They sold their house in Arizona and their Apple stock. Then they took out loans from their parents. Gabe Gordon and Lena Perelman were only in their late 20s, but determined to open a restaurant in Seal Beach. For 14 years they had a hit with Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, one of Orange County’s first gastropubs.
Sadly it came to an end with an announcement on Facebook on Wednesday, July 1 that they were calling it quits. “This decision has weighed heavy on us for over 100+ days. But in accepting the uncertainty of our current situation and accessing what is likely a challenging time ahead, we have made the unbearable decision not to reopen Beachwood Seal Beach.”
The restaurant had closed in mid-March at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis when Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a halt to dining in. It was simply selling beer to go, and as weeks and months dragged on, it just became unfeasible to reopen.
The end of its lease loomed at the end of the month and the latest three-week ban on dining-in didn’t help. “When faced with the thought of some kind of indefinite purgatory that we’re all in, in the restaurant industry, and the fact that the measures that the city put in place for outdoor dining are wholly inadequate — you got cities like Long Beach that are literally shutting down the main thoroughfares to accommodate the restaurants — Seal Beach is saying where you can put a table or two outside and you can have 50% of your dining room occupancy in a parking lot, adjacent if you can do it,” said Gordon in an interview.
“Well, you know, we’re all tiny little restaurants. So 50% occupancy for my restaurant is five tables.”
With Walt’s Wharf in limbo as to reopening, that’s two local favorites gone in the seaside town.
“Seal Beach residents are amazing, but the city government is not the most progressive, forward thinking government that I’ve dealt with. And I have places in Garden Grove and Huntington Beach and Long Beach,” Gordon said.
His other restaurants will remain open. After being closed temporarily due to an employee with COVID-19, Long Beach will reopen next week serving food and beer. Huntington Beach and Garden Grove will be selling beer to go. But Seal Beach was Gordon’s flagship restaurant and closest to his heart.
He fondly remembers opening night. “It’s the middle of winter and it’s freezing,” he said. “And my wife is standing out front with little slices of bread with brisket on it, or sweet potato fries, trying to get people in. We have customers that are regulars who still come in, even in Long Beach too, because she was standing out there with the brisket sliders.”
The restaurant took off quickly as a locals’ favorite for craft beers, back when they were called microbrews.
“We built this cool little niche of eccentric people who dug good food and good beer,” he said. “And it just became this amazing little little hole-in-the-wall place where you could come in and you can be whoever you wanted to be, because we’re all able to celebrate beer and food and that’s what united us all.”
Soon he was expanding. Regular Julian Shrago, a rocket science engineer and home brewer, became a partner and their master brewer. Beachwood eventually won national prizes from the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. The restaurant group attracted more investors but the original location was owned solely by Gordon and Perelman, who paid back parental loans with interest.
It’s been a dream come true for Gordon who has wanted to be a chef since he was 16 and took pride in turning out brisket for the regular menu and special Monday night dinners when the restaurant was closed. He had a great run and he’s not retiring, just turning his attention to his other locations.
The sadness he feels at closing is offset by gratitude for his staff and the loyal customers who made his tiny restaurant a hometown favorite with a national reputation for craft beer. “It takes a team effort,” he said. “And all I can say is I am eternally grateful for the life that I have. The patrons of Seal Beach gave that to me.”
"seal" - Google News
July 05, 2020 at 01:31AM
https://ift.tt/2ZwIUyA
The original Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Seal Beach closes after 14 years - OCRegister
"seal" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3c1qdrW
https://ift.tt/2SzWv5y
No comments:
Post a Comment