To sausage king Jody Maroni, the city’s outlet mall was an ideal
spot for its newest shop, catering to the hordes of tourists who
pour off buses seeking discounts.
Gilroy – To sausage king Jody Maroni, the city’s outlet mall was an ideal spot for its newest shop, catering to the hordes of tourists who pour off buses seeking discounts.
“We’re very familiar with Gilroy,” said Rich Leivenberg, executive vice president of Jody Maroni’s sausage restaurant, which serves up hand-cut fries and gourmet dogs flavored with tequila, cilantro and even pomegranate. “It’s a destination. It’s not just the locals who go to the malls – a lot of visitors come and spend the day.”
That’s the key to Gilroy’s success attracting quick-serve restaurants such as Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, a slew of taquerias, and a smattering of Chinese take-out restaurants, said Larry Cope, director of the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation. When scoping out new locations, restaurants consider a city’s population and its attractions – both of which have boomed in Gilroy. Jodi Maroni’s is only the latest to join the roster of quick, cheap eats available here, and Cope says the city could field even more.
“They’ll ask, do you have a draw? Do you have a regional shopping center? The outlet malls?” Cope asked rhetorically.
In Gilroy, the answers are yes, yes, yes. Fast food flourishes here. As Eric Duell and his two kids finish off their McDonald’s hamburgers, the Salinas man admits he finds the number of drive-thrus on 10th Street astounding. Nearly a decade ago, he first moved to Gilroy; more recently, he moved away.
“None of this was there,” Duell said, gesturing east to the Wal-Mart off Camino Arroyo. “It seems like more than we need.”
Then again, Duell added, his odd hours working for a produce company often find him polishing off fast food. Working “2 to 2” – 2pm to 2am – makes it hard to do otherwise, he said.
“It’s become an icon of Americana,” said Cope. “With two-income families, kids going to five or six activities – band, soccer, football – going home and cooking a large meal is not what happens in 25, 50 percent of families. The number of restaurants here reflects a cultural trend.”
Gilroy teens Marilyn Sanchez and Daniela Sandoval, strolling past the 10th Street strip malls Thursday afternoon, strain to name all of Gilroy’s franchises.
“Three McDonalds,” Sanchez said.
“I think two Burger Kings,” Sandoval added. (There’s only one.)
“And like a thousand pizza places,” concluded Sanchez.
No exact count exists of Gilroy’s fast food restaurants: Nobody can decide what “fast food” means, and restaurant licenses aren’t divided by type, said Cope. A rough count of the chains, taquerias and Chinese buffets listed in the Yellow Pages turns up more than 40 quick-serve restaurants in Gilroy – and Cope says the city hasn’t reached its saturation point.
“Once you’ve divided the pie so many times, people will say, ‘It’s not a wise investment,'” Cope explained. As Jody Maroni’s entrance shows, “We haven’t reached that point.”
Nor do Gilroy standbys such as the Sunrise Diner feel threatened. Owner John Karas simply smiles, when asked about the plethora of fast food options off 10th Street and Leavesley Road.
“The competition is good for us,” he said simply. “We don’t lose customers – we’ve got a steady clientele.”
Leivenberg is excited about the new location, which Jody Maroni’s is scheduled to fill by year’s end. The chain was born from street vendor Jordan Monkarsh’s Venice Beach stand, where Monkarsh’s red and gold shoes and grandiose claims of “the world’s greatest sausage sandwich” won him fame. In a press release, Monkarsh, aka Jody Maroni, is quoted as saying, “Sausage is life and sustenance. I think the people shopping here recognize a premium product, and quality is something I live by.”
Though sausages admittedly aren’t health food, the foods compare favorably with traditional sausage, with lower fat, no nitrates and no preservatives, said Leivenberg. Health should be a serious concern in Gilroy, where nearly one-third of Gilroy’s grade-schoolers are obese, according to a 2004 study by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. The rate is the highest in the county among cities of 10,000 people or more. But Gilroy’s weight problem shouldn’t be blamed on restaurants, cautioned Public Health nutritionist Lillian Castillo.
“It’s a business, and you’ve got to supply what the customer wants,” Castillo said. “Everyone says they’re really concerned about health and nutrition – until they get to that drive-in window.”
