Teri Hope founded Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Co. in 1982. When asked about what the last four decades have meant to her, she replies that it’s been an incredibly rewarding journey. On top of being a business owner in town, she raised a family here. She’s been thinking about those years a lot these past several days, after a car nearly demolished the Main Street coffee shop she co-owns.
“I feel like I went through my life flashing in front of me—episodes from childhood, to starting the business, to going through other traumas like the earthquake and our local fires, and the pandemic,” she said. “It’s just kind of all these flashbacks of traumatic episodes that then were resolved, and we lived through.”
Karl Klemmer, the driver who was driving the Volvo that slammed into the coffee shop on Thanksgiving, died earlier this week.
As of today, a fundraiser set up by the Los Gatan and other community members to help the coffee shop rebound—including supporting the employees—had exceeded its goal of $52,000.
A few years ago Hope sold off a majority stake in the coffee shop. Dylan Phillips, a member of the family that now runs it, says it’s been nice to see how people have rallied behind them. “It has truly galvanized the community, and they feel so strongly on how much this business means to them, to their life and their history,” he said.
Hope notes their recovery has already involved the participation of many. “I’ve seen this happen in times before, like the ’89 earthquake…the fires we had, and the pandemic,” she said. “It has been overwhelming. I only regret that I haven’t been able to make a personal thank you to each and every person that has reached out to me.”
Hope says that it does offer a sense of validation to her life, and her entrepreneurial spirit. “It was almost six years ago I sold the company, and I still retain a little stock in it—and I still participate as part of the management team here,” she said.
Manager Zoe Phang, who was brought on six months ago, says the love and the care that Phillips and Hope have put into the business is palpable.
“I love what I do,” she said. “It’s the family that I get to choose, and I chose the Roasting Company. I hear it from so many people that they’ve been coming here for the last 30 or 40 years…It’s just nice to have people come in and love what we do.”
In 2012 Phillips switched from working in consulting in the corporate world, transitioning to building coffee shops and running food businesses in Boston. When relative Gerry Ford purchased the majority stake in LGCRC, Phillips decided to begin working full time at the Los Gatos cafe.
“I grew up in Monterrey,” he said, recalling family trips up to Los Gatos as a youngster. “My last six years have been getting to know the community the way Hope knows them. This place truly has its own unique vibe, with its regulars that have been coming here the last 40-plus years…My message to the community is that we appreciate—and love—everything they’ve done for us. The outreach is incredible and humbling.”
