I LISTENING POST'
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01-te of Metropolitan Detroit's
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DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
T
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,_,9;c9310 all2E4y23
L>-\?A alaccul ace
i5cs 31005 ORCHARD LAKE RD. aazD,
626-5020
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MON,THURS. TIL 9 pm. • FRI. & SAT. 'TIL 12 MID. • SUN. 12 Noon - 8 p.m. j
••
ME MIII 1•1 • ••
NM
Open For
Lunch & Dinner
Serving
AUTHENTIC
Thai Food
and
Cocktails
Bangkok
Club
11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon. Thru Thurs. • 11:30 a.m. to 11 'p.m. Fri. & Sat.
I OPEN SUNDAY 5 p.m TO 10 p.m.
29269 Southfield Road north of 12 Mile
In The Southfield Commons
70
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1991
569-1400
he battle cry of Willie
Stargel and the Pitts-
burgh Pirates, "We are
family," as they clubbed their
way to become baseball's
world champions some years
back, pretty much sums up
the success of a local
restaurant operation.
Since it first opened in
1976, following 10 years as
the cafeteria-style Westerner
Beef Buffet which was closed
down about nine months,
Beau Jack's has maintained
a close togetherness between
owners, waitstaff and
customers . . . Many of its
regulars eat at Beau Jack's
four and five times a week.
"It's fun knowing the
customers by name and kibit-
zing with them," says -Gary
Cochran, co-owner with
father Jack . . . "Like having
them at my home."
This philosophical outlook
by Gary Cochran is a prime
factor in the continual suc-
cess of Beau Jack's . . . The
family-like relationship bet-
ween Beau Jack's and its
customers also oozes out on-
to its employees, most of
whom are veterans there of
many years.
It's common fact that the
restaurant business has one
of the highest turnover rates
of any operation . . . But one
wouldn't know it by the
longevity of employees at
Beau Jack's which many like
to think of as a second home.
Bob Vargo started with
Jack 25 years ago as a busboy
at Jack's Westerner Beef Buf-
fet on Michigan Avenue in
Dearborn . . . Following a
stint in the Navy, where he
cooked with teachings from
dad Lou Vargo, former ex-
ecutive chef at Interstate
United when the Raleigh
House here was among its
properties, Bob became head
chef at the Westerner Beef
Buffet that is now Beau
Jack's . . . Today, he is its
general manager.
Bob Nall began 11 years
ago as a Beau Jack's cook for
four years, then kitchen
manager three years and now
is its overall restaurant
manager.
Laurie Kaunitz started as a
waitress 12 years ago . . . a
year later tended bar for
another year . . . then four
years as head waitress .. .
and dining room manager
ever since.
About 11 employees have
been at Beau Jack's 15 years
and over . . . part of its fami-
ly closeness.
One waitress, Karen Reid,
has been at Westerner and
Beau Jack's 20 years . . . and
now her son, Jessie, 18, is a
busboy with mom.
Laura Omstead worked two
years at the former Banyan
Tree for Gary's brother-in-
law, Norm LePage, and a year
at Norm's Squire's Table, now
Nifty Norman's . . . When the
Banyan Tree closed, Gary and
Jack were opening Beau
Jack's and hired her as their
bar manager which she has
been since they opened.
Head Chef Bill Barnes was
chef de cuisine at a Hilton
hotel in the West Indies .. .
16 years ago he came home to
Detroit for a visit, wanted to
stay here, talked to the
Cochrans and was hired.
Eighteen years ago, Gina
Lind left her native Hungary
and couldn't speak a word of
English while working at the
Blue Danube Hungarian sup-
per club in Hazel Park .. .
She learned the language of
her newly adopted country
and after three years applied
for a job as a waitress at Beau
Jack's . . . The very per-
sonable and gracious Gina
has been there ever since .. .
15 years . . . the last five as
evening manager.
Augusta "Chi Chi" Chap-
man has been head salad girl
12 years . . . previously work-
ing five years for Sammy
Lieberman at the former
Raleigh House.
A host of other employees
have been at Beau Jack's
seven years and more . . . All-
together full and part-time,
Gary and Jack have about 75
employees.
Beau Jack's is almost like a
country-club atmosphere .. .
so many people know each
other and enjoy the camara-
derie of the restaurant's
family-like type of operation
. . . with waitpersons knowing
customers and what they like
. . . even to perhaps four olives
in a martini . . . Customers
bring presents to employees
and employees give gifts to
customers . . . Regulars like
barrister Ron Rothstein and
wife Joyce are at Beau Jack's
five nights a week . . . and
Ron at least twice a week
more during the day.
One evening, Stuart Perl-
man had four generations
there at the same time .. .
Stuart and Elaine, their
daughter Robin and her
daughter, Spencer, and
Stuart's mother, Rose . . . In
the late '50s, Stuart's dad
Harry Perlman had a real
estate business in Dearborn
and ate regularly at Jack's
Westerner Beef Buffet . . .
bringing young Stuart for
lunch every Saturday.
The ownership of Beau
Jack's is also family-oriented
. . . Gary's sister and Jack's
daughter, Bonnie LePage, is
general manager of the Town-
send Hotel in Birmingham
. . . Her husband Norm owns
all the Norm's and Norman's
restaurants plus a couple of
Salvatore Scallopinis.
There are few new employ-
ees at Beau Jack's . . . one of
them, Chris Jones, personi-
fies the efficiency required by
Gary and Jack, who look
upon their customers as fami-
ly and friends and expect
them to be treated as such.
The cleanliness of Beau
Jack's is a standout feature,
Beau Jack's has
maintained a close
togetherness
between owners,
waitstaff and
customers. Many
eat at Beau Jack's
four and five times
a week.
too . . . always in the high 90s
by the Oakland County
Health Department . . . Its
decor is such that people can
feel comfortable in silks or
tennis warmups . . . always
an important Jack and Gary
trademark for a comfortable
informal dining experience.
Seating is for 175 in three
rooms amid a lot of dried
floral arrangements by Arlyn
Cherrin's Silk Forest, tweed
carpeting, stained glass, out-
door and hunting wall pic-
tures, floral wallpapering, a
lot of mohagany, blue leather-
padded booths, bookshelf-like
ledges with books and ar-
tifacts, hanging lamps in
booths, side pole lamps, etc.
The bar area with 13 seats
also accommodates customers
with food service in this
popular seven-day-a-week
operation.
Because of its continual
cleanliness, the Beau Jack's
kitchen may be visited at any
time with its full black-and-
white tiling on walls, walk-in
and reach-in coolers, store-
room and other needed
features . . . The volume of
business done by Beau Jack's
demands deliveries six days a