Published in the March 30 – April 12, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
Kathy Sullivan
As downtown developers move ahead with their projects, many of our existing businesses have been forced to make difficult choices and changes. Five of our downtown retail stores are relocating to new spots. While these changes came with a cost for the merchants, the store owners also ended up finding some rewards at the end of the process.
Carlos Perez of Royal Clothiers moved across the street to 17375 Monterey Road and is grateful for the help of his family, city staff and loyal customers. One such customer was having lunch, saw Carlos moving and joined in after calling his wife at home to come help. Carlos had his new store done over with dark wood flooring and light gray walls with white trim, two lovely new dressing rooms and a new work space for alterations.
Cheng Yu, the manager of Peking Chinese Restaurant, stated the move from BookSmart shopping center to a strip mall at 16135 Monterey Road has increased his business with many new customers discovering his diner along with the regulars who found his new location.
They added a popular lunch buffet which had been featured by the previous owner. Business has improved so much they are in the process of adding more staff.
Morgan Hill Wine Shop and Cigar Company has now been able to morph into two distinct areas. The wine shop is now separated from the cigar lounge with its own entrance. Both will have their individual patios to enjoy the different products. Jeff Burns, the store’s CEO, is delighted.
After the nine-week closure, they have seen a “significantly better” customer base. A lot of new faces have been added to their former clientele. The anticipated fears of losing pedestrian traffic have been offset by the ease of access to their new location on 16375 Monterey Road.
Murphy’s Mercantile moved down three doors to its present downtown address of 17337 Monterey Road. The new space is brighter with a skylight, allowing the owner to re-energize and re-imagine sisters Honnie and Melissa Murphy’s antiques and consignment store. They were able to envision their items in a new way while adding existing stock they had been keeping in storage.
There are plans to hold some customer classes related to the store’s unique merchandise. For example, a mixologist will be giving a talk on the importance of stem ware for the right drinks.
Cherisse of Cherisse’s Hair Salon took advantage of her new move to 84 W. Second St. to brighten her walls with her signature purple color. She has enjoyed the new space for her customers and was also grateful to city staff for helping with her relocation.
Speaking of changes, the Morgan Hill Downtown Association has a few changes coming. The ones to focus on in the near future are improvements to our Wine and Food Week, which starts April 25 and culminates with our Downtown Wine Stroll April 30.
An art show, crafter and artist market, as well as an increased number of participating wineries are only some of the exciting changes for this popular springtime event.
Kathy Sullivan is a board member of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association. She wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.
