Hollister
– Locals are about to get a new spot to work and dine.
Hollister – Locals are about to get a new spot to work and dine.
Developer Ted Intravia said he plans to open a new business complex just north of Premiere Cinemas on McCray Street in June. The two-story building will have eight units, Intravia said. He’s hoping to house restaurants at the ground level and offices on the second floor.
Grouping the offices and the restaurants together should help ensure that the office workers are fed and the restaurants are bustling, Intravia said, but he’s hoping the businesses will attract other Hollister residents as well.
“We want to make it a real destination,” he said.
Intravia said he’s been planning the development since 1995, but the office complex really started moving forward after Intravia opened the new Premiere Cinemas theater at the end of March 2006.
Construction is entering its final stages. Intravia said he’s talked to several prospective tenants, but he declined to disclose any names until all the deals are finalized.
Penguin’s car wash serves hurried drivers
Thursday was a big day for Carlos Salazar. That’s when he opened the doors to his very first business – Penguin’s Car Wash.
Salazar said that after years working for someone else, he was on the lookout for an opportunity to be his own boss. Salazar found that opportunity last year when he learned that the owner of what was then Plaza Car Wash was ready to sell.
Plaza shut down for two months of repairs and remodeling, and it reopened Thursday as Penguin’s Car Wash. A basic car wash goes for $15.99, Salazar said, and that includes a hand wash and a spin through Penguin’s automated “DBR” system, which uses cloth, recycled water and other products that are easy on a car’s paint job.
“I know that a lot of people are in a hurry, so we try to get everything done in 10 or 15 minutes,” Salazar said.
And apparently the car wash wasn’t enough – Salazar has also opened a detail center at 421-A Hillcrest Road.
Salazar said he’s still testing and working out the kinks at both businesses, but he hopes to hold a real grand opening celebration later in May.
Monterey Credit union comes to Hollister
Monterey Credit Union recently opened a branch at 1760 Airline Highway. Although it’s the credit union’s first location in San Benito County, the company has seven branches throughout the Central Coast.
Stewart Fuller, the company’s CEO, said Hollister and the credit union – which was founded in 1968 – seemed like an “ideal match.”
“We’ve been looking (for a location in Hollister) for quite a while,” Fuller said.
Fuller also said that as a credit union – not a standard bank – his company may offer a better deal for its customers.
“As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, there are no stockholders,” Fuller said. “So what we make above and beyond what we need to pay the bills and stay financially solvent, we pay back to the members of the credit union.”
Business Notebook appears every other Tuesday. If you have business news to share, contact reporter Anthony Ha at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
