Hollister
– The acquisition of 728 San Benito St. by a local
brother-and-sister team may seem like just another business deal,
but Tony LoBue and Marie Peterson have high hopes for the
99-year-old building.
Hollister – The acquisition of 728 San Benito St. by a local brother-and-sister team may seem like just another business deal, but Tony LoBue and Marie Peterson have high hopes for the 99-year-old building.
LoBue, a former Hollister councilman, said that with construction under way on the new Highway 25 bypass, things are looking up for the downtown area. LoBue and Peterson said their new purchase should allow them to play their own part in that revitalization.
“We’re hoping to help beautify downtown,” LoBue said.
LoBue said he’s currently interviewing architects who are interested in improving the building’s facade. The improvements will respect downtown Hollister’s style and atmosphere, Peterson said, while also repairing and refreshing things so the building doesn’t show its century of wear and tear.
The building is currently occupied by the Country Rose Gallery and Hollister Western Wear, with apartments on the second floor. Hollister Western Wear will be closing in June, so LoBue said he’s on the lookout for a new tenant.
“We want to set an example for downtown businesses,” Peterson said. “We’re not Santana Row (in San Jose), but this is all we’ve got.”
Interested tenants should call LoBue at 408-439-9404.
Lingerie liquidation looms For Boutique
Downtown Hollister store Boutique de Lingerie will be closing its doors in June.
But the retailer, which has been at 650 San Benito St. for 10 years, isn’t going out of business. Instead, owner Jeannine Porteur DiVincenzo said she’ll be cutting back on her responsibilities while still providing service to the store’s longtime customers.
“By the time I’m 55, I want to spend more time at my cabin (in the Sierra Nevadas) and with my granddaughter,” said Porteur DiVincenzo, who is 53. “But when you own your own business, it’s 24/7.”
Porteur DiVincenzo said she’d originally hoped to sell the store, but she thinks her new plans will be better for meeting the needs of longtime customers.
Instead of changing hands, Boutique de Lingerie will transform into an appointment-only retailer. Portuer DiVincenzo said she will continue offering the store’s two staples: post-mastectomy lingerie for breast cancer survivors and products from the Lunire line of garments.
Private fittings can be scheduled by calling the store’s old phone number, 831-635-0722. Meanwhile, Porteur DiVincenzo has put the rest of her inventory up for sale, which she said will likely end in mid- or late-June.
New owners take the lead at Ding-a-Ling
The Ding-a-Ling Cafe has been feeding hungry pilots at the Hollister Municipal Airport for more than a decade.
But as of two months ago, there’s a new boss at the Ding-a-Ling. Three new bosses, in fact.
Patricia Moisa, who shares ownership with her husband, Michael Moisa, and her sister Rosa Diaz, said she has no experience running her restaurant. It was Rosa who talked her into the deal, Moisa said.
Regular Ding-a-Ling diners may not have noticed a difference, because the new bosses decided to keep the same staff and the same menu. That’s made for a smooth transition, Moisa said, although she is thinking about changing the restaurant’s name.
“Everything’s basically the same,” she said.
The Ding-a-Ling Cafe is located at 155 Skylane Drive.
Business Notebook appears every other Tuesday. If you have business news to share, contact reporter Anthony Ha at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
