|
Peter Rasmussen and his family have owned the Blue Pheasant Restaurant for 30 years. It has been a place of camaraderie in Cupertino as well as a place of controversy when neighbors complained about the late night noise. Most recently, it was a subject of debate when the city cut its late night hours on March 31. Now, the Rasmussens have decided to sell.
The couple thought they'd found a qualified candidate, former restaurant operator Gity Majdy, to take over the running of the restaurant. However, the city council did not agree with the Rasmussens' choice of candidate and voted 4-1 at its June 21 meeting not to allow Majdy to take over the restaurant. The city owns the property and has the authority to make this decision.
Majdy—a former Quiznos restaurant and Dominoes Pizza owner—approached council members with their intention to take over the operation of the Blue Pheasant.
In a 4-1 vote, the council decided not to approve the new buyers.
"There were several different concerns as to why we made the decision," said Councilwoman Kris Wang.
Wang said that some members of the council were worried about the amount of experience of the prospective buyer. "They had worked with fast food and pizza places before," Wang said. "It's different when you are working with a high-class restaurant."
But the people who work at the Blue Pheasant don't agree.
Lona Means, manager at the Pheasant, and daughter of owner Peter Rasmussen, said that she had met the buyers on several occasions and felt that the buyers had enough experience. "They had prior experience and have a degree in hotel and restaurant management," she said.
She said that the new buyers planned to put their focus on the restaurant rather than the nightclub.
However, it was this emphasis that Kris Wang said was her main concern.
"They were going to start serving breakfast, lunch and dinner [on the weekends], instead of just starting at lunch," she said.
Wang said that because of early morning golfing, the Blackberry Farm and Blue Pheasant parking lot would become very congested early in the day.
"I am concerned about parking and traffic on the street," said Wang.
But the decision by the council leaves the Rasmussens and the Blue Pheasant in a quandary.
"We are left with very limited options," said Means.
She said her parents had decided to retire, but were now left to maintain ownership of the property.
The Rasmussens' decision to retire came after a long series of battles between the neighborhood, the nightclub and the city council.
For 30 years, the restaurant/club operated from the hours of 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. The club sits just north of the 85 freeway, near the Blackberry Farm Golf Course, in a quiet residential neighborhood. Residents in the area were not happy with the late-night noise.
The Rasmussens' lease on the property ended on March 31, but the city agreed to renew it on the condition that the business close at 11 p.m. from now on.
"A big part of our business came from the after-11 crowd," said Means. Although the early closing hours of the business made nearby residents happy, it proved upsetting to the restaurant/nightclub's regular patrons.
"It's hard to find a place where older people can congregate," said Conrad Sanford, 57, a Blue Pheasant regular who commutes from San Jose.
"I can't go to a bar in downtown San Jose and find dancing like this," he said, referring to the fact that there's dancing of all kinds, from ballroom to rock to line dancing.
"I've been here for 24 years," said bartender Paul Glass. "This has been a safe place where people can meet."
Glass said that the restaurant was a place where all types of people were welcome and there are quite a few regulars.
|
