Plagued by rowdy customers, unsympathetic city officials and
dwindling business for the past two years, the owner of Chips N’
Salsa said his restaurant will soon make way for a Spanish eatery
and wine bar.
Plagued by rowdy customers, unsympathetic city officials and dwindling business for the past two years, the owner of Chips N’ Salsa said his restaurant will soon make way for a Spanish eatery and wine bar.
Jim Angelopoulos said Gilroy officials told him last week that the city council will soon approve the transfer of his lease on the Old City Hall to long-time downtown developer Gary Walton. The council has held a series of closed session meetings on the transfer throughout the past few months, including one Monday night, and Mayor Al Pinheiro said the body will discuss the issue again next Monday.
Until they agree on anything, however, council members declined to comment – “We’ll just wait and see,” said Councilman Dion Bracco – and Walton said he had nothing to say until the city formally approves the deal: “I don’t want to jinx it,” he said.
But it is just a matter time before Angelopoulos also transfers his alcohol license to Walton, which should happen by June 15, said the outgoing restaurateur. The transfer will mark the end of Angelopoulos’ spotted and bumpy career at the regal building on the corner of Sixth and Monterey streets.
Last October the Mexican restaurant cut back business hours and began only hosting banquets for private or semi-private events up to 180 people. Angelopoulos said the downgrade boiled down to paltry downtown patronage and a strict city policy against eateries that turn into alcohol-fueled dance halls. By law, Chips N’ Salsa can serve alcohol and host dancing as long as its kitchen remains open, but city officials complained that late-night crowds last year drank more than they ate. This irked nearby residents to the point that police turned out to tamper the camaraderie, which Angelopoulos likened to “harassment” at the time.
“I understand the city wants the best for its downtown, but it’s unfortunate that things happened the way they did,” Angelopoulos said Tuesday. “It is what it is, but Gary (Walton) is interested and excited to move in, and I will help (him) in the transition.”
Despite Chips N’ Salsa’s particular troubles, former City Administrator Jay Baksa said last year that restaurants have historically struggled in the 1905 Baroque- and Mission Revival-style building. Until October 2002, however, Gavilan College had a successful arrangement with the city, whereby small businesses such as The Wild Rose House of Taste restaurant, the Gallery of Flowers floral shop and a tamale business operated in the building together, Baksa said.
Before Chips N’ Salsa opened in 2005, Glen Gurries ran a restaurant and neglected payments for several months before closing at the end of 2004. Gurries sold the remainder of his lease to Angelopoulos and has since been sued for bankruptcy. Before his departure, Gurries improved the building immensely, which lowered the otherwise-$3,000-per-month lease to $1,000 per month, said Gilroy’s Co-finance Director Christina Turner. That discounted financial arrangement will continue until July 2009, when the rent will begin rising to slightly more than $3,000 by November 2010, Turner said.
Angelopoulos also owns Scramble’z, which is a three-year-old retro diner aimed at kids and families in Morgan Hill. He said he hopes to open a second one in Gilroy.
“That’s more my style than the late-night entertainment,” Angelopoulos said. “I can’t stay up past 11.”
