Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph courtesy of George and David Vlamis.

Brothers Louis, James and George Vlamis once ran the homestyle Los Gatos Grill on N. Santa Cruz Avenue.

Vlamis was a square shooter behind plate

Baseball, boxing and bars were a part of the life of restaurateur George Vlamis, now age 88 and still going to work daily with his son, David, owner of Orchard City Lock & Safe in Campbell.

George admits that he doesn't do any work for his son but likes the quiet of his office--a fine place to read the daily newspapers.

The Vlamis family lives on Almendra Avenue, not far from the Los Gatos Weekly-Times office. It was father and son, in fact, who delivered today's photo to the newspaper office.

Founded by George's father, Emanuel Vlamis, the Los Gatos Grill was located on the west side of N. Santa Cruz Avenue, about four doors south of the Los Gatos Cinema.

Emanuel followed in the footsteps of family members who came from New York and operated the Park Cafe on the east side of N. Santa Cruz Avenue, three doors north of W. Main Street.

George Vlamis came to town wearing some enviable patches on his sleeve. He played baseball at James Monroe High School in New York City with Hank Greenberg, who became a Detroit Tigers slugging outfielder. Greenberg later was drafted into the U.S. Army at a $21-per-month pay rate and had to give up a $40,000-a-year job with Detroit.

In New York City, George held a job that youngsters would kill for--he was a turnstile boy at Yankee Stadium, home of the Bronx Bombers, perennial world champions in the 1920s and beyond. To this day George can name the players on those legendary teams.

It might have been this baseball background that caused Doug Helm, coach of all boys' sports at Los Gatos High School at the time, to ask George to umpire local home ballgames. In those days, home teams had to produce an ump. Some were notorious "homers," calling a wide plate for the resident pitcher and a narrow plate for the visiting hurler.

Helm said that visiting coaches commented favorably on George: "That's a square shooter ya got behind the plate."

Shortly after arriving in Los Gatos, George attended Santa Clara University and San Jose Normal School, a teachers' college that became San Jose State University. Because of the expense, George worked full time at the restaurant so that his brother James and sister Sophia could obtain doctorates and become Fulbright scholars abroad. She graduated from Stanford and he from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

During the 1930s and '40s, George fulfilled his love of boxing when he was asked to report on boxing at the San Jose Civic Auditorium for the Los Gatos Mail-News. On the national and international heavyweight scene, George believes that Joe Louis was the greatest heavyweight of his era.

In 1973, George sacrificed the right side of the restaurant, which was tables-for-two and booths, to open Club Gato, a snug bar he managed and eventually sold to John Mesa, present owner/operator of Johnny's Northside Grill.

In recent decades George served as manager/bartender for the Bascom Lounge and Double Vision--two establishments on Los Gatos Boulevard not far from Community Hospital of Los Gatos. Both bars had to go when Highway 85 was widened.

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