By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

Stone Grove, which sells garden ornaments and accessories at 164 Main St., plans to close its doors by the end of this month and return to its original store site in Pleasanton. Property owners leased the Main Street site to the French Academy of Art, which will move in during September.

Art, furniture, planters and appliances for outdoor living and dining were on display in the shop last week. Outdoor gas heating columns, fountains, birdbaths and garden pieces certified and copyrighted by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation were among the store’s specialty items. Hand-cut granite fountains, statues and bronze pieces by Bay Area artists including Jim Gray, Welton Rotz and Mike Zimber were also on display.

Owner Phil Kawaguchi said he finds it difficult to run his main store in Pleasanton and the store in Los Altos by himself.

“I just don’t have the time to run both stores six days a week and keep up with business at both locations,” Kawaguchi said. “I find it difficult to work with my suppliers and stay in retail at the same time. Some of my suppliers have gone direct to my customers after I made the initial contact.”

Kawaguchi said the Pleasanton store is closer to his suppliers, and he can maintain a closer contact and follow-up on orders.

“Los Altos is a nice clean and quiet place to have a store. There are a lot of neat homes here that can use our product, but we will still service them from Pleasanton,” Kawaguchi said. “Wherever people use hardscape in their gardens - patios, walkways, paved areas - our ornaments can complement both the house and the garden.”

For more information, call (925) 484-3751.