The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

It's All Relative: Suzanne Robinson (right) has enlisted the help of her daughter-in-law, Amy (holding baby Gage), to waitress at Weeping Willow.

Upscale restaurant romances the Glen

Weeping Willow will be an ideal place for dates, the owner says

By Cecily Barnes

An upscale restaurant offering American cuisine is set to open on the Avenue on April 6. Appropriately named the Weeping Willow, the classy restaurant and bar will take over the space previously occupied by the White Dove Cafe and Sharky's.

"It's going to be an upscale place for people to go on dates. It has a really romantic atmosphere," owner Suzanne Robinson said. "And it will have a late-night menu so that people can come after going to the theater."

Only dinner will be served the first few weeks, but Robinson plans to eventually serve appetizers until 2 a.m., along with lunch and a Sunday brunch.

Among other entrees, the Weeping Willow will serve certified Angus beef, corn-fed Midwestern pork and Colorado lamb. Planned appetizers include polenta chevre fritters with grilled zebra tomatoes and basil remoulade, lobster croquettes with cognac mustard sauce and cornichon relish, and herb-crusted scampi with white truffle and Aztec lemon vinaigrette. James Carbone, a chef for 25 years, will create all the dishes.

"It's not trendy or foo-foo food; it's just an [experiment] in creativity using a lot of California produce," Carbone said.

A new drink menu will also be created; fresh-squeezed orange juice will be used in cocktails, and fresh coconut juice in piña coladas.

"So many people say that Willow Glen is lacking a place for couples to go together, a leave-the-kids-at-home type of place," Robinson said. "People say that they end up going downtown or to Los Gatos for dinner. Now they'll be able to get what they get in other towns right here."

Keeping things in the family, Robinson's 21-year-old son, Aaron, will manage the restaurant and bar, and Aaron's wife, Amy, 19, will be a waitress.

Suzanne Robinson is not new to Willow Glen or the Lincoln Avenue business community. She grew up in the area, graduated from Willow Glen High School and raised her son here. And in 1993, she built Sharky's Seafood. Unable to make a go of that restaurant, she leased the space to Jeff Michel, who started the White Dove Cafe.

"It was hard enough to start out as a brand-new restaurant, but to make enough money without selling the drinks was impossible," Robinson said. "Our chef Jeff Michel leased out the restaurant from me."

But when the White Dove bought out the Intermission Cafe's lease at the same time Fran Crozier decided to sell Sharky's, Robinson jumped at the opportunity to return to "the strip." According to her lease, she had first rights to the bar if Crozier ever sold. And with the front space opening up, things simply fell into place.

"I'm just so excited to be back on the strip," Robinson said. "It's a real warm town, and people are very willing to patronize businesses in the area. Having been here for 30 years, I know a lot of people."

In the years since she leased the space to the White Dove Cafe, Robinson has worked as a cocktail waitress at the Fairmont. Now she'll bring her newly learned skill to supervising the Weeping Willow's bar and restaurant.

Robinson plans to redo the entire facade of the restaurant and to break down the wall separating the back bar from the front dining area. The interior will be redesigned to create an upscale dining room.

"We passed out menus along Lincoln Avenue, and people have called me saying, 'We're so glad that Willow Glen is going to have something like this,' " Robinson said.

Robinson says she is eager to see what business will become her new next-door neighbor in the space which was once Murison's Home Fashions. Building owner Michael Mulcahy assures that no leases have been signed.

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