The sparkling 20-foot-high display shelf of liquor towering
above the back bar inside Gilroy’s newest watering hole is
something to behold, especially if you’re partial to a particular
alcohol derived from the blue agave plant. Full story
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The sparkling 20-foot-high display shelf of liquor towering above the back bar inside Gilroy’s newest watering hole is something to behold, especially if you’re partial to a particular alcohol derived from the blue agave plant.
Flipping through a tasting book that profiles nearly 1,000 varieties of tequila, restaurateur Renato Cusimano said the stuff has loftier purposes than being imbibed in mass quantity by college students, or having its flavor masked by triple sec.
“Tequilas are like fine sipping cognacs,” he said, mimicking the motion of swirling a snifter glass in his hand. “We need to introduce that to people in Gilroy. And Salinas. And Watsonville. And Tres Pinos.”
Together with his wife Diane, Renato – who is delightfully first generation Italian, pronouncing words like “business” as “biz-a-niss” – opened Desero Tequila Town Thursday in the old Strand Theatre downtown at 7588 Monterey St.
With its lofty ceilings, grandiose stage ready for live music and shimmering disco ball splashing light across the walls after dark, the 14,000-square-foot venue aims for variety with a smorgasbord of features: A gamut of mouth-watering Italian dishes, 850 types of tequila, 48-ounce specialty margaritas, 16 beers on tap, DJs, live music, salsa, Zumba, karaoke, movie nights and a kitchen open until 1 a.m. to satiate midnight cravings. Sports fans can kick back, enjoy a cold beer and nosh on buffalo wings while catching a game on one of two 60-inch plasma screen TVs hovering above the front bar.
Coupled alongside dishes such as minestrone, tortellini Alfredo, bruschetta, chicken parmigiana, pansotti or the house specialty of lasagna meat sauce (mainstays from Renato’s hometown in Palermo, Italy) the menu boasts classic comfort food like brisket tacos, fried calamari with chipotle aioli, smoked salmon, a variety of burgers and fresh, homemade guacamole. Most items range between $7 to $15.
Diane gushed about the fresh pasta stuffed with dungeness crab, which can be served in a pink vodka sauce or spicy marinara sauce ($12.95). She also raved about the Chicken Pansotti ($10.95) – ravioli made from fresh dough that’s stuffed with chicken, ricotta cheese and drizzled in a light cream tomato sauce.
“They’re SO good,” she said Thursday. “Last night we prepared the menu for the entire staff, and they all loved it.”
The Cusimanos purchased the historic theatre for $1.4 million 12 years ago “because we like-a-Gilroy,” said Renato, who has since shelled out $600,000 for renovations that include fire sprinklers and earthquake retrofitting.
Renato said Desero will have a “sports/Italian feel,” because “every-body-loves-a-sports.”
Heaving a binder the size of the Oxford English Dictionary onto the counter, he showed off one of five tequila tasting guides available to restaurant patrons interested in learning more about Mexico’s famed liquor. Renato thumbed through the pages of the book compiled by his mixologist nephew, Gabriel, and proudly pointed out, “nobody has this.”
Aside from the savory offerings, desserts like the Torta Della Nonna ($6) – a fragrant short pastry base filled with pastry cream, a hint of lemon and dusting of finely chopped almonds – doesn’t sound like a bad note to end on. And as far as libations go, the El Picante ($13) – one of Desero’s “Tequila Heaven Drinks” made with Don Julio Siver, pineapple, agave nectar, lime and fresh jalapeno – doesn’t sound like a bad note to begin the night on.
Wearing a blue T-shirt that said, “Just Smile,” Diane’s emphatic voice echoed as she gave a recent tour of the building.
“We want to offer more than just a place to dine and drink,” she said. “We want to get them in here, and keep them here.”
Family reunions, wedding receptions, meetings, holiday shindigs, anniversaries and graduation celebrations: Desero has the elbow room to accommodate it all, Diane said; locals shouldn’t have to look outside their own city to book a venue.
She candidly likened Gilroy’s nightlife to “a cemetery,” but added “we believe we are one of the businesses that can bring it back from the dead.”
As 25-year veterans of the service industry, the Cusimanos know a thing or two about administering CPR to lifeless social scenes.
While living in Atherton for 20 years, the pair relished in helping to rejuvenate the otherwise vanilla downtown of Redwood City, where they founded and still own the D. Tequila Lounge and Restaurant. Diane said she and Renato strived alongside other burgeoning businesses to help obliterate Redwood’s “Deadwood” moniker.
Since they weren’t planning on physically moving to Gilroy, the Cusimanos admitted they would have eventually sold the Strand building if they could.
But given a lack of suitable buyers and a string of mediocre tenants, the pair is squeezing lemonade from lemons – or, tequila from a prickly cactus plant.
“We decided to do what we know how to do,” said Diane, who moved to Gilroy with Renato in November 2010 and now lives in the old mezzanine directly above the restaurant.
While they haven’t smoothed out the kinks in terms of running two restaurants an hour’s distance from each other, Diane has a can-do attitude.
“It’s a window in time. It won’t be forever,” she said. “We have to do what we have to do, right?”
The Cusimanos may eventually be able to find someone to take over the Redwood location, which Diane will oversee until that day comes. Renato, in the meantime, will be stationed in Gilroy.
“It’s a tough economy,” said Diane. “You have to roll your sleeves up and be involved with your business.”
If employee loyalty says anything about management style, at least one thing is clear: “They’re almost like part of the family,” said Diane, of their longtime servers, cooks, bussers and bartenders.
Like Jose Ruiz, or “Peppe,” as the Cusimanos call him. Their employee of 20 years was hired as a dishwasher when he was in high school, then worked his way up the ladder. Peppe followed the Cusimanos to Gilroy, where he will man the taps as head bartender.
When asked if she had any last-minute concerns about opening a large-scale venue in a notoriously lackluster downtown, Cusimano paused before answering, “The City of Gilroy.”
She and Renato can do the food, beverage and nightlife dance blindfolded, but having “their hands tied behind their backs” – by say, an ordinance that mandates Desero closes at 1 a.m. – “is a problem,” said Diane. “They need to allow us to show them we are responsible business owners who can help make downtown successful.”
The ordinance, which was introduced in May and will be revisited sometime in October or November according to Councilwoman Cat Tucker, would require all businesses that want to offer dancing – but opened after November 2005 – to close by 1 a.m. (an hour earlier than current, established locations). The regulations also restrict sizes of dance floors to no more than 440 square feet or 25 percent of public access areas – whichever is smaller – for “medium” size venues, which can accommodate up to 74 dancers. The ordinance is still being scrutinized, according to Tucker, who said she “absolutely disagrees” with the 1 a.m. curfew.
As for the dance floor size provision laid out in the pending ordinance, Diane gazed with a dubious expression at the 8,000-square-feet of space in the main dining room. She’s not exactly thrilled with the idea of restricting her guests to a 21-feet-by-21-feet area to get their groove on.
Diane re-emphasized: The city has been amicable toward she and Renato. But given the fact a burning neon “OPEN” sign equals more tax revenue, she’s generally miffed about the ordinance.
“If you make money in Gilroy, you spend money in Gilroy,” she said. “Hello! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”
Referencing past incidents of violence at local night clubs such as Rio Nilo, Renato said new businesses shouldn’t have to pay the consequences for other proprietor’s shortcomings with security measures.
“This city needs to come alive again,” said Diane, nodding in agreement. “And it can.”
Desero Tequila Town
– A brand-new restaurant specializing in authentic Italian food, comfort bar food and 850 types of tequila.
– Desero is located in the old Strand Theatre at 7588 Monterey St. Their hours are 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Wednesday through Saturdays. Desero is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and will eventually be open for lunch.
– Details: 666-4515
