Garlic Festival opens with tasty competitions
All eyes turned to the judge—several hundred in the audience, three other judges, the announcer, a two-camera video crew, and two very nervous amateur chefs. The celebrity judge put down her fork politely, and said, calmly and seriously, to a hushed audience: “It had...
Garlic is big business
What started in 1979 as a small community food festival centered on the small, stinky, cousin of the onion has since turned into a world-recognized, Guinness record-holding, multimillion-dollar destination that helped put little Gilroy on the map. The Garlic Festival is a non-profit, but...
‘152’ restaurants serve up burgers, breads
Bruce Haller, the well-known owner of Cafe 152 Burger Company and Cafe 152 Bread Company, does not like to talk about himself. But, when the topic of his business, the restaurant business in general, and the challenges of doing business in California are on...
New housing construction surges
The early winter drought has been good news for local builders and the sounds of saws, drills and hammers are competing with winter songbirds across Gilroy, as several long-awaited housing developments are under construction.
Leading the way is The Cannery, a 104-unit affordable living apartment...
Performance Foods Group coming to Gilroy
Performance Food Group is moving its food distribution plant from Santa Cruz to Gilroy.
The company said it will build a 195,000-square-foot food processing plant on Monterey Road, which will replace its current location in Santa Cruz.
The move could mean nearly 60 new jobs in...
Gilroy businesses struggle with area’s homeless
The stabbing of a Gilroy restaurant owner by a homeless man in early January ignited new fears and frustrations among local business owners. Many small business owners feel they are bearing the brunt of what they see as a growing homeless population.
Some of those...
Mi Pueblo becomes Cardenas Market
Gilroyans will say adios to the old and bienvenido to the new, now that Mi Pueblo has become Cardenas in a Hispanic supermarket shakeup following the merger of the two companies last year in July.
“The footprint of the store has a lot of...
Big game, big business
At Nob Hill Foods grocery store in Gilroy, Super Bowl weekend means big holiday business even when a local team isn’t playing. There was a steady rush of customers all last weekend, and managers of other local stores agreed.
“It’s not as big as Christmas,...
The business of BBQ and brew
Think of the expression, "find what you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life." It's a nice idea, but reality most often gets in the way, the bills after all, need to be paid.
For Eric Ingram, co-owner of...
Simmitri Solar runs lean and clean
Despite the implementation of new tariffs on imported solar panels, Simmitri Inc Affordable Roofing and Solar is using innovation to ensure that the sun will not set on a budding industry.
Simmitri Inc Affordable Roofing and Solar started in 1995 strictly as a roofing...