Photograph by Kathy De La Torre

Little Lou's BBQ cook Daniel Gaona (left) presents an order of ribs to Lance Wagner, new owner of the Los Gatos restaurant.

Little Lou's BBQ specializes in bringing customers back

Ribs, steaks and chicken are favorites

By Suzanne Cristallo

"The whole goal of a restaurant should be to take care of the patrons," says Lance Wagner, new owner since June of Little Lou's BBQ and A. Angela Marie Catering in Los Gatos. While the goal may seem obvious, he says, many restaurateurs forget the basics.

A restaurant consultant and aeronautical engineer, Wagner knows about taking care of patrons. Since 1991, he's been helping Bay Area restaurant owners keep their businesses efficient and their customers returning. He also flies single-engine, high-performance airplanes out of San Jose International Airport and Reid-Hillview Airport for friends and acquaintances.

Wagner, 32, sees a correlation between the two fields, both of which need to follow check lists and employ consistency. Whether passengers in a plane or diners in a restaurant, "customers should feel comfortable with you and want to come back," he reflects with a grin.

Regulars of Little Lou's on Los Gatos Boulevard will not find much on the menu changed since Gloria and Bonnie Leonard sold the place to Wagner and moved their business to Monterey. Meats such as tri-tip, prime rib, chicken, baby back ribs and pork spareribs are still being barbecued in a chitwood oven.

The Santa Maria tri-tip dinner or the prime rib dinner, with creamed horseradish, coleslaw, garlic bread, potatoes and a choice of two sides, is $10.95. Hamburgers, quarter-pound hot dogs and hot-link sausages plus quarter, half or whole chickens and all other dishes can be ordered to go. No table service is provided in the small restaurant, but tables and an outdoor area accommodate diners wishing to eat on the premises.

What is different under Wagner's management is the interior of what once was a Little Caesar's Pizza place. Fresh paint and accessories, such as flying posters on the walls and a new logo for the A. Angela Marie catering business, indicate change.

"We can cater all sorts of ethnic foods," Wagner notes. He also has expanded the menu to include fillet, lobster, upscale salads and "lots of pig luaus and jambalaya." Wagner has a combined staff of up to 30 on-call and regular employees, which he says can handle almost any event.

Wagner, a native of San Jose, received his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering with a minor in business management from San Jose State University in 1990. Since then he has consulted as an efficiency expert for local restaurants. "The main reason for failure among restaurants," he says, "comes from forgetting the basics and putting big money into extras like fancy plates."

He stresses that the running of a restaurant should be kept simple. He also points out the importance of experience in the field. "The majority of those who fail are people who come into the business from some other field thinking running a restaurant should be easy," he says.

Among his consulting credits, Wagner has opened two Chart Houses and the Palomino restaurant in San Francisco and, most recently, the food and beverage department of the 2,500-employee Casino San Pablo in San Pablo. He says his next goal is to take Little Lou's to the next level--perhaps opening another store within the next year in Santa Cruz, where it originated under the previous owners.

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Little Lou's BBQ, 15466 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos. Open for lunch Tue.-Fri.,11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dinner Tue.-Sat., 4:30-8:30 p.m. Closed for catering and rest Sunday and Monday. 408.356.5768.

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