Saccullo’s Glass and Discount Surplus in downtown Gilroy was recently the site of a Hollywood film shoot. Producer Jordan Foley and his 50-person crew filmed scenes for Desolate, a dystopian tale about life after a severe drought. Owner Mary Saccullo said that Foley and his crew were nice and polite, but she was surprised to see how they transformed the store.
“I just assumed they were going to shoot it as is,” Saccullo said.
The crew filmed scenes in the dressing room and Saccullo’s office.
“They were here from about one in the afternoon until about 10:30,” she said. “It was a long day for us.”
Saccullo said the dressing room was set up like a phone booth. The crew carried almost everything out of her office and moved it all back to where it was when they were done filming. Mary said the only thing she couldn’t find after the move were the gum balls for the store’s gum machine.
Saccullo’s Glass and Discount Surplus is one of Gilroy’s longest running downtown businesses.
The Saccullo family started manufacturing shower doors in 1958. Lou Saccullo and his two sons, Dominic and John, worked out of their garage on Rosanna Street. The workspace eventually became crowded and the family needed an upgrade. After renting a few places, they bought the building at their current location at 7648 Monterey Rd. in 1964. They also acquired the business occupying the front half of the building, a military surplus store.
“They never really chose the surplus business, they chose the building,” Mary Saccullo said.
But that’s how it worked out. Lou, Dominic, and John continued running the surplus store in the front of the building and they moved their glass business into the back.
Dominic, Mary’s brother-in-law is the only living member of the original trio. He runs his own shop in Livermore called Dom’s Outdoor Outfitters.
Mary runs the glass and surplus store with her son, Richard. He isn’t surprised he ended up in the family business.
“You just kind of gravitate to it, because it’s your normalcy,” he said.
Saccullo’s offers full service residential glass, including shower enclosures, mirrors, tabletop glass, window screens and patio sliding doors.
“We make a good quality product,” Mary said. “We don’t make a throwaway door or window screen. They last because we use good material.”
Their military surplus could make any survivalist feel like a kid in a candy store, with items like ammo cans, gas masks, even a bomb safe. An old stamping machine can punch your name into a set of dog tags. Mary said hot selling items include duffle bags and cast iron cookware.
Comals, flat griddles used to cook tortillas, are the top-selling item.
Saccullo’s Glass and Discount Surplus might be unique in its business model, but it’s one of the last military surplus stores in Santa Clara County. The Mountain View, a surplus store in Campbell, is closing July 15. Mary knows the owners, Roger and Crystal Bonner.
Mary said that the surplus retailing has changed over the years because the inventory isn’t what it used to be.
“Anytime that we’re engaged overseas, things go and they don’t come back,” she said. “Ten bases closed in California. We don’t have the bases that we used to.”
Saccullo’s is now 100 percent dependent on wholesalers for their military surplus goods. Mary said they’ve been dealing with the same wholesalers for years.
“Part of our success is due to our loyal customer base that doesn’t forget that we’re here,” Mary said. “They come back and they know that we’re going to do our best to take care of them and give them good customer service. We really appreciate Gilroy.”
Mary sees the store as an obligation, something she’d like to pass down to Richard.
“That’s the way [John] would have wanted it,” she said. “That was the plan. And so, God willing, I’ll be able to do that.”
