Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Craig Uyeda is co-owner and operations manager at Stovie's in Los Gatos. The new restaurant went into the building occupied until recently by the Good Earth.
Stovie's offers fresh pasta, pizza in family atmosphere
By Suzanne Cristallo
Stovie's may have the ring of a chain name to it, but it's a one-of-a-kind pizza and pasta restaurant that just opened in what used to be Good Earth on N. Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos. Stovie's is actually the nickname acquired in his school days by Craig Uyeda, the working partner in a four-way ownership. "Stovie" intends to be very visible in his first-time restaurant endeavor and won't be missed easily. A beaming smile and a candid philosophy are his earmarks.
"I have a lot of passion for what I do," the 30-year-old says, reveling in the opportunity to build an organization from the ground up. He says he learned everything he knows about the business from his mentors at Tony and Alba's, the San Jose restaurant he managed for seven years.
"I hope they see me in this business as a result of what they taught me," he says, adding with a grin, "But it is, after all, what you learn after you 'know everything' that counts."
The opportunity to plunge into his own business came when Good Earth decided to eliminate its Los Gatos location. Getting wind of the proposed vacancy through a broker, Uyeda's group put together a proposal and on Dec. 1, became the new tenants. Twenty-seven days later, they opened. "The rumor is, we beat out a major steak house chain to get in," he notes.
The interior configuration is virtually unchanged except for new paint, wall art and a self-serve soft drink station, along with eight new 27-inch televisions mounted to posts throughout the 150-capacity main dining room. Uyeda describes the restaurant as one where "families can come in on the spur of the moment and have a good time and a good meal in a relaxed environment. There's not a lot of sentiment here like in an 'occasion place.' It's just popular food in a light and lively atmosphere."
There are rigatoni and penne, spaghetti and meatballs, linguini and clams, pesto Alfredo and meat and cheese ravioli. The pastas are made by Tarantino's in San Francisco and the pesto, meat and Alfredo sauces are cooked in-house by Uyeda each morning.
There are eight kinds of pizzas--or customers may build their own--ranging from 12-inch to 18-inch pies with crusts of dough made daily on-site, then hand-tossed, "if the kitchen staff can learn to do it without getting it on the ceiling," Uyeda jokes.
"Everything major is done in-house," he adds, including the salads and antipasto plates. There is no need for a kid's specialty, because the whole menu is geared to the family. Beer, wine and soft drinks are available.
Uyeda is a Mountain View native who grew up with a work ethic and "a sense of what a clean kitchen is," inspired by his father, a city health inspector. Unsure of what direction his life should take, it was while going to DeAnza College that he started working for Tony and Alba's as a cashier, moving up to manager within three years.
"So here I am--I might not be a Porsche-looking guy," he adds, laughing at the suggestion that his bachelor status and hard-working habits might be attractive to the opposite gender. "I'm a truck kind of guy. I know how to cook and take care of myself."
Stovie's, 206 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight. 408.395.6868.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
