The freeway snaking from San Jose to Gilroy has seen some
unusual traffic recently.
By MILA KOUMPILOVA Special to the Free Lance
GILROY – The freeway snaking from San Jose to Gilroy has seen some unusual traffic recently.
Instead of the regular Gilroy shoppers speeding up north to stock up on groceries for the week or two ahead, some San Jose residents are making the trip south. They are lured by the two sprawling shopping centers that, for the most part, have kept their Gilroy neighbors home.
Residents and local experts say Gilroy Crossing and the newer Pacheco Pass Center across the street have radically transformed the Gilroy shopping experience. The city has become much more self-sufficient in meeting its residents’ shopping needs, and trips to neighboring cities are now less of a staple of shopping for even basic household goods. In the process, Gilroy residents are rethinking their relationships with local businesses.
“I don’t have to drive to San Jose any more,” said Selina Armandariz, 23, who had just picked up a new shower curtain and soap containers at Bed, Bath & Beyond in Gilroy Crossing. She used to resent having to take a shopping trip at least every couple of weeks, a trip that became even more burdensome after her son was born. “It’s so convenient to go to Target, where they have everything.”
“It’s great for most people in Gilroy,” said Marsha Becht, director of membership and programs at the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, about the arrival of the new shopping centers. Now, they have just about everything they need “in their own back yard.”
In addition to the new Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target, the new center also includes Kohl’s, Petsmart, Beverages & More, Pier 1 and Sportmart.
With 385 stores in 45 states and growing, Sportmart, the result of a merger between The Sports Authority and Gart Sports – which owns Gart Sports, Oshman’s and Sportmart – offers a full selection of sporting goods, fitness equipment and apparel. Company officials say the store will become the place consumers turn to for all their sporting and recreation needs.Â
Managers at Gilroy Crossing stores say local residents account for a significantly larger portion of business than travelers passing through the area. Robin Webb, a manager at Target, estimates that up to 90 percent of the store’s customers are Gilroy residents.
“I hear most of the people around here are very happy they don’t have to go to Morgan Hill or Hollister,” he said, referring to two other area Target stores.
Some of the shopping center businesses adjust their standard, chain-store offerings to meet local needs.
“We are trying to provide local residents with books they’d be looking for,” said Kelly Waters, Barnes & Noble store manager. The store’s team did research on what topics are more relevant to the local community and stocked titles about garlic and horses. The Gilroy store also has one of largest Spanish book and magazine selections in the chain.
In fact, the Gilroy Crossing fact sheet on the corporate Web site of Regency Centers, the national company that operates the center, touts Gilroy’s rapid population growth as a major bargaining chip in leasing out the premises.
The wide selection at Barnes & Noble and the well-stocked shelves of Sportsmart come up frequently as one of the new center’s appeals. A shopper, who identified herself as Rita, 33, flipped through books in Barnes & Noble, her favorite new addition to the Gilroy shopping landscape.
“Unless you are some skinny-mini, it’s nice to have the Lane Bryant, too,” she said about the newly opened store, part of a chain specializing in plus-size women’s fashion.
According to Becht, the shopping centers hardly have left any gaps in local residents’ shopping needs. She and other residents would like to see a health foods store in Gilroy and, in the meantime, will keep taking the trip to San Jose’s Trader Joe’s.
“Other than that, I think we’ve got it all now,” Becht said.
However, since the shopping center arrived in Gilroy, some local residents have cut down on visits to small local businesses.
“We can’t afford to say, ‘Hey, I’m supporting our local store,’ ” said Rita, the Barnes & Noble shopper. “We’re all looking for a bargain.”
For her, the bargains are definitely to be found at Gilroy Crossing.
According to Martin Eichner, 59, a patron of Barnes & Noble’s music section, “I came over here, saw this place and thought it would be very difficult for downtown to compete.”
Chris Gephardt, 33, says he generally prefers smaller local places, but for the several months he’s lived in Gilroy, he hasn’t looked up the local bookstore because the shopping center consistently beckons to him with its prominent signs and lures him with its integrated shopping experience.
“This is the only bookstore I know, so I always come here,” he said.
But even some Gilroy Crossing shoppers who rave about the center often say they have not abandoned local businesses. Fresh produce is an example of a frequently cited reason to head downtown.
“There’s room for everybody,” Becht said.
For local businesses that do face competition from the shopping center newcomers, the solution would be to focus on customer service and cater to patrons’ specialized needs, she said.
Most local residents think the overlap in what local businesses and shopping center chains have to offer is minimal. Some Gilroy Crossing shoppers said they never used to patronize downtown businesses anyway, so the new shopping center could only hurt the stores in San Jose and elsewhere they no longer commute to.
“I rarely go downtown,” said Deadra Durose, 49, as she browsed clothes at Target. “Those shops are so spread out, and parking is terrible.”
To Rich Mora, 54, who appreciates the sports and home improvement goods available at Gilroy Crossing, downtown’s shopping offerings are too limited to specialties and antiques.
“There isn’t a whole lot of duplication in types of stores coming in,” said Bill Lindsteadt, executive director of the Gilroy Economic Development Corp.
He said local stores, thanks to the force of habit and proximity, will keep their regular customers.
“To do your neighborhood shopping, you’ll still go to your neighborhood store,” he said.
