Warm sun beating down on clean sidewalks, the bustle of shoppers pushing in and out of doors, and the muffled live music drifting from inside a restaurant create the lively scenes that typify downtown Los Gatos.
This historic walkable downtown sets Los Gatos apart from other cities in the Bay Area, blending a cozy small-town vibe with a busy mom-and-pop business scene. However, this atmosphere does not just occur magically by itself. Keeping the downtown active and thriving requires constant effort from business owners and employees, Town staff and community members.
At the core are the small businesses, whose storefronts line the streets. While some large chain stores like Lululemon and Starbucks have locations downtown, many businesses rely on the dedication of a small team to handle day-to-day operations.
Ethos, a low-waste refillery located on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, opened its Los Gatos location around three-and-a-half years ago. Store Manager Riley Pereyra joined the team before it was furnished, gradually building it up from an empty room into what it is today.
With a small staff essentially “doing a little bit of everything,” in Pereyra’s words, building rapport with customers comes more naturally—shoppers often see the same employees each time they visit.
“There’s a lot of people who have lived here for a long time and like to make personal connections with the shops and the people who work there,” Pereyra said. “When you have large businesses, it’s harder to get that familiarity.”
Those relationships are part of what draws people to downtown Los Gatos in the first place. Los Gatos resident and entrepreneurship student Nicole Dean finds both the walkability and business mix of downtown appealing.
“When I hang out with my friends, we always go to Los Gatos,” Dean said. “There’s proximity to different cafes and a combination of large chain businesses, like Lululemon, but also small businesses—where you can really talk to the owner and get to know their story. Everything is pretty close together, within at (most) a 10-minute walk.”
Los Gatos Mayor Rob Moore says maintaining a balance between the small businesses and large retailers is the way to help draw more customers downtown.
“Historically, Los Gatos did not let very many chains come into town,” Moore said. “That was generally a good thing. But as malls have declined in use, and as people have been more and more interested in participating in their local downtowns, it’s good to have some larger stores that bring people to the downtown.”
William Sundstrom, professor of economics at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, has studied how land-use policies and housing strategies influence urban development. Although his research has largely focused on San Jose, he notes cities around the Bay Area have seen varying degrees of success in maintaining active downtown districts.
businesses foster relationships to promote downtown vitality
“A lot of cities are trying to figure out ways to get people downtown and have a thriving commercial sector,” he said.
Los Gatos has pursued these efforts through its Economic Vitality Program. The Town says it has streamlined “business processes, policies and ordinances” through measures like flexible indoor and outdoor seating regulations, downtown parking changes and resolutions making land use permits more accessible.
These changes do not lead to success for all businesses. See’s Candies recently closed its Los Gatos location, and local business owners also have pointed to rising rent and online competitions as challenges, as previously reported by the Los Gatan.
The small scale that makes these downtown businesses vulnerable to market conditions also creates a strong network. Downtown businesses foster relationships with other shop owners, local makers and entrepreneurs.
Ethos supports local artisans by stocking their pieces in shops alongside the refillery, giving smaller makers a jumping off point for future work.
“There’s a lot of work that these makers are putting into what they do,” Pereyra said. “To see them realize some success here, and then expand into other shops and grow from here, is just really phenomenal.”
While interviewing downtown visitors to gather information for her startup business, Dean also found Los Gatos locals willing to share their own thoughts and experiences.
“Everybody there is really deeply caring, especially the small business owners around the community,” Dean said. “They want to give the best possible guidance to young entrepreneurs, which is so valuable to me.”
The Town also works towards supporting local businesses and increasing community engagement through events.
“We also activate the downtown a lot,” Moore said. “(For) the Los Gatos Farmers Market, which happens every week, we shut down the street and make it a nice walking pedestrian alley. Every week during the summer we have two music festivals, Jazz in the Plazz and Music in the Park.”
The interdependence between small businesses, Town committees and the local community does not erase the pressures facing these shops. But in downtown Los Gatos, it helps sustain the vibrant commercial setting, by keeping businesses running and encouraging visitors to return.
