Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Mo Ghayoumi, owner of Juicy Burger in downtown Los Gatos, holds up a bare burger ready for customization at the restaurant's deli/relish bar.
Hamburger might give way to pasta soon at local eatery
By Suzanne Cristallo
The American public, spurred by its kids, still loves a juicy burger. Despite all of the fat-content fears that have made "low fat" the buzzwords of the last decades--when families go out, there still is an urge to indulge in good, red beef.
Juicy Burger in Los Gatos has been serving it up for over seven years. However, it has also made concessions for the guilt-ridden: garden burgers, turkey burgers, low-fat beef and a salad bar are some of them.
The privately owned eatery on N. Santa Cruz Avenue is one store among seven, each of which was purchased by different people from founder Bejan Rahmani, who opened the first store on Meridian Avenue in San Jose 11 years ago. The Los Gatos restaurant is owned by Mo and Pam Ghayoumi, who have created a menu designed to please both their customers and the town.
Mo says they had to promise the town the restaurant would serve only fresh ingredients. "That's why we were given a permit to start," he says.
Fresh it is. A large display case in the counter holds sections filled with full leaves of lettuce, slices of tomato, full rounds of red onions, quarter-cut pickles, pickle chips, whole hot peppers, carrots, celery stalks, relish, green olives and jalapeño peppers. Customers may order up to a half pound of grilled burger on a sliced bun and dress it with any or all of the above fixings. Made-to-order shakes, as well as juices, sodas, iced or hot tea and coffee, are available to quench burger munchers' thirst.
Then there are the extras: guacamole, bacon, mushrooms, chili and pastrami, along with American or Swiss cheeses, all in the range of $2.99 for a quarter pound burger to $4.29 for a half-pound burger with extras. The menu also offers a New York steak sandwich, a marinated chicken kabob sandwich, fried fish on a roll, chicken Caesar salad, chili fries and breaded zucchini.
In spite of the variety he offers now, Mo has a yen to turn his shop into a dinner house serving pasta, steaks and fish or, if the market insists, falafels and fish and chips. One of the main drivers for the change is his desire to hire professional help who would be paid more and hopefully stay longer. Despite the fact he knows he is a good boss, he says he has problems attracting staff on a permanent basis.
Staffing problems are universal among eating places in Los Gatos, where the opportunity for help to live nearby is generally impossible on a counter service wage. Meanwhile, Mo's six-month wait for a permit should be near an end in March, when a final hearing on his application for a liquor license will be heard.
Asked what he would like to call the place, Mo gestures with a smile to a picture on the wall of a French cafe called "Le Petit Zinc."
Mo, 40, came to San Jose 10 years ago from Iran. He met Pam, also recently arrived, at a party. They married soon after. His years of cooking in Iran and the enjoyment he experienced preparing meals for his family and friends steered him into purchasing Juicy Burger in 1994. At first, the couple worked together, but Pam now stays at home with their 2-year-old son. As an alternate vocation, Mo trades stock on the Internet. "I had a bad year last year," he says, grinning sheepishly.
Juicy Burger, 217 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. 408.354.2678.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
