbird or a Starbucks Vente Blah Blah Blah doesn’t count as “desperate for emergency help”).

I think if we want to see a reduction in the pandhandling acitivity we need to, firstly, stop giving to them. Secondly, law enforcement needs to step in and run them off with a friendly, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here”.

I’d almost rather see hookers in Gilroy than all these panhandlers because at least the hookers provide a valuable public service. But you’d better bet local law enforcement wouldn’t allow “them” to stand in the road medians.

Love it or hate it - it’s what I think.

I’ve been super busy with work and school and haven’t been keeping up on any of my blogs, but I’ll try to do better. I’m hoping I can post a little something every week about the local businesses I visit in the course of my work and marketing.

I plan on going to see Charlie Larson of Rapazzini Winery & The Garlic Shoppe next week, so expect to see something about them!

Every month I go out into the community and ask one good question and report the answers.  This month’s good question is: What restaurant(s) would you like to see in Gilroy’s downtown?” 

“I’d like to see an IHOP, a Kirk’s Steak Burgers or a Morgan Hill Chinese Takeout.”
–Lindsay Silva 

“I have to get my .02 in as well.  I’d love to see Morgan Hill’s Ragoots open a location in our downtown.  I’d also love to have a Red Lobster!  Another great one would be something like the Sonoma Chicken Coop in Campbell.  Ooh, and an Indian fusion place that plays bhangra music on the weekends!”
–Cynthia Clinton 

“A good fish and chips place, like Wellington’s was.  I’d also like a cool Turkish or Turkish fusion place where I can get great kebabs.  A Red Lobster would be good too.”
–Joseph Fernandes 

“I’d love a good French Bistro downtown.”
–Linnea Smith 

“I’d like to see a trendy dinner place, a micro-brewery or a nice steak house.”
–-Tim Wecks 

“Italian!  The downtown needs Italian or what about Chinese?”
–Dan from Econo Furniture

What restaurant(s) would YOU like to see in the downtown?  Call me!

The featured business this time is ECONO FURNITURE in the heart of Gilroy’s Downtown on the southeast corner of Sixth and Monterey Streets.

Econo Furniture
7390 Monterey St
Gilroy, CA 95020
(408) 846-8788

Business Hours: M-Sat = 10am to 8pm, Sun=11am to 6pm

Econo Furniture has been the feature of interest on the southeast corner of Monterey and Sixth for nearly 10 years now.  In business since December 1999, you know them by the unique furniture they display outside – usually unique chairs in the shape of a flower, hand, or even in the shape of an elegant high-heeled shoe.

Every furniture store has furniture, but what sets this store head-and-shoulders above the others in town is its people.  The staff is warm and friendly and always gives visitors a friendly greeting when they enter the store.  Plus, if they see you more than once, they usually remember your name.  This I know from personal experience!

If you’re outside looking in at the dining and bedroom sections of the store, it can look like they are closed or like that section is off limits, but it’s not!  If they are open in the main part of the store, on the corner, they are happy to open the door for you if they know you want to look around.  It’s locked because it’s not accessible from the main floor inside the store - it just has a separate entrance is all.  Don’t be shy!

Stop by Econo Furniture today and see why I love this store so much.  I know you’ll love it too!

I live in Gilroy, down by where the old cannery used to be.  It’s a an old working class neighborhood with a mixture of nice houses and what appears to be migrant housing with many lots having in-laws quarters.  Driving through the neighborhood you see more than one mailbox on the outside of probably half the houses on the street.

Fireworks can start a month or more in advance of Independence Day and even New Year.

These fireworks are big and, no doubt, illegal.  They are small explosions.  I’m guessing they come from Mexico.  The sky lights up like lightning has struck and a second later WA-BOOM!  We’re not talking a “pop” here.  It’s like living in a war zone.

My dogs have been barking like crazy all day and most of the evenings for a week.  The fireworks will probably contintue for another few weeks, but hopefully sporadically.

I tried to get a picture of some of the fireworks, but the van belonging to the neighbors’ visitors that’s blocking my car into the driveway is totally obscuring the view.  Such is life.

I hope your holiday was safe and enjoyable.  May you sleep in peace tonight, knowing all is well.

• Did you know that Valentines Day love makes Libra babies? You could have your very own snappy dresser before the year is out. Put your petty cares aside and Make Libras, Not War! But don’t think about it too much… he who hesitates has a Scorpio.
• Did you know that you can improve your vision, sometimes to the point of not having to wear eyeglasses at all, by devoting some time every day to eye exercises? Get busy; it’s almost sunglasses weather. They have shades now that are so big you’ll look like Fearless Fly.
• Did you know that the absolute, most sure-fire way to get closer to your dreams is to live them now (as in TODAY) to any degree that you can? Surely there’s something you can do today that will get you one smidgey bit closer to the goals that mean so much to you. I double-dog dare ya!
• Did you know that if a pair of jeans doesn’t make your butt look good, it’s not even worth $1? Millions of Americans each year develop a painful condition called “Swivel Neck” from trying to observe their fannies in the mirrors of dressing rooms. Don’t let this happen to you; bring a hand mirror. If the back view isn’t all you’d hoped, just say no, man. Just say no.