Two years ago, Iryna Korolenko was sitting in traffic, driving to an appointment at a beauty salon when she had an idea: What if there were an app that would enable customers to have beauty service providers come to their location?
The reopening of several local businesses this summer has been a lifeline for some, but the economic hardships tied to COVID-19 continue to pose challenges for others. Among them: The Village Pantry, a family-owned Los Altos coffee shop established in 1947.
Alex Wang, a local real estate agent who recently launched a new brand, wondered whether he should continue with moving into an office space in downtown Los Altos.
He had signed a lease prior to COVID-19. He wound up moving, using a door from Home Depot propped up by two file cabinets as a makeshift desk.
Los Altos-based florist Brian Davino is closing his downtown shop and retiring after 29 years in the business, a decision propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the retail industry.
Accessory dwelling units, commonly referred to as ADUs, have long been popular in Los Altos on its spacious properties. As a secondary structure to the main house, ADUs are ideal solutions for placing additional family members or renting out as affordable housing units – a scarcity in Los Altos.
When Chris Saccheri and Florina Grosskurth took over Linden Tree Books in downtown Los Altos late last year, it was a busy period for the store.
