At its April 5 meeting, the council recommended assigning the lease of the Blue Pheasant, which was described by Mayor Patrick Kwok as "a jewel for Cupertino," to prospective owner Mike Tsachres.

In an interview with the Courier, Tsachres said there are still many issues to be resolved before he takes over. In particular, he said he wants to meet with neighbors of the restaurant to better understand their concerns.

Over the past year, some nearby residents have sparred with the restaurant's current owners, saying the Blue Pheasant has operated past its 11 p.m. closing time, and rowdy customers have parked on residential streets. Also in the past year, the city sued the Blue Pheasant for violating its commitment to close by 11 p.m.

The city has searched for new owners of the popular gathering spot since its longtime owners, Ole and Berthe Rasmussen, decided to retire last year.

The city has since rejected at least two applicants due to what the city said was their lack of restaurant experience. That does not appear to be a problem with Tsachres.

"The applicant before us differs in many ways from previous meetings," said Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval at the April 5 meeting. "The main difference is the breadth of experience [Tsachres has] owning and operating full-service restaurants."

Tschares has worked in the restaurant business in different capacities since he immigrated to the United States from his native Greece in 1970. He began as a cook's helper and worked his way up to manager and then owner. Tschares has owned several different restaurants since 1974. Along the way he also worked as an aircraft mechanic and earned degrees from UC-Berkeley and John F. Kennedy University.

Tschares, a Belmont resident, said he plans to keep the Blue Pheasant the way it is.

As a part of his application to the city, he wrote, "It is my intention to continue to operate the restaurant the same, as [the Rasmussens] have done very well for the last 30 years. I have no intention to change its image or its style; neither am I going to involve in an intensive promotion to increase its volume."

However, Tschares also wants to see what the neighbors have to say and plans to invite them to coffee. "I want no enemies," he said. "I am here to help out the neighborhood. We want people to come and eat."