After 22 years of doing business in Hollister, the Hothouse
Express has closed its doors.
After 22 years of doing business in Hollister, the Hothouse Express has closed its doors.
“The retail business is just horrible,” said store owner Trish Colbert. “People are holding onto their money.”
When she bought the business 36 months ago, Colbert said she was doing well, then Sept. 11 changed it all.
“Many people were afraid to drive on the highways and our customer base was an area that covered San Francisco to Monterey,” she said.
Hoping the a new location would bring additional sales, Colbert signed a lease with the Prime Outlets in Gilroy.
“It did worse than Hollister,” she said.
She said at Christmastime, people came in with a shopping list and didn’t deviate from it.
Though for more than two decades, Hothouse Express had been a community icon and Colbert said she will not sell the name in hopes she can reopen when the economy recovers.
“We’ll wait it out,” she said.
In the meantime, Colbert will research new lines and new vendors, and she will return to baking custom cakes.
“Everybody needs a birthday cake,” she said.
And the sluggish economy is affecting others as well. All American Pizza on Fourth Street opened for business 18 months ago and did well during its first year. But since the war in Iraq began, store owner Jose Prieto said business has dropped, forcing him to become more creative. The pizza parlor now sells tacos.
“It’s cheaper for me to make than pizza,” he said.
Prieto said the cost of gas and the price of ingredients is also eating at profits.
“I’m losing $2,000 a month in profit. A box of cheese use to cost me $40. Now, I pay $52 a box ,and when gas was $2.10 it really was hard,” he said.
However, it wasn’t just profit loss that inspired Prieto to adjust his menu. He wanted to offer the neighborhood a dining experience and a good meal for less than $5.
“People don’t have a lot of money and I want them to have a sense of place,” he said.
San Benito County Chamber of Commerce is also encouraging local store owners to use each other’s services and offer incentives like discounts to their customers.
“If there are no people walking in the door, you have zero sales,” said Theresa Kiernan, executive director for the Chamber.
Whether local businesses are a member of the Chamber, they need to be supporting one another, she said.
“The local economy has slowed down definitely, and this is the time to support each other. Stay in town and spend dollars here,” Kiernan said.
