Photograph by George Sakkestad
Paul Dorsa, who owns the Opera House, walks through the new mini-mall he's created on the historic building's ground floor.
By Sue Fagalde Lick
Like a cat, the Opera House has lived several lives. Its latest incarnation began May 1 with the opening of a new mini-mall on the ground floor.
The first floor, which for years housed Cavanaugh Galleries, has been completely renovated, with five new shops opening on a long airy hallway that opens onto Main Street at the south end and the Old Town parking lot on the north end.
The Opera House will hold a grand-opening celebration May 16 from 2 to 8 p.m., with refreshments, live music and a chance for Los Gatans to meet the new tenants.
Two high-end women's clothing shops, R.K. Shugart and Tom Teifer Women's Wear, and two antique shops, Venezia and Opera House Studios of Los Gatos, join building owner Paul Dorsa's own Opera House Mirrors in the mall.
"This is the last renovation that we'll do here," Dorsa said, proudly showing off his new domain. He now believes he has left a lasting legacy to the town of Los Gatos, he said.
The Opera House has worn many faces over the years. From 1904 to 1916, it was an actual opera house. From 1916 until the 1950s, it was used as a town meeting hall. Then it became a department store.
Dorsa came into the picture 14 years ago, when he bought the Opera House. Formerly in the antique business, he used the entire building for a furniture store for two years, then decided to turn the upstairs space into a banquet hall that regained much of the grandeur of its operatic past.
Yet another renovation occurred after the 1989 earthquake, which caused substantial damage to the building.
When Cavanaugh's declared bankruptcy and went out of business last year, the way was opened for another transformation.
Sal Caruso, the architect who masterminded the previous renovations, also did this one, giving the 5,000-square-foot mall a light, bright look with tile and limestone floors, lots of big windows, and white wood framework.
"It is now in the configuration that it should have been several years ago," Dorsa said. "Now every square inch of available space is used for something."
The banquet facility draws 16,000 people a year for weddings, parties and other events that will provide a customer base for the stores. The central location also bodes well for the new shops, he said.
It took only a week to lease the space. "Selecting the tenant mix was the hard part," Dorsa said. "These shops seem real oriented to our community."
R.K. Shugart has branched off from the original Carmel store started 12 years ago by Rita Shugart. Her daughter Mia will be running the local store, a high-end boutique selling designer clothing ranging from casual to elegant styles.
Tom Teifer women's clothing also caters to the high-end crowd and has branches in Santa Cruz and Seattle. Teifer has been in the clothing business for nearly 20 years and specializes in unique pieces, with an emphasis on fabric, cut, texture and simplicity. He uses many local designers and offers some of his own designs in the store.
Venezia's antiques is owned by Anita Venezia, who has previously sold her wares at the Antiques Colony and at a collective in Monterey. She specializes in European furniture, porcelain, silver, textiles, art and crystal. Among the current items in the shop are a pair of 1720 chests, a bed that Napoleon reportedly slept in, and an Italian Madonna painted in the late 1700s.
Venezia teaches an antiques class through the Los Gatos-Saratoga Department of Community Education and Recreation.
She plans to host an antiques class at the new store in June.
Opera House Studios of Los Gatos is an antiques collective operated by Sue Okey, Dora Buntin, Patte Sanchez and Marta Grimm in conjunction with other local dealers. Wares include antiques, estate jewelry, country decor items, Asian art and original paintings.
Shops at the mall will be open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and may add extra hours as needed in conjunction with banquets being held upstairs.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, May 15, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved