“When small  
businesses succeed,  
communities thrive.”  
Duane Fladland

Kathy and I have lived in our West San José home for almost 40 years. The closest major intersection to our home is Saratoga Avenue & Williams Road. When we moved into our home in October 1986, the intersection was home to a variety of restaurants: Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Bill of Fare, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Carrow’s (just north of this intersection), and Ringer Hut (just south). The night we moved into our home, Kathy and I, along with our 6-month-old son, Tom, enjoyed dinner at Carrow’s. Rarely, if ever, did we visit any of the other establishments. A small Rotten Robbie gas station stood at the southwest corner of the intersection.

Through the years, much has changed. KFC, Ringer Hut, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Carrow’s have all closed. A local Starbucks opened for a few years, then it, too, closed, replaced with a small Mexican restaurant. What was once KFC is also a small Mexican restaurant today. Carrow’s was replaced by Denny’s. Ringer Hut is now a ramen restaurant called Udon Mugizo. Taco Bell and Bill of Fare were razed to enlarge Rotten Robbie to include a convenience store. And Bill of Fare moved into what had been McDonald’s. I enjoyed breakfast there today. 

The restaurant is under new management. The new owner, Chris, runs the place with help from his son, George. When they took ownership of the business, Chris decided to keep the entire staff from the previous owners. Bill of Fare was a successful restaurant. The food was outstanding and the service was top-notch. Chris realized this and thought it would be wise to change as little as possible. 

Kathy and I have enjoyed a number of meals at Bill of Fare in recent years. The restaurant is open only for breakfast and lunch. While there are some excellent breakfast places near us (Jack’s on Saratoga Avenue, Bill’s on Stevens Creek Boulevard, along with Mission City Grill and Sara’s Kitchen in Santa Clara, to name a few), I don’t know of anyplace near our home to get a better breakfast. On most days, Chris greets his customers personally when they walk through the doors and shows them to a table. This personal touch, along with Chris’ engating personality and superb social skills, always gets our meal of to a good start.

The kitchen staff and servers work hard. Due to the popularity of the restaurant, they are kept incredibly busy with a nonstop flurry of meal orders. The quality of the food is outstanding. The service offered by the employees consistently exceeds expectations.

Today, I was alone, so I sat at the counter, which offers a view into the busy kitchen. I was impressed by the organization of the meal preparation, the cleanliness of the facility, and the swift pace at which the kitchen staff worked to keep up with the continuous flow of orders. Despite their busyness, a number of workers took time to acknowledge my presence at the counter and greet me warmly.

Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs believed that “the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Albert Schweitzer, who made a name for himself as a theologian, writer, and humanitarian, wrote, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” It is clear that Chris, the owner of Bill of Fare, loves what he does. No doubt he is enjoying the success of the business.

Author Robyn Leichti offered this sage advice: “In a world where you can shop anywhere, shop local.”