Gilroy
– Happy Dog Pizza Co. appears to have done the impossible.
As other businesses in the downtown area paper up their windows,
the restaurant on Fifth Street has not only survived, but has
managed to build up a faithful clientele.
Gilroy – Happy Dog Pizza Co. appears to have done the impossible.
As other businesses in the downtown area paper up their windows, the restaurant on Fifth Street has not only survived, but has managed to build up a faithful clientele.
On Feb. 10, the restaurant will complete its first year in business, and owner Steve Gearing has no problem listing the reasons for success.
From a “bottom line” perspective, he credits his new chef, Alex Jara, for a belt-tightening. In four months, Jara has trimmed thousands from their monthly food and labor costs by switching vendors and reorganizing staff – all while improving the quality of the food, according to Gearing.
The restaurant’s atmosphere has also fired up the customer base. Before opening their doors in February 2004, Gearing and his investors sank $350,000 into renovating the old brick building at 55 Fifth St. It formerly served as a downtown fire station between 1908 and 1979 and the owners have blended that character into the restaurant. Large glass windows at the front of the restaurant once served as bay doors, and it’s unlikely that children – or adults – can descend the stairs without contemplating a slide down the fire poll.
“Our customers really enjoy the laid back atmosphere,” said Gearing, expressing an opinion shared by Vincent Lucio, the restaurant’s newest investor.
“Vince was one of our best customers,” Gearing said of Lucio, who has been a regular since April. He liked the place so much that he decided to invest $35,000 of his own money in the enterprise.
Lucio pointed out that Happy Dog’s success is in part due to things it has not changed. For a while, they considered switching from paper tablecloths to linen – a change that would have meant removing the crayons on each table.
“The color crayons are not just for kids,” Lucio said. “The adults really tear into these paper tablecloths too.”
“It’s a good place to bring the family,” agreed Bill Reimal, a customer who brings his grandchildren.
In addition to the family crowd, Happy Dog is trying to establish itself as a social hot spot.
Gearing, a veteran of coffee house “open mic” nights, decided to hold one of his own Thursday nights.
“The first few months it was just me,” said Gearing, who plays guitar and sings. “Slowly but surely it started building. Now it’s the place to be.”
He hopes that success will carry over to a new Friday night open mic event, which will begin in coming weeks.
Atmosphere and business skills are important, but at the end of the day, Gearing credits the food itself for Happy Dog’s success.
The restaurant’s signature pizza crust – thin and crispy – was no accident. The recipe emerged from a little experimentation and some not-so-painful market research. In the months before they opened, Gearing and his partners traveled to New York to taste authentic Italian brick-oven pizza and tour the kitchens.
“They wouldn’t tell us their secrets, but while we were back there we could see the flour and things like that,” Gearing joked.
He experimented to create his own crust. Gearing knew that wine and beer used the same fermentation process used to make dough rise, and he figured out a way to use the natural yeast on grapeskins to create his dough. And while others may imitate his process, the taste of his crust will remain unique, since Gearing uses grapes from local growers.
Business is tough, and restaurants are tougher, acknowledged James Suner, former president and current member of the Downtown Business Association. Too many people go in with just passion, he said, pointing to oft-cited statistics on how 9 out of 10 businesses fail in the first 12 months. A series of restaurants, including Station 55, have failed at the site over the years.
“Happy Dog’s done an incredible job responding to customer needs,” Suner said. “For example, initially their lunch was taking too long. They fine-tuned their service to get people in and out in a half hour. They also have open mic nights. It’s becoming a social center for downtown and that’s key to Happy Dog’s success and the downtown’s success.”
Happy Dog has managed to “break even” in the last few months, Gearing said. While somewhat worried about upgrades to Monterey Street, expected to be closed between Fourth and Sixth streets for most of 2006, he remains confident in the client base. That is not to say Happy Dog’s owners will rest on their laurels.
In the next few weeks, they will expand the menu to include New York strip steaks, as well as porterhouse steaks as a Friday special. They also plan to start delivery service in March. Gearing also hinted that a second Happy Dog could be coming to the area in the near future.
“We’re building a brand,” Gearing said.” This is our first restaurant, but we want to open more.”
