It can only be described as the end of an era; the start of
eternal lonely, hungry nights for countless locals. At least the
ones who just have to have their blueberry pancakes at 3:00 in the
morning.
Hollister – It can only be described as the end of an era; the start of eternal lonely, hungry nights for countless locals. At least the ones who just have to have their blueberry pancakes at 3:00 in the morning.
That’s right: Jerry’s Restaurant is cutting back its hours, making 24-hour dining just a fond memory for Hollister’s night-owls.
“It’s really the end of an institution,” said Jerry’s General Manager Matt Hart. He also said Jerry’s has been operating 24 hours a day since it opened in 1972.
The diner’s new hours, which took effect last Thursday, are 6am to 1am Sunday through Thursday, and 6am to 2am Friday and Saturday.
“I’ve definitely heard people saying they’re upset about us closing earlier, but I think they’ll adjust,” Hart said. “I think there are two types of customers out there. There are the ones who say ‘Where do you want to eat?’ ‘Well, Jerry’s is the only place that’s open.’ And then there are the customers who come here because they really like the food and the service.”
Customers who fit into both of those categories said they were upset about Jerry’s new hours, and didn’t understand why they were being cut back.
John Wales, a finance manager across the street from Jerry’s at Tiffany Ford, said he goes to Jerry’s quite a bit because of its proximity to work.
“It’s better to have it open 24 hours,” he said, but added it would still be worth eating there for the meatloaf.
Hart said the new hours came as somewhat of a shock to him, and that he simply got a call last week from the restaurant’s ownership group, Sun West Restaurant Concepts, Inc., saying they were cutting back the hours. The owners had originally wanted to close the diner at 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, but Hart convinced them late night and early morning sales on those nights were better than on other days, he said, prompting the 2am closing time compromise.
Sun West made the decision cut back the hours at Jerry’s, which has one other location in California and several in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Oregon according to Hart, because of a hike in insurance liability costs.
“I’m not sure how much they raised the liability costs, but it must have been exorbitant for them to look at their charts and tables and decide it wasn’t worth it to keep us open 24 hours. We’ve had very few issues with fights or rowdy people, so I don’t think that had anything to do with it. I think the liability is just greater for 24 hours,” Hart said.
Customer Grady Barnhard said he eats at Jerry’s all the time and didn’t think Jerry’s’ insurance company should make their rates so high.
“If nothing’s happening here (late at night) and the insurance company is just raking them over the coals, they should look into that,” Barnhard said.
There will be some advantages to the new hours, though, Hart said. For one, the staff won’t have to work late night shifts any more. According to Hart, the restaurant was already understaffed, so no jobs will be lost as a result of the reduced business hours.
“You know how the old saying goes, ‘It’s hard to find good help.’ Well, it’s especially hard to find good help 24 hours a day,” he said. “I think my servers have gotten used to the idea, though. They’ll get a lot more sleep.”
The restaurant staff will also have a chance to clean up the place every night, which Hart said they don’t get to do now.
Hart said his only concern was for the patrons who frequent Jerry’s Friday and Saturday nights after last call at the bars. Because of its location near downtown Hollister, the restaurant is just a hop, skip and a jump away from many local bars.
“I’m not encouraging anyone to drink and then drive even the short distance to Jerry’s, but a lot of people do take that roll of the dice. And at least Jerry’s isn’t too far away and they can come in and drink some coffee and sober up,” Hart said.
The only other 24-hour restaurant he could think of for hungry night-owls was Casa de Fruta. “That’s much further away. People really need to make sure they have a designated driver if they go out,” he said.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at
jq*****@fr***********.com
.
