Around Town with Robert Airoldi: Iconic Gilroy diner Longhouse opens 16 months after 2016 fire

Published in November 15 – 28, 2017 issue of Gilroy Life

Photo by Robert Airoldi
Server Tony Altamirano at the newly refurbished Longhouse Restaurant. The restaurant opened Oct. 28.

Welcome back, our beloved iconic Gilroy diner. I’m happy to see after 16 months, one of my favorite South Valley eateries, the Longhouse Restaurant, late last month reopened its doors to patrons serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. A favorite among many locals — with many customers coming from Morgan Hill, San Martin and elsewhere — the Longhouse was closed after the building faced extensive damage from an early morning kitchen fire July 9, 2016. I stopped by for a visit at the diner located at 8195 Monterey St. last week and thought the remodel made the interior look even better than before with a beautiful new counter eating area.

The menu offers the same American-style comfort food that made it a beloved institution to take friends and family members.

Restoration by Pacific Reconstruction went slowly but co-owners Pete Maroudas and Danny Maroudas should be proud of the beautiful interior work with the comfortable brand-new booths and tables to seat generations of locals to come. The men have owned the Longhouse since 1977. Old-time Gilroyans may remember the days when the eatery was known as the Busy Bee. Many of the staff prior to the fire are back at work and happy to be serving customers with their signature tasty meals.

Christina Smith, Danny Maroudas’ daughter, told me: “It’s been real exciting to see all the old customers, the new faces and to get our employees back to work.”

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Congratulations to Gilroy High School 2009 grad Tyler Park, who was just sworn into the Colorado Bar by none other than Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was one of Park’s professors at law school in Boulder.

Park grew up in Gilroy and attended Luigi Aprea Elementary and Brownell Middle School before graduating from Gilroy High.

He went on to graduate from U.C. Davis with degrees in political science and Spanish. He graduated in May 2017 from the University of Colorado Law School.

After he passed his exam, he wrote his former professor and asked him to do the honors. He obliged, giving Park a memory that’s sure to last a lifetime. Great job, future Supreme Court Justice Tyler!

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I sure got to this party too late. Visited Hecker Pass Winery with a friend the last two Wine Down Wednesdays in October and was not disappointed. Great music in a beautiful, serene setting, some good wine and winding down was easy.

The first Wednesday we saw Taylor Morris who performed alternative acoustic music. The interesting thing about Taylor is that he’s not just a musician … he’s also a chef. And when his company is not catering for corporate clients, he serves breakfast, brunch and lunch at the Cottage Bread and Breakfast in the former Joe’s Italian Restaurant on 10th Street near Monterey Street. Gotta tell you, the food is terrific.

Finally, the final Wednesday of the month we saw Cygne, a singer-songwriter based in Santa Cruz. She was just off a 15-country tour in support of her latest album. It soothes the soul to find great musicians playing such intimate venues right here in the South Valley. Just wish I hadn’t missed the beginning of the series, but looking forward to next year.

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Gilroy is no longer an official Tree City, but the lack of designation should be short lived. According to Adam Henig, recreation manager for the city, the deadline to file the paperwork to the Arbor Day Foundation was missed due to turnover in the department, thus the city lost its Tree City USA status in 2016.

But Henig said once the city files the application, it expects to regain its status. There is monetary value to the designation, but it does show the city cares about trees.

To qualify, the city must have a board or department — the trees are taken care of now by the Streets, Water and Trees Division — a tree care ordinance, an annual Arbor Day celebration and community forestry program.