It’s true that we don’t have a mall, but we have so many incredible places to find the most unusual gift items. How about a gift certificate to any one of the 900 restaurants around town?* You could always give it to someone who you know will invite you to come with them. Sneaky of me, I know. You might consider Sakoon, The Kitchen Table, Cascal or Tied House.  Pizzeria Venti is right across Shoreline Blvd from Century Cinemas 16 Theater. A dinner gift card and movie tickets are always appreciated!

Does someone on your list take less-than-perfect care of their automobile? We have some well-established and trusted auto repair shops in Mountain View. A “Safety Inspection” and an oil change would show your loved one that you care about them while they’re on the road. New tires aren’t the sexiest idea, but everyone eventually needs a pair and we all want our family to be safe in traffic. Besides, new tires could possibly be sexy if they were presented in the right way… it’s all in the presentation. A few places that you might check out for your auto needs are Helming’s Auto Repair, The Car Doctor, Larry’s Auto Works or Dean’s Automotive.

Everyone loves a sparkly clean car, right? You could have someone’s car detailed at one of the local carwashes.

Mountain View has also fabulous books stores! I would even say that we are famous for our book stores. East West Bookshop,  Books Inc., and BookBuyers are all on Castro.  A few other places that I’ve already mentioned on this blog that are worth keeping in mind while holiday shopping are Alpine World Gifts, Savvy Cellar and Artisan Wine Depot.  I think that all of these establishments are interesting and I love the fact that they’re exclusive to Mountain View.

It’s important to remember how many incredible places we have here in town and that we should support these merchants in order to keep Mountain View as fabulous as it already is.

*I don’t really know how many restaurants are in Mountain View—not quite 900, but close.

 

The Chamber of Commerce Mountain View and the Central Business Association are proud to announce that we have joined forces with many of our favorite local businesses to kick off Shop Local. This is a list of the participating businesses:

• Play It Again Sports
• Helming’s Auto Repair
• KMVT 15
• Little Prodigy Preschool and Daycare Center
• Dean’s Automotive
• Le Boulanger
• Spectrum Fine Homes
• Tied House
• Baskin Robbins
• Pegpay
• Larry’s AutoWorks
• Mountain View Educational Foundation

Our Shop Local program is very different from other programs that encourage people to spend dollars locally. Our Shop Local program will be donating $10,000 to local Mountain View schools. Each of the participating business will make a $500 donation that goes directly back into our community. Investing in our children’s education will certainly have a lasting and positive impact on the community.

You can make a difference:

Please consider doing business with the fine establishments that are participating in this program and if you would like to join the list above, please fill out the Shop Local registration form and fax it to 650-968-5668.

You may also download the Shop Local Flyer.

Shop Local Mountain View and everyone wins! Our schools, our children and our local businesses all come out ahead!

For more information about Shop Local, please contact edithq_mvwriter@yahoo.com.