John Wayne Vest

Historic Milias Restaurant Reopens with Modern Flair

Ann Zyburra had a phone in each hand on Monday morning, fielding questions on one while squinting at the other. She didn’t recognize the area code, but she knew all information was critical before the public opening of the new Milias Restaurant on Tuesday.

“I don’t think it’s Hawaii–our fish come from Hawaii,” she said.

It turned out to be a telemarketer–the fish were fine. In fact, despite the stacks of office papers being organized and the bustle of employees, both Zyburra and co-owner Adam Sanchez said that there weren't many loose ends left before opening their doors the next day.

“It’s not just a restaurant–it’s a destination,” said Sanchez.

Operating under several names and owners since opening nearly 100 years ago, the once popular stop for Hollywood’s elite, the Milias Restaurant, reopens in Gilroy today. From the original hand-cut marble floor to the crown-molded ceiling, the new Milias is packed with local history and aims to rub shoulders with other high-end causal restaurants like San Francisco’s Bix .

“We’re cowboys and chandeliers,” said Zyburra. 

 It was two years ago that the long-time friends and foodies bought the former Harvest Time Restaurant and began planning their vision: a revival of the cosmopolitan Milias of the 1920s.

“We signed the lease Feb. 1, and we have not left the building since Feb. 2,” said Sanchez.

In the first part of the century, names like Clark Gable and Bing Crosby would make the restaurant a regular stop on trips between Hollywood and Monterey. The Milias Hotel, now apartments, was a popular stay for the elite, and there’s still a classic barbershop near its original location out front.

For Sanchez and Zyburra, the first chapters of their revival of the Milias began while working together at Al Sanchez Volkswagen in 1986. The two shared a passion for food–a young Zyburra had once been accepted to culinary school in France, and Sanchez took cooking just as seriously.

In the years to come, what started as a monthly competitive cook-off for friends turned into a widespread reputation for exquisite dishes and Sanchez’s first-place finish in the 2000 Gilroy Garlic Festival cooking competition. The duo eventually transitioned from the car business to catering full-time, a successful endeavor that was like an accelerated learning program for opening a restaurant.

Skateboard Business Icon Dies In S.F. Suicide | IMC.TV - Indy's ...

Eric Swenson, an icon in the skateboarding culture and a co-founder of Thrasher magazine, died Monday in San Francisco. He was 64.

Mr. Swenson shot and killed himself in front of the Mission police station, according to police.

Mr. Swenson helped reinvigorate the skateboarding scene after it languished in the late 1970s. Along with his friend Fausto Vitello, Mr. Swenson opened Independent Trucks manufacturing company in San Francisco in 1978, which makes skateboard equipment, clothes and accessories. Three years later, they and Kevin Thatcher co-founded trendsetting Thrasher magazine.

Independent Trucks made a high-quality truck, the metal connector between the skateboard and its wheels, that enabled boarders to execute the moves necessary for jumps and tricks performed on rails and curbs.

The articles and photos in Thrasher focused on this new generation of skateboarders and pushed the success of Independent Trucks by advertising its products.

“People talk, but seldom act,” the magazine said in a message on its website about Mr. Swenson’s death. “Eric Swenson got things done. Never one to clamor for the spotlight, he preferred the hard work, orchestrating the show from behind the scenes. His mark on skateboarding is extraordinary.”

Michael Brooke, publisher of Concrete Wave, a skateboarding magazine in Toronto, said Wednesday that Mr. Swenson was “one of the critical architects” of the revitalized art of skateboarding.

“Eric Swenson is really one of those guys who drives things forward,” Brooke said. “The funny thing about skateboarding is that a lot of times, there are a lot more followers than there are visionaries. Eric, along with Fausto, were visionaries.”

Vitello died of a heart attack at the age of 59 in 2006 while bike riding in Woodside.

“Too many people who are involved in this industry seem to be taken from us at far too young an age,” Brooke said.

Vitello’s widow, Gwynn Vitello, 61, of Hillsborough said Wednesday that Mr. Swenson was a private individual and “one of the most independent persons I’ve ever known. He was like John Wayne. He kept everything close to the vest. He did things because he believed in them. He was happiest when he was making things and building things and getting jobs for people.”

Mr. Swenson leaves behind his wife, Linda McKay, and sisters Rebekah Engle and Sonja Taylor, both of San Francisco. Services are pending.

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