ShopTalk: For muddy puppies, dirty dogs ... (September 14, 2005)

by Daryl Savage

A "semi-automatic" dog wash is setting up shop in Palo Alto. Similar to a car wash where a driver pulls into a stall, inserts a token, and suds up the car with soap and water, this is a first for Palo Alto pooches. It's one of the features of Pet Food Express, the country's sixth largest pet specialty store, that will move into the Charleston Center in mid-February, center owner Larry Jacobs announced enthusiastically. Pet Express president and founder Michael Levy calls the canine cleansing his "signature pet wash." One $12 token provides a 25-minute bathing session, complete with towels and blow dryers. There's even a choice of scented shampoos, such as orange peel, eucalyptus and peppermint. "We've been looking for a spot in Palo Alto for a long time. We're delighted to be in this location," Levy said, noting it is just three blocks from Palo Alto's largest dog park, at Mitchell Park. The store will be the 26th in the Bay Area for Pet Food Express -- from what started two decades ago as a small pet supply store Levy set up when he was a dog trainer. "It was a classic example of the tail wagging the dog. Everything grew from there," he said. The store, which is also involved in pet rescue and adoption, has the largest selection of "holistic pet food" in the Bay Area, according to Levy. It will take over the vacancies left by Gymboree and Benton Medical (which moved to Mountain View), giving Pet Food Express a whopping 6,400 square feet.

FENG YUAN RESTAURANT SEEKING A BUYER ... While Charleston Center owner Larry Jacobs was excited about Pet Food Express, he was less enthusiastic about confirming reports that the Feng Yuan Restaurant in the center, a neighbor of Rich's Rather Rich Ice Cream shop, is up for sale. The restaurant, there for nearly 50 years, was sold about a year ago to Chung and Buey Leung of Fremont by the Lum family, which operated it for many years -- with younger family members helping roll won tons and spring rolls at a large table. Chung Leung has found the business more work than he can sustain, even with the evening help of his wife and daughter, Sara -- both of whom have day jobs. One prospective buyer reportedly backed out, but another is taking a highly interested look, to expand from an existing successful Chinese restaurant in San Francisco.

COOKBOOK TO RE-OPEN? SOMEWHERE? ... Well, when Cookbook owner James Kim returned from a vacation after being abruptly forced out of the Town & Country Village Shopping Center last month (to make room for an upscale prenatal and infant-supply store that will include education classes), he found that some former customers had been busily seeking an alternative site. They thought they found one, and Kim relented from an earlier plan to retire and said he would consider reopening if the right site could be found. He even inspected one place on California Avenue -- a former guitar and music store near the former Printers Inc. bookstore. The owner is reportedly receptive to a long-term lease, but everyone involved was jolted to a halt when they found that city regulations require a building to undergo a seismic retrofit if it undergoes a "change of use." As no one can remember a restaurant ever being there before, it looks as if the costly, year-long retrofit would be prohibitive -- so the search goes on, unless some creative alternatives or variances can be found for that location.

A TASTE OF BRAZIL, AND ANOTHER, AND ANOTHER ... A taste of the South American tropics has come to south Palo Alto -- but with an urban touch: tiny stop-and-go signals on the tables that signal the waiters for more food, or to stop.

Tucked way back off the street, behind the Crowne Plaza Hotel, at 4290 El Camino Real, the BB Brazilian Barbeque restaurant is booming. There's a reason: Lot's of food. Imagine dining in a Brazilian setting, where a makeshift bamboo "stoplight" sits on each table. When diners want more, they simply set the stoplight to green and the waiter appears within minutes carrying several more entrees. When diners have had enough, they flip the stoplight to red and the waiter knows it's time to stop bringing food. "Everything comes to you. That way, you can enjoy talking without being interrupted by your waiter," explains Monique Arge, food coordinator for the all-you-can-eat-restaurant.

The idea for a Brazilian barbeque was hatched about four months ago. "We all sat down together and this is what we came up with," said Crowne Plaza General Manager Adam Hamdy. "We wanted to do this right so we traveled to Brazilian restaurants in Dallas, San Antonio and Chicago to get some ideas. And this is what we designed," he said. The showpiece of the month-old restaurant is the eight-foot-tall rotisserie and grill. "We can do 40 chickens at a time," he said. A prominent Palo Altan who dined there last week raved about the cuisine but she had a real problem with the stoplight. "I thought green meant you wanted more salad and red meant you wanted more meat. I got more food than I knew what to do with," she said.

GOOD VIBES TO HIT PALO ALTO ... Those who think Good Vibrations is a song from the mid-1960s, get with the program. It's a shop for women that specializes in sex toys, books and information -- and it may be coming to Palo Alto. "We were close to signing a lease earlier this year for a spot on University Avenue, but it didn't work out," Good Vibrations spokesperson Nancy Crow said. "However, we like Palo Alto and we expect to be there by next year," she added. Good Vibrations opened its doors in 1977 in San Francisco's Mission District. It now has three stores in the Bay Area (two in San Francisco, one in Berkeley), with Palo Alto likely to be the fourth. Crow said the company is currently expanding its store base, while its mail-order catalog business is flourishing.

INFLUX OF STANFORD SHOPS ... Talk about flourishing, the Stanford Shopping Center is filling up with a variety of new shops. Recently-opened stores include Rosetta Stone, located in the pavilion in the center of the mall offering technology-based foreign-language instruction. A few steps away is Oregon Scientific, famous for its projection clocks and home weather stations. Coming soon is Palm One, an accessory shop for those little hand-held computer devices; Occhiali de Sole, a designer-sunglasses boutique; and Elie Tahari, an upscale clothing store for women, known for starting the tube-top trend in the 1970s.

SPICED-UP AND CURRIED ... The Indian restaurant with the ever-changing name is changing names once again. Located at 2700 El Camino Real in Mountain View, close to the Palo Alto/Mountain View border, it initially was called Swagat, which means "welcome." Then it became Dastoor, which means "tradition." On October 1, it will be called "Southern Spice," which means, well, southern spice. "We wanted to offer more of the Southern Indian food. It's much spicier," said owner Sai Phani. The current all-you-can-eat buffet will stay, as well as the $7.99 lunch and the $10.99 dinner.

Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out, or in, down the block or across town? Daryl Savage will check it out. She can be e-mailed at shoptalk@paweekly.com.

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