More choices on eating out in the city
Local restaurateurs seem to have a new dance craze – they’re doing the shuffle.
Trail Dust BBQ Joint is just one example. The popular restaurant with plenty of customers but paltry parking is currently located at 16490 Monterey Road, just south of the post office.
StartingWednesday, Trail Dust employees are slated to be serving its smoked specialties at the former Tashi Restaurant, 17240 Monterey Road, just south of Third Street, in the middle of the downtown.
Other than the location, don’t expect a lot of changes at Trail Dust – and that’s the way the restaurant’s manager believes his patrons want it.
“We’ve got a working model and we’re sticking with it,” said Trail Dust manager Franz Ingram. “That’s our plan.”
And that includes retaining the restaurant’s rustic decor.
“We (want) to keep the same atmosphere that we have at our current place,” Ingram said.
Devoted patrons will be relieved to learn Trail Dust plans no menu revisions.
“We plan no changes to the menu with the move. Basically, we want to keep everything the same,” Ingram said. “We have a beer and wine license, but we’re going to try to expand the wine list since we’ll have a bigger place.”
The new location will allow the restaurant to seat a few more patrons – between 49 and 60 as compared to the current 42 – but its most important additions may be adequate air conditioning and parking.
“I think parking’s going to a lot better – basically because we’ll have an actual parking lot. I think it has about 24 spaces. It will be a lot safer and a lot cleaner,” Ingram said, adding that the new building will be more comfortable because “the air conditioning in current building can’t keep up in 100-degree weather.”
Another important feature of the new building is that it has a future, unlike the restaurant’s current home, which is slated to be razed to make way for a complex featuring affordable housing, daycare and office space.
Many of Trail Dust’s customers don’t stay to eat – they take their meals to go – and they’ll be better served at the new location as well, Ingram said. He plans to use a side door as a walk-up take-out window. That means customers waiting for tables and customers waiting to order carry-out food will no longer crowd into the same space.
“Take-out is half our business,” Ingram said. “The side door is going be a take-out window, we’ll have an awning and some benches and maybe a mural.”
Once the move is complete and the restaurant is operating smoothly at the new location, Trail Dust might add lunch service, Ingram said.
“In the future we’d like to open for lunch, maybe three or four months down the road,” he said.
In the meantime, Trail Dust patrons are sure to appreciate its more convenient, comfortable digs.
HAPPY FISHERMEN
South Valley residents will have a new restaurant and new type of food to try when Happy Fisherman opens in early September.
Jose and Irma Herraez will offer Cuban sandwiches and fish and chips at their new restaurant at 17865 Monterey St., at the intersection of Wright Avenue and Monterey Road.
So, for the uninitiated, what’s a Cuban sandwich?
“It’s a roast pork sandwich with ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mayonnaise on a French roll,” said Jose, who was born in Cuba.
The Happy Fisherman will also serve Cuban plates and appetizers, Jose said, adding that the restaurant is seeking a beer license, and expects to compete with Quizno’s, Subway and Togo’s in terms of price.
“Sandwiches will cost $4 to $6,” he said. “They’ll be very competitive prices.”
Diners will enjoy soft Cuban music with their food, and they’ll be served by owners who aim to please.
“It’s going to be good food, we’re going to please the customers,” Jose said.
STILL MORE SHUFFLING
The former Camelot restaurant at 275 East Dunne Ave. is undergoing a months-long transformation. When the extensive renovations are finished, the building will be home to a Mama Mia’s restaurant, serving food similar to one on First Street in Gilroy.
The plans for renovating the building involve expanding Camelot’s dining room, said Jim Rowe, planning manager for the City of Morgan Hill.
”The bar area is gone,” Rowe said. “They’re expanding the dining area to include the former bar area.”
Other dining establishments coming soon to Morgan Hill include Panda Express and Subway fast food restaurants at the Cochrane Plaza shopping center at U.S. 101 and Cochrane Road. The restaurants will occupy the new building facing Cochrane Road, just east of McDonald’s, Rowe said.
They’ll join an ever-evolving restaurant scene that will likely include a brew pub in the soon-to-be closed police station at Monterey Road and Main Avenue.
