Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Pour it On: Jake's of Willow Glen store manager Juan Esquivas creates a tasty large vegetarian pizza.
Jake's of WG specializes in variety of pizzas, sandwiches
By Jim Aquino
The pizza and sandwich joint Jake's of Willow Glen is one of six South Bay restaurants owned by restaurateur Bernie Tougas, who has been in the dining industry for about 44 years but says he got into it by accident.
"I worked for Safeway in Redwood City when I first came down here," says Tougas. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, he says the people there are nice but the weather is frequently cold, which is one reason he moved with his family to California. Another reason for his move to America 45 years ago was economic opportunity.
"In Canada, you don't have the entrepreneurial advantages that you have here," Tougas says. "Most people here try businesses on their own and maybe they fail, but at least they had a shot."
While working for Safeway, a friend invited Tougas to buy into the Oasis restaurant in Menlo Park, the beginning of a mini-empire. Tougas has also owned The Wine Cellar in Los Gatos and The Garret in the Pruneyard Shopping Center in Campbell. Currently, Tougas owns six restaurants: The Oasis, The Boardwalk in Los Altos, a second incarnation of The Garret in Campbell, Jake's of Sunnyvale, Jake's of Saratoga and Jake's of Willow Glen, which opened at 1074 Lincoln Ave. 2 1/2 years ago.
The three Jake's restaurants center on pizzas and sandwiches and are named after Jake Schlemp, a farmer everybody knew and loved while Tougas was growing up in Edmonton.
"I respected him so much as a person. He inspired me about life," Tougas recalls. "Kind of a grouch sometimes-he [complained] about politics. But he always had time for the little people, which I was. He was a good person. He wouldn't hurt a soul."
Schlemp had passed away before he could enjoy any of the pizzas, Philly cheesesteaks or microbrews at the restaurants that Tougas named after him. According to Tougas, one of the signature items at his restaurants is the Gilroy Special, a garlic pizza named for the garlic capital of the world.
"We put so much cheese on our pizzas that nobody ever asks for extra cheese," says Tougas. "Our crust is the Silicon Valley crust. It's flaky, kind of crispy, and believe me, everybody eats the whole thing. It's not thin and not so huge that you can't eat it, but it has flavor. The sauce is just great. It's a secret recipe. Everything's secret."
Juggling six restaurants can be challenging for Tougas, but he says that when he has good help, it makes running businesses easier. Tougas' son Jamie helps him run the restaurants.
"Jamie's a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. He worked for me as a kid, but I had to let him go. I think he was smoking pot or some damn thing," jokes Tougas. "No, he went back to school at San Jose State. Good thing he did."
Tougas, who's celebrating his 49th wedding anniversary with his wife, Doris, says he likes the Willow Glen community and enjoys having Gary Rovai, owner of the nearby Goosetown Caffe, as his neighbor. He also enjoys the small-town feel of Willow Glen.
"You walk down there on a Saturday, and you see moms and kids and dogs, and it's kind of nice. You don't see that anymore. At a lot of places, you could shoot a cannon and you wouldn't hit anybody," Tougas says. "Willow Glen is like its own little niche. It's like Jake's. It's got a niche. People love that."
Jake's of Willow Glen, 1074 Lincoln Ave., San Jose. Open every day, 11 a.m.-midnight. For more information, call 408.287.7960.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
