Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Rock 'n' Tacos owners Donald Pieracci (left) and Scott Merrill have plans to spruce up the interior of the restaurant with rock & roll memorabilia.

Wraps and salads complement standard fare of Rock 'n' Tacos

By Suzanne Cristallo

"Santa Cruz Avenue was too good an opportunity to pass up," declares Scott Merrill about the location his new restaurant, Rock 'n' Tacos, occupies in Los Gatos.

The eatery opened March 30 at the former site of Mondeo Pronto, after several months of closed doors between owners. Rock 'n' Tacos offers a variety of wraps and salads along with its specialty fish, chicken and meat tacos.

Not wanting to duplicate what his Andale Taqueria neighbors offer, Merrill and partner Don Pieracci sat down with the former owners and their corporate chef, Barbie Apt, and incorporated in their menu several dishes that were popular at Mondeo Pronto.

Among them is The Lonestar, chicken or steak wrapped in a tomato tortilla with garlic mashed potatoes, black beans, corn and cabbage and barbecue sauce; and the Southwestern salad--mixed lettuce, tomatoes, corn salsa, black beans, olives and cheese with salsa ranch dressing. "As we see what people like, we'll keep adding specials to our regular menu," Merrill says.

The Los Gatos Rock 'n' Tacos is the fifth restaurant Merrill and Pieracci have added to their chain. The others--all opened in 1992 by the owners of Rojoz Wraps and Smoothies--are in Palo Alto and Santa Cruz and two in San Jose. Two additional locations are franchisees.

Merrill, 30, and Pieracci, 53, met when both were employed by the former owners of a Rock 'n' Tacos. Merrill was a business broker handling location purchases, and Pieracci was the company attorney handling franchise legalities.

A Santa Clara University law school graduate and part of a family that for generations has lived in San Jose, Pieracci had been contemplating retirement, but what to do after that was a question until the Rock 'n' Tacos opportunity came up. Now he happily dons an apron, whips up marinades and cooks on occasion at the new Los Gatos store. His wife, Marjorie, has joined in too, inventing a special mango sauce for the fish. Residents of Costa Rica for a time, the couple are also incorporating some South American influences in their cooking.

Merrill, a native of Florida, lived in five states before settling in San Jose to finish his college studies in organizational management at San Jose State University. It was while working for Rock 'n' Tacos during his college years that he met Robin, his wife, shortly after they graduated together in 1995. They are expecting their first child at any moment.

"I think we have a really neat story," Merrill says with enthusiasm. He says it's about a business opportunity, a beautiful Los Gatos location, finding a great partner looking for a new life's work and the miracle of birth. "We're really lucky!"

Meanwhile, flexibility is what Rock 'n' Tacos is all about. "We're offering a $100 reward to any of our employees who can come up with a successful recipe," Merrill says. Already they have included one for chili verde and another for carnitas, which came from an employee's grandmother.

"We plan to try to get anything we can into a tortilla," he adds. Soon breakfast wraps will be offered as well, after they are test-marketed.

They also plan to add to the decor. "We're going to bring in guitars autographed by entertainers, hockey sticks by sports heroes and other signed memorabilia with connections to musicians coming through town," Merrill says.

Rock 'n' Tacos, 9 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open daily 11 a.m.-11 p.m. 395-8834.

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