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April 2016 Alamo’s Beloved Richards Store Closing
Serving Alamo and Diablo
By Sharon Burke
An Alamo institution, Richards Arts and Crafts in Alamo Plaza, will close its doors for good on May 30. Owners Dick and Terri Delfosse say their business succumbed to competition from online sales, increased parking pressures in the Plaza, and finally the December 2015 sale of the Plaza to new owners, resulting in a large increase in property taxes and insurance passed on to tenants. “We have loved being such a big part of our customers’ lives,” Dick noted during a recent interview. “Our employees are like a big family,” he said. Dick and Terri are sparing no effort to find new jobs for their employees, most of whom have been with their company for many years. Residents of Alamo have returned the love to the Delfosses. Anguished messages began showing up on social media. “That is so sad… say it isn’t so…my favorite store” wrote my Facebook friends. Messages like “Very sad…not going to be the same…we are really bummed to see Richards leave” were posted on NextDoor.com. Alamo residents themselves for over 20 years, Dick and Terri generously supported every school fundraiser and Alamo nonprofit. A bulletin board in their office is covered with thank you notes and expressions of gratitude for their support. Dick and Terri Delfosse Terri explained that she and Dick felt their stores competed very well with big box and chain stores, but the internet was another issue. Their sales had declined in recent years, with internet buying mainly to blame. Terri spoke with sadness of the decline of small town businesses in America, and pointed out that dollars spent on the internet don’t stay in the local community as happens when shoppers support local businesses. On December 31st, the sale of the Plaza from Invesco to Donahue Schriber Realty Group closed escrow. The purchase price was $110 million for the 195,100 square foot shopping center, which has a 7% vacancy rate according to a January 7th Bay Area Biztalk article published about the sale. The Plaza had previously been carried on county property tax rolls at an assessment of approximately $60 million, meaning a near doubling of property tax assessments. Per the terms of the Plaza’s commercial leases, these increased costs were passed on to tenants as of January 1. The Delfosses said they had tried for over a year to work with the previous landlord and attorneys to keep the store open. But with the ongoing frustration of the parking problems adjacent to their store and with the sale of the property which significantly increased taxes and common area maintenance charges, the final blow was in place January 1 which led to their sad but necessary decision to close Richards. There are so many memories Terri and Dick shared. Terri recalled how Esther Canseco, then married to baseball star Jose Canseco, called Richards from the ballpark and asked if they could stay open late for her as she needed supplies for a party. The store stayed open an hour beyond closing and sure enough, Mrs. Canseco showed up and bought several hundred dollars worth of party goods.
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County project manager Adele Ho recently presented landscape plans for the new Hemme Station Park to the Alamo Municipal Advisory Council. This beautiful new park for Alamo will be at the southwest corner of Danville Boulevard and Hemme Avenue and is designed for trail users, with a hydration station, restrooms, shade, picnic tables and a small tot lot. The park will open in 2017.
Art of Survival: Japanese Americans Coping in World War II Internment Camps By Jody Morgan
Now through May 15th, the Museum of the San Ramon Valley (MuseSRV) presents Art of Survival, a poignant study of the plight of Japanese Americans incarcerated in remote confinement sites during World War II. Building on a traveling exhibit focused on Tule Lake, the Museum incorporates information about life in all ten internment camps. Intricate artifacts crafted in the camps, photographs, videos, and personal histories, as well as the recreation of a barrack living space enhance the exhibit. Learn how internees confronted deprivation with dignity. Several evening programs highlight different aspects of their experience. Dan Dunn and Jerry Warren stand behind a table April 14th - 7pm, Veterans typical of furniture internees made from scrap wood. Memorial Building, Danville: Photo by Jody Morgan. “Baseball and its Impact on America During World War II” - Baseball historians Marty Laurie and Kerry Yo Nakagawa discuss the role of baseball inside the camps. April 21st - 7pm, Danville Town Meeting Hall: “Hidden Legacy” - Shirley Murat-Wong presents cultural arts practiced in the camps. May 6th - 7pm, Danville Library: “Survive with Dignity” - Celebrating Volume XVI - Number 4 music, poetry, film, and life in the camps. 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, Fear and anger fueled by politicians Alamo, CA 94507 See Richards continued on page 21 hawking hidden enemy agendas and Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 journalists headlining hate set residents PRSRT STD of the West Coast on edge in the afterAlisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher U.S. Postage math of the December 7, 1941 Pearl Editor@yourmonthlypaper.com PAID Harbor attack. Japanese American Permit 263 Sharon Burke ~ Writer Alamo CA university professors, religious leaders, The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Alamo Today. Alamo Today community leaders, and even retired is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising ECRWSS
See MuseSRV cont. on page 14
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