The Cupertino Courier

Photograph by Robert Scheer

The view from the porch at the Lookout Inn--taken in here by a steak sandwich--includes the rolling lawns of Sunnyvale's Municipal Golf Course and a practice putting green.

Look out for the new Lookout Inn

By Steve Enders

Bae Kim and his wife, Nicole, have risked it all to chase down their dream of owning a restaurant.

Kim had a successful high-tech career, breathing and eating computer chips and living comfortably with Nicole and their two children.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment decision," Kim said of their half-hour contemplation of whether to buy their own restaurant. "We threw all our money into it and took a big risk."

Now, the couple is in charge of the Lookout Inn at Sunnyvale's Municipal Golf Course, and they're loving every minute of it.

The Kims bought the restaurant in August and are currently renovating it.

The Kims exchange casual and friendly greetings with customers who come in from the course and those who get off work from one of the many nearby tech firms.

That's one of the features of the restaurant Kim is trying to highlight: It's not just the "19th hole," where golfers go to forget a bad game or celebrate a good one. It's a place that's becoming popular with the lunch crowd from nearby businesses, as well as families coming in for dinner.

The main event at the Lookout is a Wednesday night buffet-style barbecue, where, for $8.50, patrons can stock up on an endless supply of classic American barbecue food, including potato salad and ribs.

The Kims are in a unique situation, in that they lease the space from the city of Sunnyvale. The city keeps up the grounds and provides maintenance for the building, which includes the pro shop downstairs. They have even provided some amenities to the Kims to help renovate the old restaurant.

The Lookout was owned by the same person for 30 years until the Kims took it over last August, Bae Kim said. The decor was from the 1960s and 1970s, the carpets were worn and dirty and the atmosphere was old and dark.

"They used to deep-fry everything. They used to deep-fry the garden burgers! Now people are eating more healthy," Kim said.

He has spent the last seven months making the place brighter by installing lights and moving historical pictures around, updating the interior, painting, installing new paneling and cleaning.

The result is a modern restaurant that is beginning to feel new.

"We hope to have it completed by this summer," he said.

The two are pleasantly surprised that the restaurant has done so well, considering winter is just ending.

"We did what we could to stay open," he said. "It's been a success considering El Niño and winter."

The golf course was under water and closed for most of February, but the Kims have been able to keep their heads above water by providing banquet facilities and developing a base of regular customers.

The restaurant has a deck area that offers a great view of the golf course. The Kims even have a smaller room set up for lunch or dinner business meetings.

The Lookout Inn is open during the same hours as the golf course and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The bar, Nicole Kim says, is open as long as someone's there to be served.

The Lookout Inn, 605 Macara Ave., Sunnyvale, 739-8000.

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