On most days, passersby would see customers dining and reading outside the rustic-looking coffeehouse on 14523 Big Basin Way, but for nearly a month the restaurant was empty. The only sign of patronage was a single sheet of white paper taped to the door. Written on the paper were words of support and enthusiasm from returning customers.

On Jan. 31, those customers returned to celebrate the restaurant's grand reopening. The event also revolved around two familiar locals, Guillermo Alvarez and Rogelio Sanchez, the new owners of Blue Rock Shoot.

Alvarez and Sanchez are the third owners of the establishment. According to Alvarez, the previous owner left because of management difficulties.

Owning a restaurant is a big achievement for the brothers-in-law, especially for Alvarez, who first sunk his feet in the restaurant business as a dishwasher at La Fondue, months after he arrived in the U.S. in 1992.

It was one of Alvarez's other brothers-in-law, also in the food business, who introduced the humble Mexican native to Mitch Cutler, proprietor of La Fondue and Blue Rock Shoot.

"I still remember that day," Alvarez said. "Mitch was outside La Fondue fixing up the place when my cousin and I walked up to him. My cousin told him I was looking for a job. Mitch pointed to me and then the restaurant and said 'You want to work here?' I nodded. That was pretty much the start of everything."

On top of spending almost 14 hours a day in the kitchen, Alvarez spent his evenings learning English at an adult school.

"I'm really grateful to have Mitch as a friend," Alvarez said. "He helped me a lot along the way. He's the one who actually encouraged me to go to school."

Two years in school gave Alvarez confidence to move up in the business. Within three years at La Fondue, he was promoted and found himself with more responsibilities in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and meat.

More opportunities opened up for the ambitious worker in 1995 when Cutler offered him a spot at Blue Rock Shoot. Sure enough, Alvarez took the offer and became adept at making sandwiches and drinks.

"I really enjoyed working here," Alvarez said. "I kept thinking to myself, 'This restaurant will be mine someday.' "

While Alvarez worked at Blue Rock Shoot, Sanchez was three doors down the street, organizing menus and creating dishes as a chef in a kitchen of a neighboring restaurant, Bella Saratoga.

Rogelio started as a dishwasher in 1981 at Florentines in Cupertino and moved to Bella Saratoga in 1985. It was here that he realized his passion for cooking.

"I liked watching the chefs prepare dishes," Sanchez said. "I wanted to be one of them."

After a lot of hard work and determination, Sanchez worked his way up as a cook, taking orders from the chef. He then took on more responsibilities when he became the chef in 1990.

But being the chef was not satisfying enough for the culinary artisan, who was hungry for success.

"After working in the restaurant business for a while, I thought, 'Why not own one?' "

He did, in 1992, when the owner of Bella Mare in San Jose offered him the job.

"It's a lot of work going back and forth from one restaurant to another," Sanchez said. "But I can't complain. It's my job. You get the best of both worlds."

Alvarez and Sanchez both said they are looking forward to working together in rebuilding Blue Rock Shoot.