The Cupertino Courier

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Dance Academy owner Jane Carter breaks in the floor at her new studio at The Oaks shopping center.

Academy dances into The Oaks

Tenants welcome new business, foot traffic

By Katherine Petersen

The Oaks shopping center may be losing a much-loved bookstore, but this month it gained an established dance academy that promises to bring 500 families a week to the Stevens Creek Boulevard center.

Moreover, the center's management said a well-known retailer is set to sign a lease at The Oaks in October.

Dance Academy USA can bring new life to the shopping center, said The Oaks manager Anne Gareis.

"They have an established clientele, and lots of families will be coming to The Oaks," she said. A new retailer will soon be moving into the former Pacific Breeze site, she added. More retailers are showing interest in the center, and there may be more businesses opening by next spring, Gareis said.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, an independent bookstore with a 22-year history in Cupertino, will soon leave The Oaks because of economic pressures.

Carol Atwood, director of finance for the city of Cupertino, would like to see The Oaks live up to the potential she believes it has.

"For one thing, it has location going for it, being near to Highway 85 and De Anza College," she said.

The shopping center's sales dropped about 5 percent from last year with inflation factored in, Atwood said.

Cupertino will receive $80,500 in sales tax from the center this year, based on the most recent quarterly earnings. That represents more than $8 million in sales for merchants at the center.

"Their revenue has come down this last year, but it's difficult to compare with other centers because of their different makeups and different locations," Atwood said.

Dance Academy USA, owned by Jane Carter, opened its doors on Sept. 3. Carter, who has been in business for eight years, said she received her warmest welcome at The Oaks.

"Owners of other stores have come by and introduced themselves, and some people have even brought flowers," she said. "I think they're excited because we're bringing in a whole different crowd."

Merchants are glad to see a new client move into the center, but many are still upset over losing the bookstore, one of The Oaks' original businesses.

"We're excited to see any new business move in as long as it isn't another Celtic shop," said Maggie Escover, who works at the Celtic Shoppe, which sells sweaters, jewelry, blankets and other gifts from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. "I don't see how the Dance Academy could impact things negatively."

Escover hasn't noticed a dramatic increase in customers since the academy opened, but she thinks that gradually people will come investigate the shop.

"They've been here 14 or 15 years, so they're hanging on," she said of the shop's owners. "I'm just devastated that the bookstore is leaving. A lot of our customers came from there."

Edward Andres, a manager at Hobee's restaurant, said businesses around a restaurant can make or break it.

"A lot of our business comes from the fitness center, and I think the Dance Academy will help us out too," he said. "We don't have the variety of restaurants here that we used to, so new people coming in to the center will be great."

The studio offers classes for both kids and adults in jazz, ballet, tap, hip-hop, street funk and tumbling. Carter hopes to boost the enrollment to 700 students per week, she said.

The onetime 49er Gold Rush Girl also trains girls who are interested in becoming cheerleaders for sports teams. Carter also produces shows for the Saber Kittens, the cheer squad for the San Jose Arena football team, the SaberCats.

Dance Academy USA used to have two separate locations, and parents would often have to shuttle kids from one studio to another for consecutive classes. The academy studios were formerly located on Homestead Road near Stelling and on Bollinger Road near De Anza Boulevard.

"We have all three studios here, and it's much more convenient," Carter said.

Studio hours usually run from 2:30 to 10 p.m., although morning classes are offered on Wednesdays.

For more information on Dance Academy USA, call 257-3211.

[ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ]