Los Gatos is site of Ziv and Dani Wolkowicki’s love story.
They had met on the Jewish dating app J-Swipe in 2017, citing a lack of third spaces to meet people. After Dani misinterpreted a typo Ziv sent her, the two went on a date.
“We went on our first date because she had to prove me wrong,” Ziv Wolkowicki said.
They hadn’t even visited Los Gatos before booking their wedding venue in the town in 2022. But after visiting a one or two times, the couple bought a house in town. They were downtown on Saturday during the Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Sweetheart Stroll, when 36 storefronts displayed red and pink heart-shaped balloons as part of the Chamber’s Get Fresh Valentine’s Week, designed to spur foot traffic and support local businesses, said Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Lin.
Ginger Rowe, founder and owner of Time Out Clothing, said she had put some of her merchandise on sale and “brought in some special pieces from our vendor on consignment.” She also put out champagne and heart-shaped jam and shortbread cookies for browsing shoppers.
“I think it’s super important to support all of the local businesses and have community versus competition,” Rowe said. “I think that really is my motto. I’ve learned we all need to get along and support each other.”
The week culminates on Valentine’s Day, when several restaurants in town are curating special menus. Lin said this time of year is usually slower as people recover from their holiday spending, so the weeklong event allows businesses to gear up for springtime with new inventories and new menu items, encouraging repeat visits to town while people look for gifts for their loved ones.
This was the case for Monte Sereno residents Megan Verceles Carr, 26, and Marissa Verceles, 69. They came into French Lessons by Romantiques, one of the participating businesses, on Saturday to look for a birthday present for Verceles’ son’s fiancée. Verceles said she heard about the Sweetheart Stroll from her friend who works for the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, and their shopping day happened to align with the event.
Verceles Carr said they wanted to find something for her soon-to-be sister-in-law to lounge around in when she’s at home, and praised the event for encouraging support for local businesses.
“I prefer these local businesses over going to the mall just because you can find something unique and a little bit more special,” Verceles Carr said. “You’re finding them something that they would to even know to look for yet.”
Some of the other featured shops and restaurants were We Olive, Time Out Clothing, Domus, The Butter Paddle and Tasting House. Chamber staff set up a table near Automobuild on Santa Cruz Avenue and handed out “passports” that showed the locations of all the participating businesses. Lin said they did not set a route for the event so guests could explore downtown Los Gatos at their own pace, encouraging discovery while keeping the experience simple.
The Sweetheart Stroll started as a grassroots event by a group of shopkeepers who wanted to do something for Valentine’s Day, leading the Chamber of Commerce to get involved to help coordinate the event. Lin said the first event took place on a cold weeknight evening. When they held the second stroll on a Saturday, the event, which was notably more relaxed with children and couples participating, was a success.
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce has long said that they wanted to take advantage of the town as a destination spot, something that Kori Eberle, 37, liked about visiting her boyfriend Dan, who lives in town. The couple has been in a long-distance relationship for seven years after he moved to the Bay Area for work.
“We both really love Colorado, but Dan lives in Los Gatos and California’s a really lovely place to visit, so it’s fun to get to come and visit on the weekends,” Eberle said.
During past visits the couple participated in wine walks, and Eberle said they were excited that the Sweetheart Stroll gave them another opportunity to see some of the businesses in the area and allow them to be part of the community.
“For our relationship, it’s really important to just have fun and enjoy each other and not take life too seriously and to just get to find things that we enjoy doing together,” Eberle said.
Leave a Reply