Rosy’s at the Beach honored for community involvement
No, it’s not a surfboard shop or a beach apparel store.
Rosy’s at the Beach, which offers fine dining in downtown, was recently selected by the chamber of commerce as the 2006 Salute Morgan Hill Business of the Year.
In addition to operating a successful business, owners Rosy and Rich Bergin have been involved in the community, making it a better place.
According to the nomination, Rosy is “…always willing to help any fundraiser in Morgan Hill and (makes) donations to various organizations.”
Rosy Bergin is a Leadership Morgan Hill graduate and a board member of the Mt. Madonna YWCA, the Morgan Hill Downtown Association and the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.
“I only know that Rosy’s tireless contributions and outstanding community sponsorship goes well above and beyond,” said the Chamber nomination.
For example, Rosy’s at the Beach has donated lunches to Relay for Life as well as providing raffle prizes for many community groups.
“It is a small town and people are involved in different areas,” she said. “So a lot of times it seems like we overlap.”
Rosy Bergin received a surprise visit recently at the restaurant during the busy lunch hour when Executive Director Dan Ehler and other Chamber of Commerce staff members made the announcement to her and everyone in the restaurant.
“They came in to give the award while holding flowers,” she said. “I thought they were looking for a table, but they made the announcement in front of everyone. I was really surprised. Then I was nervous. It was nice. I really didn’t expect it at all.”
Morgan Hill is not exactly known for its beach-front property. As a result of the name, the Bergins receives a lot of comments on why they chose it.
“We had our other two restaurants in San Jose with similar names,” Bergin said. “My husband wanted to have my name on it. It was not my idea. I wanted the name to be reflective of sea food. It always makes people wonder.”
One of the things that sets Rosy’s apart is its willingness to cater to each individual customer, Bergin said.
“People are really conscious of their diets, and we try to listen to customers and give them the best experience,” Rosy Bergin said. “The customers are great. They are always seeing people they know here. It makes me feel good. We encourage our staff to be knowledgeable and friendly.”
Every year, the business has grown and expanded. In July, the Bergins added an outside patio – something Rosy hopes other downtown businesses will do also.
Rosy’s at the Beach doesn’t just serve seafood though. It also serves chicken, steak and vegetarian dishes. The business is also known for its quirky specials.
“My husband is the one with all the ideas,” she said. “He is a fabulous promoter and a fabulous cook. He knows seafood inside and out.”
After graduating from the University of Santa Clara, Rosy earned her MBA at San Jose State. As part of her degree, she had to write a business plan, and she chose to do it on her future husband’s wholesale business, which she later worked for.
The couple shared a love for the beach and for volleyball, so it was only a matter of time before they tied the knot.
They opened Gourmet Seafoods, a fish market in San Jose that later became Rosy’s Fish City. They also opened The Shark & Rose in downtown San Jose near the arena – now HP Pavilion.
In December of 1998, they opened their third restaurant – Rosy’s at the Beach. Once they saw that Ida Williams was retiring and her restaurant The Original Ida’s was up for sale, they quickly jumped at the chance.
“It was a great opportunity for us,” Rosy Bergin said. “When the Realtor told us it was available, it seemed perfect. We kept our businesses in San Jose for a couple years then sold them to focus on Morgan Hill, where our home was. They were both doing well, but we didn’t want to do all three. We suffered by not being able to be with the family. It’s been great living in this town. We hardly ever have to go to San Jose now.”
The Bergins wanted to continue the tradition of the friendly, family-owned atmosphere that they developed in their San Jose restaurants.
“At first when we opened the restaurant, we wanted to focus on getting things right,” Bergin said. “After a couple years, we started getting involved in community. It is an easy thing to do. It’s doesn’t involve anything extra. We were surprised they nominated us because it is so easy. What makes it doable is that a lot of the activities overlap and everyone can help each other out.”
