Tom Leach

San Diego Opinion

WTF Jack's La Jolla?!

The Sudden Closing of La jolla's Only Nightlife
By Tom Leach
Posted on Fri, Aug 21st, 2009
Last updated Fri, Aug 21st, 2009

It was July 30th just after two p.m. The alley- way behind Prospect Street was taken over by former staffers and their friends making off with anything that wasn’t poured cement from the now closed Jack’s La Jolla. Items from 150lb meat grinders to full sized garbage containers filled with top shelf spirits were making their way from the building to cars waiting to collect any retributions.

This was just one of many scenes which played out that early afternoon. And I can say I wish I were there to help them.

Whispers of the closing of this seemingly hopping coastal location have been in the air for the last year or so. My socialite clients would say, ”Did you hear they are closing Jack’s in La Jolla?” I would then ask one of my staff members who worked there on the weekends if she had heard this, and her response was always “of course not, we are packed every night.” And that would be the end of it. And then a month or so later, the question would arise again.

I can only guess that this means that the owner, Bill Berkley was either sharing information with close friends with no loyalty, or the many vendors who provided beer and meats were talking. I learned he was on his third beer distributor by the end. Bartenders were always guessing the taps from week to week. The issues were deep and getting out was not on the horizon.

I was informed as most were, very suddenly and with a bit of shock. That was it! Jack’s is closed. The day it happened, my employee came in to work with a grin of disbelief. I felt sick for her, as I knew that she had very much enjoyed her time there. I began to probe other former Jack’s employees who were very open to sharing almost laughable yet sad recollections. They recounted how when Bill Berkley held his final meeting at 1:00 pm on the day that the business closed, he announced that any checks that were not already cashed would not be honored. Furthermore, he added that all the employees should feel free to help themselves to any open alcohol left in any of the three restaurants and five bars (unconfirmed).

Then the party began! Staff began raiding the top shelf booze like Don Julio 1942, as well as other Scotch that had just been recently ordered for the weekend – the total value of the bottles in the thousands, managers pouring tall ones to the willing. Some of the wines consumed were thirty dollars by the glass and upwards of a thousand a bottle! I can’t say I wouldn’t of done the same, and here is why…

Apparently this Rancho Santa Fe resident had been a bit behind on his State Board of Equalization payments including workman’s comp and unemployment. As a business owner myself, I pay these regularly. It is costly and I hate it, but that’s business. Bill had lapsed a recorded $280,000 in February, and was also in a very heavy an IRS debt. You can’t get away with that amigo!

I know any of you out there who have been a regular at the location would think it impossible but here are some numbers. On a good night Jack’s would pull $30,000-$50,000 tops. But the costs were much greater. SDGE bills were typically in the thousands and it also cost at least $10,000 a month to pay out to staff if they were lucky enough to get the check cleared. Bouncing checks was a weekly occurrence.

Bill owned the building and leased spaces - ironically one of which was a mortgage and lending company that went under along with several other locations around the La Jolla area. Jack’s opened with the grill in Sept 2005 and then the dining room in on New Year’s Eve of that same year. In May 2006 the beach bar opened, then the ocean room, and finally level three’s bar and club. A year before these dates he had two spaces within the building at a reduced rent as well as a few that went under all together. A total of 8 tenants fell in his landlord empire, 3 reduced and two vacant. I imagine the renovation was in the millions at a peak real-estate boom. So was it bad timing?

Maybe that was part of it. Since my arrival in California, La Jolla has been void of any long-term nightlife. But this was different. He was packed most every night he was in business.

When I asked a few of his former staff what they thought the reasons were for Bill’s failure in business, they used descriptions like “lofty, delusional, arrogant, and he thought he was too big to fail”.

It seems he was viewed as a micromanager that would bark at anyone who worked overtime as well as offer staff $25 bonuses if they wrote fake reviews on sandiegoresteraunts.com. I’m sure he felt that since they were his employees -why not? Also I was informed that he had taken on the top talent in the country to run his kitchen; Jack Fischer from N.Y. Trump tower was quite a catch but came with a heavy price tag as did several pastry chefs.

In the end he was often seen sitting in the ocean room with to go bags three or four at a time sipping the finest wine that money didn’t buy, at all.

Some of the few ex -staff I spoke with were worried about getting sued over detailed information, so I have edited it down several notches to protect them. They felt he was the type that would try to go the distance to save face. However, I can’t imagine any court finding sympathy on his behalf.

Today if you arrive at the door you will likely be greeted by a receiver, the person a bank sends to a delinquent account to see if there is any traffic they see worth investing in before going to the government for a bailout or short sell. Any former staff want in?

A smile spread across my face when I heard the last part of the many stories I heard about the Jack’s La Jolla riots story. The stories detailed the former owners chasing people around yelling,” PUT, IT BACK! PUT IT BACK!”

Usually I would feel bad for them. But I know several good hardworking locals who were screwed out of thousands of hard earned dollars. Staffers, who put themselves together every night to deal with a drunken clientele, old butt grabbers, as well as many of the wonderful people who gave so much to those service industry kids. It’s a shame it had to go down this way.

In case you want more inside scoop from the staff go to “Jack’s La Jolla ReUnited” on facebook.com and follow the juicy details. I have yet to read it, but it is a group page from former staff members sharing things I may not be allowed to print.

Let’s all do better business people….

About the author: Michigan born Thomas Leach found himself enthralled with hair at an early age. He enrolled at the renowned Vidal Sassoon Academy in Toronto for additional training and eventually made his way to Beverly Hills, later relocating to La Jolla where he was inspired by the cerulean blue of the ocean and sky to open his first business "Blue the Salon." In a constant search for education, Tom has traveled to Brazil, Paris, Italy, and London - ultimately finding the Saco team as a match for continual growth. He has worked with the top names in hairdressing including Victor of Vmax, as well as Studio W’s Wanderley Nunes. The sexy styling of these two men created the look for the most recent generation of “supermodels.”
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Comments

Posted by Nicole	Sat, Nov 7th, 2009
Great story! I love hearing what the staff really thought. I'm going to check out their FB group to read more.

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