Business & Real Estate

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier

The Post owner Vickie Breslin is set to celebrate her restaurant’s first anniversary Saturday with a Kentucky Derby party. She renovated the space at 395 Main St., taking care to honor the site’s historical roots.

Emerging from her office in the back of The Post restaurant on Main Street in Los Altos, Vickie Breslin apologizes for her outfit, lamenting the state of her ripped jeans. Everyone knows her for them anyway, but she hadn’t thought of being photographed.

Breslin settles into a wooden chair at a table toward the front of the entryway and smiles as she opens her phone. She admits she was just looking for her outfit, floppy and outrageous hat included, for The Post’s first anniversary party, scheduled 2 p.m. Saturday and open to all, with Derby post time at 3:30 p.m.

Los Altos

594 Benvenue Avenue, Rochman Family Trust to L. & L. Gao for $3,605,000

1650 Crestview Drive, Wang Family Trust to J. & U. Har for $5,500,000

The most frequently asked question I get after “So, how’s the market?” is “How much is my house worth?” Unfortunately, as much as we would all like to think there is some intrinsic value as to what something is worth, it just isn’t true – especially in real estate.

Following are answers to a few questions that will help you determine the value of your house.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier

Owner Kerry Hoctor and his daughter, Shannon Klein, pictured in the Los Altos branch of Village Stationers Monday, plan to close the business this summer.

Kerry Hoctor, who took over his parents’ Village Stationers business after their retirement in 1981, last week revealed plans to close the Los Altos and Menlo Park locations this summer.

Hoctor sent a statement to local media outlets – “with a heavy heart,” he said – stating that after five decades serving customers, Village Stationers will shutter when he settles into his own retirement. Hoctor recounted the history of his beloved business, adding that he was 12 years old when his parents bought a “little stationery store” at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto in 1966.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier

Juakila “Kiki” McConnell, left, and Los Altos resident Helen Vallaeys are the new owners of the My Gym franchise in Palo Alto in the Midtown Shopping Center on Middlefield Road. They acquired the business last month upon former owner Bob Yanofsky’s retirement.

It’s My Gym and it’s your gym, but now it’s also Helen’s gym and Kiki’s gym.

Los Altos mom Helen Vallaeys and her friend and longtime activities instructor Juakila “Kiki” McConnell are now the owners of the My Gym in the Midtown Shopping Center in Palo Alto after realizing their dream of keeping the children’s play center a growing space for families.

Los Altos

1436 Brookmill Road, Federici Trust to S. & C. Kim for $2,840,000

1161 Lammy Place, Wilson-Chang Trust to Marshall Trust for $3,500,000