LA JOLLA \u2013 Their day in court has lasted for decades.<\/p>\n
Three longstanding employees of Jose\u2019s Courtroom in La Jolla Village \u2014 Jose Rodriguez, Trinidad \u201cTrini\u201d Madrigal, and Miguel Perez \u2014 have enjoyed being there so much that they\u2019ve all stayed for more than 35 years.<\/p>\n
All three of them, along with restaurant-bar co-owner Tigg Mitchell, sat down with La Jolla Village News to talk about Jose\u2019s. They discussed how they came to be there, and why they\u2019ve stayed on so long.<\/p>\n
There are certain \u201cmysteries\u201d about this local watering hole at 1037 Prospect St., such as its name, which suggests some kind of legal connection. <\/p>\n
Turns out, their business name originated with an employee, a change of location, and the introduction of a new cuisine.<\/p>\n
Jose\u2019s Courtroom, which first opened its doors in 1956 elsewhere in the Village on Herschel Street, reportedly moved to Prospect Street in 1973, replacing a restaurant called O\u2019Bryan\u2019s. <\/p>\n
Before then, it was The Schnitzelbank, which offered German food and imported and domestic beers. The head cook\u2019s name was\u00a0Jose Arreola, which is how the name Jose\u2019s Courtroom came about.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis business used to be by the post office (1140 Wall St.) when it was just a bar, and I knew the owner, and he sold the business for the first time for $30,000,\u201d said longtime employee Rodriguez. \u201cIt then moved in here next to The Spot, which had a different name then.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nearly 70-year-old Jose\u2019s Courtroom has been a longtime local favorite serving up authentic, hearty Mexican cuisine with a modern twist, along with its trademark margaritas, which have turned the establishment into a community hub.<\/p>\n
Restaurant owner and real estate broker Mitchell was a longtime patron of the pub long before he and two partners purchased Jose\u2019s in 2007.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was my stomping ground in the \u201990s,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only business we knew other than our main job was being in a bar. So, we decided to buy a bar. We actually found Jose\u2019s for sale in the classified ads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madrigal has been working at Jose\u2019s for 47 years since 1978. He had a simple answer for why he\u2019s stayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good. I\u2019m happy,\u201d he said, pointing out he started out working down the street at La Valencia Hotel. \u201cThen I came here because everybody spoke Spanish,\u201d he said. \u201cActually, I learned English while I was working here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez, who first came to La Jolla at age 18 in 1981, also ended up working at Jose\u2019s for much the same reason; it benefited him as someone who had learned English as their second language.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helped (knowing English) to get my paycheck because at that time we used to get paid in cash,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore I got here, I started in another little business, a taco shop in Pacific Beach with my cousin. I learned to cook all the Mexican dishes in Pacific Beach before I came here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow he\u2019s our head chef,\u201d noted Mitchell of Rodriguez.<\/p>\n
Perez started working at Jose\u2019s as a busboy in the \u201990s. He, too, had a one-word answer when asked why he\u2019s stayed. \u201cHappy,\u201d he said without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a fan base here,\u201d said Mitchell of Jose\u2019s three longtime employees. \u201cSome people come back from the \u201990s to see these guys. It\u2019s pretty uncanny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey get excited when they see me saying, \u2018Oh my God, you\u2019re still here?\u2019\u201d noted Perez, adding he and his colleagues working in Jose\u2019s kitchen are proud of the consistency of the food they\u2019ve served over the years.<\/p>\n
Mitchell concurred that continuity in both the cuisine and staff has made Jose\u2019s Courtroom a place people want to return to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do a real good job in retention,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what [the retention rate] is on average in the restaurant business, but it\u2019s not as high as it is here. We try to keep the employees happy \u2014 and they keep the customers happy. And the customers come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
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