Photograph by George Sakkestad
Mary Masouris takes special delight in placing a steaming item in front of a customer and saying: "Enjoy!"
By Suzanne Cristallo
He has been known at various times as "Mr. Clean," the "King of Breakfasts" and "Zorba." All of those titles refer to Dino Masouris, who over the past 18 years has owned nearly every major breakfast house in Los Gatos. He and his wife, Mary, whose name appears on their present Los Gatos cafe, have earned a reputation for taking rundown buildings and turning them into popular and lively cafes.
In 1978 it was Lou's which they ran together until 1985. Then it was the Los Gatos Cafe from 1988 until 1991. At the same time, they operated Southern Kitchen, from 1982 until the Loma Prieta earthquake destroyed it in 1989, along with a video store they owned in the same building.
Two years after the earthquake, they reopened Southern Kitchen, and Mary's Patio Cafe on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, which they initially called the Breakfast Club until the name created confusion. About a year later, they sold Southern Kitchen and have concentrated on Mary's, which specializes in breakfast and lunch dishes.
"I love this town," Mary says. "I'll always be grateful for the way people welcomed us back after our earthquake loss. I was afraid they would forget us in the two years it took to recover."
The Masouris' touch is in the presentation, consistency, quality and freshness, says Dino, who does all the staff training and oversees the cooking. Their menu has a unique combination of spicy, south-of-the-border dishes like the Santa Fe breakfast, which combines eggs, chorizo, cheese, salsa, tomatillo sauce and sour cream in a rolled tortilla. Mary has brought back special recipes from visits to her hometown, Corinthias, in Greece. Among those are avgolemono--an egg, lemon and rice soup--and moussaka, a dish which takes a full day to prepare properly and is traditionally served to special family guests in the home.
A hallmark of the Masouris style is seen in the sides they offer with breakfast dishes, such as grits.
Customers at Mary's are greeted and treated warmly by Mary herself, who takes pride in placing a steaming dish before a customer, smiling as she says "Enjoy!" Daughters, Alexandra, 18, and Haroula, 17, and son Demetrie, 12, all help their parents carry on the tradition on busy weekends.
"I love to work here," says Dino. "When I get up in the morning, I know I'm going to have a good day."
Mary's Patio Cafe, 337 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open Mon.-Sat., 6 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sun., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. 395-0711.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 30, 1996.
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