In an effort to revitalize neighborhoods and support small businesses, a group of businesses celebrated their grand opening Friday at Moment Paseo in downtown San Jose.
The project allows new entrepreneurs to take advantage of temporary and sometimes small-scale retail space as their first chance at a brick-and-mortar store.
“It feels like a long time has passed. We've been working really hard for the last four, almost five years,” said Teresa Gepira, owner of Bad Witch Crystals. She said, “From her mother's kitchen counter to her parents' garage, we're so happy to finally have it all in this storefront to give people in the Bay Area a place to buy crystals.”
Her store and two others are the latest retail activations by Moment. Moment was developed by the same creators as SJ Made and is now part of Moveable Co. Moment Paseo is affiliated with the San Jose Downtown Association and receives funding from the City of San. Jose.
“There's nothing like the energy we get from small businesses and small manufacturers, especially those we work with locally in the Bay Area,” said Audrey Yang, Moment's project coordinator. “We have never seen such excitement and enthusiasm for running our business.”
Gepira says her passion for crystals was born at a time when life was uncertain and she needed a sign. But she believes that anyone who loves nature and the beauty of the earth it represents can appreciate its value.
“I think it's human nature to be intrigued by shiny, beautiful things,” Gepira told KPIX. “I don't think it necessarily matters whether you believe in spiritual things or metaphysical things.”
As someone who has had success with other pop-up opportunities and opportunities to sell products locally in San Jose, she felt the Moment Paseo store was the perfect fit. The idea behind this model is to not only fill areas of the city with vacant retail space, but also to provide small businesses with the experience of operating a physical location, creating new opportunities for them to control business hours and direct merchandise. It is about providing initiatives.
“When it comes to San Jose, you can tell that they love small businesses. I always feel so much love and support when I come here, so I couldn't think of any other place to open my first store. ” she said. “This is a way for us small businesses to test our ideas and see if retail will work.”
Bad Witch Crystals, along with two other businesses, Plant Slut and Sueños, currently operates at the Moment Paseo at 112 and 115 Paseo de San Antonio in San Jose. This is a pedestrian walkway located downtown, near the San Jose State University campus.
