Community Corner
Steve Jobs Movie Stimulates a Little Business
When film crews come to Los Altos and take over your whole street, and lookie-loos stand there for hours on end hoping to see Ashton Kutcher, there's just one thing to do: Make lemonade. Sell more sandwiches.
They stood in the sun, drops of sweat beading down their faces. Waiting for some action, the spectators came for different reasons—to see the home of Steve Jobs, to spot actor Ashton Kutcher in person or to say that they were at a movie set.
It was Day 2 of the three-day , who grew up in the when it was still unincorporated Los Altos.
Sammy Shenon, 8, took advantage of the warm temperature and the crowds of people outside her house, on the corner of El Sereno Avenue and Crist Drive, by selling cold lemonade.
“She’s always wanted to sell lemonade,” said Sammy’s mom, Amanda Shenon. “There’s not always that many people that stop by, but this is the perfect opportunity.”
Teenagers dug through their pockets to find two spare quarters to to buy a cup. When one found some change, the others watched her sip it, jealous that they didn’t bring money to buy their own. A teenage boy walking by said that he thought the lemonade stand was such a “genius” idea.
Sammy skipped the park to sell lemonade, said Shenon, and it appeared to be a pretty good move. Counting the remaining cups on the square fold-up table, Sammy estimated that she had already made 25 or 30 dollars in two hours, with each cup costing 50 cents. That’s better than most barista positions at Starbucks.
Whether or not they purchased lemonade, people sat on the Shenon’s lawn, one of the only shady places. Everyone from moms to teenagers spread themselves across the front yard, giving their legs a break and escaping from the sun. Yesterday when onlookers had to clear the road for cars driving through, they usually stepped into yards on Crist Drive.
“Some people got annoyed,” said Shenon. Most neighbors have been cooperative of the filming crew and the audience brought to their neighborhood, she said.
Not only has the filming inspired Sammy to create her own business due to the increased traffic in her neighborhood, but at least one local business is benefiting from the filming as well. Alotta’s Deli, located on Grant Road around the corner from Crist Drive, has received more customers, said Mike Mansch, owner of Alotta’s Deli.
Two vans that shuttled staff to and from the filming site were parked outside the deli. Inside local teenagers enjoyed their late lunches while looking outside to keep their eyes open for any celebrity activity. The day before, lunch had arranged at St. Simon’s Parish at the end of Grant Road and the Foothill Expressway.
“It’s pretty busy because it’s the end of the school year,” said Mansch, “but obviously there’s some extra faces around because of the staff over there that’s working on the movie.”
The filming has attracted community members to visit a part of Los Altos that they hadn’t before. Mansch said, “I think that’s good for the community to have something happening.”
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