Gilroy
– Frank Léal has found a second home in downtown Gilroy –
historic Old City Hall.
The acclaimed owner of San Benito County’s L
éal Vineyards plans to work with the restaurant’s managing
partners Glen Gurries and Daniel Barduzzi, to refresh the
restaurant and spur renewed interest in downtown Gilroy.
Gilroy – Frank Léal has found a second home in downtown Gilroy – historic Old City Hall.
The acclaimed owner of San Benito County’s Léal Vineyards plans to work with the restaurant’s managing partners Glen Gurries and Daniel Barduzzi, to refresh the restaurant and spur renewed interest in downtown Gilroy.
“The ambiance is great, the food is great. The restaurant has so much to offer and there’s so much to work with,” said Léal, whose San Benito County Léal Vineyards captured a spot on Food and Wine magazine’s list of 20 Best New Wineries in the world.
Léal, 33, said he dines at Old City Hall often and consistently enjoys good service, excellent food and a charming atmosphere. After eating dinner there a few months ago on a Sunday night, Léal returned Monday morning to personally deliver some wine to Gurries and Barduzzi.
“I found Glen and told him that I haven’t had a bad meal yet at the restaurant, and he mentioned they were thinking about approaching me for a partnership,” Léal said. “My first thought was, let’s make this a wine-friendly place, so everyone can enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner and feel they’re not paying more for their wine than they are for their food.”
Léal envisions forming the backbone of Old City Hall’s wine list with products from local vineyards, similar to how many restaurants in Napa Valley have built their menus, he said. Old City Hall’s wine list will feature products from Santa Clara and San Benito counties, Léal said, and when raising their crystal, patrons will be able to celebrate an added luxury: affordability.
“My idea is that people dining will be able to experience our local wines and buy bottles at a retail price, unlike many restaurants that mark them up to two to three times,” Léal said. “It’s about making the wine reachable to everyone.”
Among local wines Léal hopes to feature – in addition to his own – are offerings from Sarah’s Vineyard and Fortino in Gilroy, and Emilio Guglielmo in Morgan Hill.
Working with the restaurant’s chef Lionel Haeberle, Léal said he also plans to revamp Old City Hall’s menu to highlight more vegetarian dishes, more seasonal dishes, more organic ingredients and more local produce, including mushrooms from Morgan Hill and garlic from Don Christopher.
The new menu should be unveiled in four to six weeks, Léal said. The restaurant also will offer more live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, as well as valet parking.
“We’d love to open the gates to the courtyard and let the energy of the restaurant flow into the streets of downtown,” he said. “Hopefully that will attract more people.”
Léal’s enthusiasm, passion for food and wine and strong work ethic will prove invaluable to the restaurant, Gurries said.
“Frank comes in with so much energy and youth. He’s a people person, and he loves interacting with guests,” Gurries said. “You’ll see him here almost every night talking to people, and he really wants to do that. He loves it.”
Gurries said he plans to brand the restaurant with Léal Vineyards, so that both regular patrons and new guests will think of one when remembering the other. The restaurant will offer Léal’s full range of wines and will inscribe its wine glasses in the main dining room with Léal Vineyards’ scripted lettering logo.
But that’s not to say Léal isn’t already a well-known presence at Old City Hall, Gurries said, as customers often come in asking for his wines by name.
Gurries said that because Léal often dines at Old City Hall, he has a unique advantage in understanding what the restaurant needs from a patron’s perspective.
“He has the kind of philosophy where he doesn’t believe in doing something unless you do it right,” Gurries said.
The changes are intended to draw more people not only to Old City Hall but also to downtown Gilroy by creating a more enjoyable and relaxing atmosphere, Léal said. He noted that city efforts aimed at improving downtown, such as installing landscaped medians, are a good start.
“Hopefully we can change the way people feel about downtown Gilroy. I’d like to see more action there,” Léal said. “It’s just a matter of people feeling more comfortable.”
