The local media has made another stop in the Downtown WG business district.

The SJ Mercury published a story on Friday interviewing a variety of small businesses around the Valley, including current Casa Casa owners about the state of the local economy. The news isn’t all that great, but the extra publicity probably doesn’t hurt:

At the upscale Casa Casa furnishings and gift store on Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen, owners Ernie and Margie Pyer could sense the economy shifting by spring of last year. Good growth in 2006 was followed by a small but persistent downturn throughout the second half of 2007, including a “soft” holiday season.

“For us,” said Ernie Pyer, “it’s about people’s discretionary cash. First they put money aside for the college fund and pay the mortgage. Then they pay their other bills and buy gas. We get the last of the money that goes into the home and furnishing it.”

Pyer said 2008 has started off without any pickup in business, but that he has been able to count on a steady customer base for furniture sales. The clearest sign of a negative economy, he noted, is the decline of casual shoppers.

“The number of people moseying around is a lot less,” Pyer noted. “I think they’re just feeling that the ground underneath their feet is not as secure.”

Reporters also interviewed retailers from the Trade-A-Book store in Santa Clara and D&J Hobby & Crafts in Campbell, along with a few experts in the field. This follows two holiday season stories, one on ABC-7 (featuring Urban Sports, Sugar Magnolia, and Bella James) and the other a Metro article about small wine retailers (featuring WG’s WineStyles).