Standing as one of the last enduring “roadhouses” in America, the red barn-like structure on the side of Highway 17 has been recognized as “The Cats” since 1967.
Initially established in 1896, this place is no stranger to change, seeing as it’s been occupied by everything from a weigh-station of lumber wagons, to a gun shop and even a sporting goods store.
And now, its current owner (for a year-and-a-half now), Richard Tam, has been putting a new spin on the place, led by his startup ChefCentury.
Proof of Concept
Restaurants have a high chance of failure, in part because of inconsistent customer volume.
So, Tam wants to tackle this problem with a new business model.
ChefCentury came to Los Gatos in 2023, as the restaurant industry was dealing with the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was meant “to help chefs rebuild their future,” Tam explained.
“My interest comes from understanding why there is a growing income divide in all developed countries, including the United States,” he said.
Tam said his studies at Georgetown have helped prepare him to navigate the challenging restaurant landscape.
“My conclusion, in the last 30 years, is that the middle- and low-income class haven’t seen their income improve because of a lack of investment into the small guys,” he said. “The lower-income class doesn’t have enough savings to invest in the overall economy. So, my conclusion is, you need to find a way to make the investment more attractive for small individual businesses that are not as appealing as the technology businesses.”
Tam believes, to mitigate this issue, there needs to be a platform which enables the “small guy” to thrive and succeed.
The way to do this, he says, is by lowering the barrier of entry.
Research shows food service is now a trillion-dollar concern. And yet, according to the National Restaurant Association, about a third of restaurants fail.
The question Tam has is, can he enable a platform to empower those running the kitchen?
“If I tell the chef to just create good food and take care of the place, then I will help you find the market by providing the management backbone, marketing and financial resources to make it happen,” he said. “I essentially market with them and help them succeed.”
Tam says ChefCentury got involved with The Cats because he values the history and sees opportunity in its unique, yet difficult, location.
“This place is not conventional, because it isn’t just a walk-in restaurant—since it’s on the side of a highway,” he said of the challenge of luring customers to the space off the northbound side of the twisty route toward Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. “Therefore, you need to give a compelling reason why they need to come here. We want to give that reason by bringing in unique talent with unique menu styles and dining options.”
Revitalizing the Brand
Since taking on The Cats, Tam has limited operating hours to Friday through Sunday, and only from 5-10pm.
“We see those standard hours of the business as showcasing and building a relationship with the customer,” he said. “Then, we see the other side of the business as private dining, private events and delivery.”
The reason that most restaurants fail, says Tam, is due to their lack of visibility.
“How many people are going to come tomorrow?” he asks rhetorically. “You don’t know.”
Tam says they get all sorts of requests from people who want to use the space—for things like wedding rehearsals, corporate events and showers.
And while, typically, establishments charge an up-front fee for venue rentals, Tam does not.
“The incentive is strictly that they are getting a real, private space and services so they can have the whole restaurant to themselves without paying for the rental,” he said. “The contingency is that, if it’s during the day, then it’s around $1,000 minimum that a party would (be required) to spend. To host an after-hours private event from 10pm-2am, there’s a minimum of a $1,500 bill. And all we ask for is a 25% deposit.”
Tam says that some of their private evening events have brought in as many as 200 people at a time.
On its website, ChefCentury says its program for chefs not only includes a fully-licensed kitchen, but also social media marketing, packaging, delivery management and customer support services.
Getting to Know the Current Owner
The Cats became a food establishment, during the 1960s, after changing hands several times.
The current owners have put three different styles of barbecue on the menu.
“We currently offer Texas barbecue, Filipino food, and also Hawaiian,” Tam said. “The popular Texas barbecue is the triple combo—which is brisket, pulled pork and ribs. The Filipino street food is the Manila chicken and smoked crispy pata. On top of our dining options, we still maintain live music every Friday through Sunday, and people can expect blues or rock music. We’ve had 45 different performances since we have been open.”
That has included musicians with a large local following, such as Joe Ferrara.
Tam says since he is building a digital platform, the goal is to test the concept here, before scaling his idea up, elsewhere.
“The goal is to build a very large enterprise to help a lot of small guys succeed,” he said. “And to make this business work, a significant part of the events should be available for private dining.”
Tam says he treats the 15 hours the restaurant is open every week as marketing, essentially.
And, he adds, he’s treating the location as almost like a new version of a food court.
“The restaurant side of the business is a way for us to showcase different styles of menus,” he said. “Yet, what makes us unique is that we have different chefs with different menus, and what we are doing is bringing a platform with many talented chefs.”
What Tam wants is to see the majority of the events be private dining, while Friday-Sunday be a preview for those events.
“We want to help young chefs succeed,” he said. “There are a lot of talented chefs out there, but they just didn’t have the opportunity to succeed. The Cats is our proof of concept.”
