Ignacio Velazquez will sell his downtown restaurant, The
Vault.
Ignacio Velazquez will sell his downtown restaurant, The Vault.
“I don’t have time right now,” Velazquez said. “It really needs somebody who can be there and enjoys it.”
Velazquez founded The Vault 10 years ago, he said. Although he is still proud of the restaurant, he said he wants to focus on his family and his other business, American Electrical Services.
The electrical company is growing, with contracts in Hawaii and elsewhere, and Velazquez said he seems to spend half the month in an airplane traveling to different work sites. Meanwhile, Velazquez said he’s also trying to find more time for his 2-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter.
“I can’t work all night anymore,” he said.
Velazquez is now accepting bids from prospective new owners. Money isn’t the only factor, he added.
*”I want to find people who really want to do it,” Velazquez said. “First and foremost, they need to treat it like their baby. That’s what a restaurant becomes, your baby.”
The sooner a new owner takes over, the better, he said, because The Vault needs to be ready for the annual biker rally in July.
If Velazquez succeeds in selling the restaurant, The Vault will follow a number of downtown eateries that changed ownership in the past few months, including Main Street Bistro, Maverick BBQ and Paine’s.
Brenda Weatherly, executive director of the Hollister Downtown Association, said new owners can breathe life into a restaurant, pointing to Paine’s and The Elegant Touch as examples.
“It’s important to find the right person to run the restaurant,” Weatherly said. “Anytime a business is sold, the new owners can bring that enthusiasm and energy. … There’s always an opportunity for improvement.”
Local business owner Martin Leon and his Communications Unlimited employee Dex Postigo were relaxing after work Thursday at The Vault’s bar. They said they enjoy the bar because it’s more spacious than other local venues and offers a full liquor selection.
“Compared to other places, it’s more open, more comfortable,” Leon said.
Still, Leon and Postigo both said there are plenty of improvements a new owner could make, such as adding a pool table and designating one area of the restaurant as a sports bar.
“If you utilize the space properly, you could satisfy a multitude of people,” Leon said.
Postigo also said The Vault’s food offerings should be “more affordable – more family-oriented.”
“This town is not really the town for fine dining,” he said.
With the slumping economy, it’s not surprising that Velazquez wants to sell, Leon said. He also noted that Velazquez, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the California State Assembly in 2006, has aspirations beyond his businesses.
Asked if he’s clearing his schedule for another political campaign, Velazquez laughed and said: “I’m not ruling that out, but this is just trying to get my business life in order.”
