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 Photo Mary Beth Hislop/Town Crier Pizza-pie pans, tables and chairs still line the walls at Applewood Pizza on First Street – but nobody’s home. Citing high rent and slow business, owner Paul Goswamy closed shop in January. There are more ins than there are outs and hopeful good news for arborists on State Street. We’re keeping your ...
An apple a day is doable …
if you’re in the produce section at Safeway. But if you’re craving Applewood Pizza’s signature recipe for locals – the “Los Altos,” an Italian pie topped with barbecue chicken, red onions, cilantro and tomatoes – you’re out of luck. Early this year, owner and manager Paul Goswamy closed the cozy cafe at 227 First St.
That definitely bent Tracy Koon’s pretzel.
“I went away for the holidays, and it was gone when I got back,” the Los Altos resident e-mailed to the Town Crier. “More raised lease rates driving businesses out?”
Sort of.
“The landlords – they want too much rent,” Goswamy said.
Citing the flailing economy and lower sales, Goswamy said he tried to negotiate a lower lease with the property manager but was unsuccessful.
“In Los Altos, the businesses are really struggling,” he said.
Next door to Applewood at 235 First St., Togo’s closed its doors last year. The building remains empty.
Goswamy said he’s still scouting other sites in Los Altos and Mountain View to take the place of the First Street location.
In the meantime, residents craving Applewood’s “Los Altos” or any other of its specialty pizzas can always take a short drive to the other store in Menlo Park, 1001 El Camino Real. And if you know of a local place for Goswamy’s space, he’ll be in Menlo Park panning pizzas if you want to share your tip.
And be on the lookout …
for Luther Burbank Savings, scheduled to open a branch in Los Altos this month at Village Court. Located at the corner of El Camino Real and San Antonio Road in Los Altos, the building offered the ideal site, because it’s already equipped with a roomy vault – it was formerly home to Heritage Bank of Commerce, which consolidated banking services with its branch at 369 S. San Antonio.
Founded in 1983, Luther Burbank is privately owned and has six other locations in California, with an eighth branch soon to open in Beverly Hills. Ity has more than $3.5 trillion in assets.
Good news may be taking root at Linden Tree …
good enough that co-owner Dennis Ronberg of State Street’s beloved children’s bookstore is starting to clear the accumulated clutter of 25 years in business.
“We hopefully have some buyers,” Ronberg said. “We’re excited about the potential new owners, but we can’t say anything about it yet.”
Readers may remember Ronberg and his wife, Linda, last summer announced their impending retirement from Linden Tree Children’s Recordings & Books at the end of 2009. But as the holidays approached, there were no purchase offers for the independent bookstore.
It is unclear whether the possible sale is the result of a grassroots campaign instigated by Los Altos residents Bill Prescott and Alan Louie, and others – www.keeplindentree.com – a Web site created to alert potential buyers and a place for customers new and old to share Linden Tree experiences.
Ronberg said he’ll be able to share more detailed news in a couple of weeks.
As Arnold said during a recent downtown visit, “I’ll be back.”
And if that daily apple isn’t keeping you fit …
you just might want to raise the bar (or barre) a little higher with the recent opening of The Daily Method at 249 First St., next door to the closed Togo’s, which is next to the shuttered Applewood (a good thing for dieters), which is next to Chris’ Fish & Chips, which isn’t closed (a bad thing for dieters). This is owner Eren Paruszwski’s second Daily Method franchise – she has another in Menlo Park … fancy that!
The workout routine combines ballet barre work, core conditioning, stretching and orthopedic exercise for toning and strengthening the body while the light-weights workout focuses on upper-body toning, according to the Daily’s pitch at www.thedailymethod.com.
Socks are required – as well as not-so-saggy gym suits – which brings me to my greatest gripe about workout studios: Whoever’s in the greatest need for body toning won’t be the one showing up in a leotard.
Contact Mary Beth Hislop at
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1 Comment
1"More vacancies"
at Wednesday, 17 February 2010 16:44
Downtown Los Altos is looking more and more like a ghost town. Vacancies in key locations such as the building on the corner of 1st and State that used to house Applewood, Togos and others has a large percentage of their retail spaces vacant. Apparently the property company doesn't understand the basics of its business since they keep losing tenants. Perhaps the city council needs to step in an let this company know that their business (and the image of the town) depends on a vibrant downtown area.
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