The dream became a reality when Garret and Smith opened Quick Silver about 9¹/2 years ago. The restaurant serves traditional American cuisine, with breakfast being their most popular meal of the day.

"Connie and I have spent most of our lives in the restaurant business. We've been waitresses and hostesses for most of our careers. It's a job that we loved," Garret said.

The sisters happened to live across the street from a small cafe in Almaden Valley. One day Smith saw that the cafe had gone up for lease and called her sister to report the news.

"We both knew it was the perfect location and size for what we wanted to do. So we leased it," Garret said.

Everything at the Quick Silver went great for the sisters until just a few months ago, when their lease was up and the building was sold.

"In this economy we knew there was no way we could open up another restaurant. Summer is the worst time to start a business, especially a restaurant. So we started checking with some of the restaurants we knew to see if we could lease some space from them on the weekends," Garret said.

Eventually Garret and Smith found the weekend space they were looking for at Chile Peppers in Willow Glen.

On June 7 the sisters opened their weekend version of the Quick Silver, now serving only breakfast and lunch.

"We serve good old-fashioned American-style food. We make the kind of food you'd find in your grandma's kitchen," Garret said.

The breakfast menu consists of what some people would consider Southern cooking.

Fresh-baked biscuits covered with homemade sausage gravy have become one of the most popular items on the menu at the Quick Silver.

"Connie goes in every Friday and boils about 50 pounds of potatoes for our hash browns and home fries. We do everything from scratch, just like our mother used to do," Garret said.

But as with most old-fashioned cooking establishments, there have been some modern items added to the menu.

"We have lots of skillet dishes on the menu now. And we've got some great vegetarian dishes also," Garret said.

One of the more popular items the sisters brought from their former location is their selection of gourmet sausages.

"When we opened our own restaurant years ago we started carrying Belle Monte sausages. And because they were such a big hit with our customers before, we plan to continue serving them here," Garret said.

The selection includes the chicken artichoke sausage and the chicken apple sausage.

Quick Silver is also serving lunch on Saturdays and Sundays with a good selection of sandwiches and salads.

There is the chicken breast salad, which is made with fresh roasted chicken and a "three-scoop salad" that consists of a scoop of homemade chicken salad, tuna salad and cottage cheese.

The sisters also have a large variety of fresh quiches that they make themselves.

"A lot of people come in just for our pancakes. We make great pancakes," Garret said.

The sisters consider Willow Glen a very friendly community and love the location, with no plans to move anytime soon.

"We're happy doing the weekend cooking," Garret said.

Quick Silver, located at 1072 Lincoln Ave. in the Chile Peppers restaurant, is open Saturdays and Sundays from 7:30 a.m. until
2 p.m. for breakfast and lunch.