End of an era as 45-year-old San Jose business closes

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - It's the end of an era for a long-time San Jose business. This Sunday, Ken's Glass and Mirrors is closing its doors after 45 years. The 77-year-old owner Ken Lewis is retiring after building the business with little education and money but a lot of hard work.

At the corner of Senter and Lewis in East San Jose, it's hard to miss the yellow building and it's even harder now with signs that read "buy it all" and "last day is Sunday."

"If you enjoy what you are doing you don't mind being here 24 hours a day," said Lewis.

Since the 1970's, Lewis has called this place home. He wakes up early to open the shop and he's the last to leave since he's the only worker there.

"I've been pretty much a one-man shop all these years," said Lewis. "It's nice when you don't have a boss. You don't have to blame something for what they did because you are the one who did it."

The Missouri native is one of 12 siblings. He headed to California with a seventh grade education and a whole lot of drive. After polishing shower doors, he started collecting glass leading to his first shop on Monterey road and now on Lewis Road. In its hay day in the 1990's, the store was thriving.

"I was buying a truckload of glass every week," said Lewis. "We aren't talking about glass trucks. We are talking semi trucks."

The store even survived the Loma Prieta earthquake.

"I don't have any idea how many tons of glass and mirror was lost, said Lewis. "But after that it took a month to clean it up."

However, with the internet and big-name retail stores, business has declined. After putting the store on the market for three years, a developer now plans to build a Vietnamese restaurant. It's bittersweet given the shop is a reminder of the good old days when doing business meant more than just making money.

"Just being here and knowing I've done one heck of a lot of good for a lot of people," said Lewis. "By being happy and doing what I want. I made money."

He's hoping to sell 300 mirrors in three days in some cases, he's giving mirrors away. He plans to travel and do things he didn't get to do when he was working including going to football and baseball games.