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Got any stories about Lou'sVillage? Curators seek tales

ByMary Gottschalk

San Jose's landmark seafood restaurant Lou's Village remains so ingrained in the minds and hearts of so many that people still drive to 1466 W. San Carlos St. in expectation of lunch or dinner.

However, Lou's Village closed its doors after 50 years in business with a big blowout bash on Jan. 5, 2006.

The 5-acre site that was Lou's is now a SummerHill Homes condominium project, but Lou's Village lives on in History San Jose's latest online exhibit, appropriately titled Lou's Village.

The exhibit includes sections on the first, second and third generation of owners, starting with its founding by three former San Jose firefighters in 1946 as a supper club. The site covers the restaurant's evolution from a place known for live entertainment to a restaurant with quality seafood, as well as its expansion over the years from its original 5,500 square feet to 28,000 square feet.

An original 1946 menu signed by Lucille Ball when she visited lists half a broiled lobster for $2.50, chicken a la king for $2.50, a crab Louie for $1.75 and a cup of coffee for 10 cents.

Five years after founding it, partners Lou Ferro and Paul Polizzi opted out, leaving Lou and Alvina Santoro to operate Lou's Village with the help of their daughter and son-in-law, Gloria and Frank Muller.

The Mullers' sons, Tom and Tim, were involved from their teen years and eventually took over from their parents, who died in the 1990s. It was the brothers who made the decision to close the operation two years ago when their own children decided not to follow in their footsteps.

In addition to the Santoro and Muller families, the exhibit also spotlights the staff, mentioning by name the popular chefs, bartenders, waitresses and waiters who were often as memorable as the Maine lobster.

The walls of Lou's Village were lined with framed black and white photos of the famous and nearly famous who performed, played or simply visited over the years.

The list is long, but it includes Ball, the Ink Spots, Lenny Bruce and Polly Bergen as well as a very youthful Jerry Brown and boxer Max Baer.

The online exhibit went up on March 31 and isn't as large or as complete as many had expected.

Melissa Johnson, curator of interactive media for History San Jose, says it will grow.

Although Tim and Tom Muller lent their photographs to the museum, Johnson says there have not been enough resources and staff time to scan all the images and post them in the exhibit.

"It's time-consuming to scan the images to our standards, so we chose the ones that best illustrated the text," Johnson says, adding that new images will go into the photo gallery as time permits.

From an archival point of view, Johnson says it's unfortunate that many of the photos are not dated and not everyone in them is identified.

The biggest challenge, and one that is still unmet, Johnson says, is collecting personal reminiscences about Lou's Village.

"So many people have gone to Lou's Village, we were hoping to get personal stories. It's been a struggle," she says.

Thus far most people who have responded to the site's invitation to share memories have written that they miss the food.

Johnson says she's looking for "some more personal stories, not just 'we had dinner there with good friends' or 'we enjoyed the waiters and waitresses.'

"If there are people around who went to the floor shows, I'd like to hear about that and about going out to dinner in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was an occasion.

"I'd like to hear why it was special and what was so great about it."

Tom Muller joins Johnson in her hopes that the exhibit will grow larger.

"I think it's fine, and it's going to improve as it goes on," Muller says. "It's a big job getting the site up and the other things will follow."

When the Mullers threw their final party there, he told the crowd it wasn't the end of Lou's Village.

At the time, they were talking to a San Jose hotel about reopening the restaurant downtown.

That didn't happen, but Muller has continued to pursue the idea of eventually reopening a Lou's Village.

His latest effort has been a joint proposal with other established local restaurants, including Paolo's, Willow Street Pizza and LeBoulanger, to open small versions of their successful eateries in the expanding Mineta San Jose Airport.

Muller suggested two possible restaurants, one called Lou's Village Crab Shack and the other San Jose Rocks. The latter, he says, would be similar to a Hard Rock Café. It is based on his ongoing support for the San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame, an annual dinner and benefit concert at History San Jose saluting local contributions to rock 'n' roll.

The proposal was submitted to the airport commission and officials in January and Muller says he has learned that his proposal for San Jose Rocks was approved and is now going on to San Jose City Council.

While Muller says he's a bit disappointed the Lou's Village reincarnation didn't get the nod, he's looking forward to establishing the new San Jose Rocks restaurant.

"We'll probably still do our clam chowder," he says.

The Lou's Village online exhibit, underwritten by SummerHill Homes and presented by History San Jose, can be viewed at www. historysanjose.org.