The building blocks in the construction of a successful downtown business district are assembled one storefront at a time. Each individual business is important because merchants depend upon their neighbors to provide an attractive environment to make the downtown a destination for potential shoppers.
Therefore, it is imperative that town officials are cautious when it comes time to approve a new business for the area. And in Los Gatos, that concern becomes even greater when the business requesting a storefront in the downtown is part of a chain.
But while it is important for officials to carefully weigh the placement of franchise stores in the areas of Main Street and Santa Cruz Avenue, it is also important to provide a diverse shopping environment for consumers.
The Los Gatos Town Council faces just such a choice on April 5. The council must decide the fate of a Cold Stone Creamery outlet that hopes to take up residence in the Lyndon Plaza building at the corner of N. Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street.
The dilemma facing town officials is twofold. There's the concern that allowing too many chain stores in the downtown could give the area the look of an open-air mall. But there's also the need to place businesses in empty storefronts to draw more shoppers to the area while still maintaining the integrity of the small, independent business atmosphere of the town.
In spite of the concerns of at least one merchant who may view the new ice cream shop as a direct competitor, the Cold Stone Creamery looks to be a logical fit in the location it's targeting.
There are two compelling reasons why the council should approve this request. First of all, the Creamery would move into a site that was previously occupied by an ice cream parlor—Swenson's—that vacated as recently as the last few months. Secondly, the Creamery would be a great draw at an important crossroads of the downtown.
In other locations, Cold Stone Creamery outlets attract large crowds of consumers. It seems natural that a Cold Stone in this location would also be a good draw, and the site would encourage ice cream customers to then spill out into the Los Gatos Town Plaza and eventually to shops down both Main Street and Santa Cruz Avenue.
The owner of Yogurt Delite at 464 N. Santa Cruz Ave. is Cold Stone's most vocal opponent among downtown merchants. But the council cannot take into consideration the concern of a single merchant worried that another business may create a competitive atmosphere. In a fair market environment, competition is healthy, and there certainly is plenty of it for other merchants in the downtown.
The Los Gatos Planning Commission has already denied Cold Stone's application because of the chain store concern. The town council needs to look beyond that and approve a business that will bring much needed foot traffic to the town's most important intersection.
