Business

Within minutes, the mind wanders off to distant forests and worries melt away, if only for a while. Dawn Culp at The Zen Room, may have the cure for the work-a-day blues. And for a reasonable price too.

Total employees, 678 – most part-time, seasonal

The owner of Union Taxi Company of Gilroy says ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Uber have been killing his business. Pedro Virgen, 50, who has owned the company since 2006, has seen his business shrink from eight taxis and a dozen employees to three cabs and two drivers.

True or false: The City of Gilroy owns a tourist attraction business called Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park. That’s false.

There’s a new buzz and excitement going around downtown Gilroy these days. Several new businesses have either recently opened or will open in the very near future alongside businesses who are expanding their offerings.

As Gilroy grows so does tourism to the Garlic Capital and when visitors arrive, they need someplace to stay. To accommodate that Ace Construction and Blue Diamond Hospitality are building a Hampton Inn at Travel Park Circle near the Garlic Farm Travel Center and Highway 101.

Dear Red Phone: It’s been a year since the Longhouse Restaurant was closed due to fire. Will it ever reopen?

Buford “Bud” Davis, John Travolta’s character in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy would be home and looking cool, after shopping at the Ariat Outlet Store, a new western wear clothing store at the Gilroy Outlets. The outlet is a new endeavor for Ariat, a brand known for premium boots, equestrian sports wear and clothing with a hip, country flair, offering off-season goods at an appreciable discount. Now South Valley shoppers can find some of the same duds worn by modern day stars like Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt and Kaley Cuoco from Big Bang Theory.

For Bartenders Union Local 408, a new bar that will open where the old El Azteca Bar was on Monterey Road, owner and operator Dustin Evanger had a simple philosophy in mind. What kind of bar would a bartender want?

On another hot Thursday morning, Don Alvarez, Sr., the owner of Noah Concrete, could have been sitting cool in his office on Rossi Lane. Instead, he was out overseeing the concrete pouring work on a large scale Costco project in South San Francisco. The concrete business is hard work.