Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Operating the Wine Cellar restaurant is a family affair for Julie, Lisa and Steven Hauck.

Wine Cellar has become Hauck family's lifestyle

By Suzanne Cristallo

Five years ago, Julie Hauck brought home an idea to her family: buy the Wine Cellar restaurant in Los Gatos' Old Town, and run it as a team. They did, and it has grown into their lifestyle.

The Haucks are Larry, 54, the father; Julie, 34; sister Lisa, 25; and brother Steve, 31. The Wine Cellar, a quaint, candlelit retreat, occupies the basement of what was from 1923 to 1961 the University Avenue Elementary School. What the Haucks bought was what many purchasers of old homes buy: headaches.

But they came not just from the old plumbing, the leaky roof or the flooded floors. They were the daily emergencies which make up the 24-hour, seven-day-a-week life of a restaurant owner, and the Haucks had never set foot in a restaurant before except as customers.

The day after the final papers were signed, they plunged. And they learned. Quickly.

First, Larry and Steve had to wean themselves away from their short-haul trucking business and gradually involve themselves full time in repairs, remodeling and the duties of managing. Lisa had to arrange her San Jose State studies so she could take a full evening shift. Julie had to work around her newly married life to handle runs to Safeway when the beef ran out, or calls for aid when the register would not function or the draft beer would not pour or the chef did not show.

Today they are veterans, which means they have learned to expect calamity and make it routine. The result is a calming ambiance: barn wood-paneled walls with hand-carved trim, slate floors and latticed ceilings and live music on weekends. Colorfully designed menus by mother Judy, the only Hauck to keep her day job, and Larry's pride-- an entrance garden with a mini-vineyard of dwarf pinot noir vines.

Food includes Creole chicken from the skillet, steaks and ribs from the grill, 1940s-style burgers, pastas and fondue with prices from $6.95 to $17.95, salad included.

Committed to each other in making a success of their joint venture, the Haucks allow themselves only four days off together a year. Last Saturday was an exception, when everything shut down for Steve's wedding. They do not see things changing much in that regard, in spite of the planned remodeling of the entire Old Town complex by new owners.

The Wine Cellar Restaurant, Old Town, 50 University Ave., Los Gatos. Open for lunch and dinner Mon.-Thurs.,11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat., 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m., Sun., noon-9 p.m.