Two locals each take a gamble

STEVE SMITH

There is no truth to the rumor that Newport Beach Mayor Steve

Bromberg is not really becoming a Superior Court judge and is leaving

instead to become the new manager of El Matador restaurant in Costa

Mesa.

El Matador, you may have read, just changed hands in an auction. A

couple of days ago, Xavier Bengoechea of Newport Beach had the

winning bid of $535,000 for the restaurant, which was founded in 1966

by Marcial Gallardo Sr.

Gallardo died in July 2003, and his estate was placed under the

auspices of the county after the executor estate was removed.

Gallardo’s death supports some data I read many years ago, which

stated that a chief cause of the demise of a business is the death of

the founder. Perhaps that’s why, for many companies, developing a

successor while the founder is still alive is such an important goal.

We don’t eat at El Matador. That’s not because we don’t care for

it; it’s just a function of our routine. For Mexican food, we go down

the street and around the corner to Mi Casa and we’ve been doing that

for close to 20 years. I am sure that the food and service at El

Matador are good too.

In one interview, Bengoechea commented that he had built up a tidy

nest egg and that he was using that money to buy this restaurant

instead of buying a house. That’s a pretty gutsy move for an

engineer, Bengoechea’s current profession. After all, investing in

Orange County real estate is supposed to be a slam dunk, a

no-brainer. You put your money in and start making it back

immediately.

But a restaurant? Until September 2003, it was a common belief

that 90% of all restaurants fail in the first year. In 2003, however,

a study at Ohio State University showed that the actual rate is

somewhere around 60%.

Bengoechea has a few things going for him to help him become one

of the 40% that are successful. For one, El Matador is not in its

first year, although in many ways and to some customers, it may as

well be.

Second, the same staff will be at the restaurant, helping to

ensure that the regulars don’t defect.

Third, this guy, Bengoechea, has guts. I mean, this is really a

gutsy move, a big risk. After all, he took his own money -- not

someone else’s as is so common these days -- and threw it into a low

margin, high risk business. His option, as you now know, was to spend

it on a house, a sure thing.

That kind of behavior will force someone to do whatever it takes

to make sure their investment is producing because it may be all they

have.

Bromberg, on the other hand is jumping from the gamble to the sure

thing. As mayor of Newport Beach, Bromberg was on the front line -- a

target, actually -- of so many important issues facing the city.

Whether it was the epic saga of the St. Andrew’s expansion or the

construction of a new City Hall, Bromberg was not shy about

expressing his opinion. Even more important, he was not shy about

making a decision. That is a quality that will serve him well on the

bench.

Bromberg, like so many Newport Beach and Costa Mesa residents,

worked very hard to get himself where he is today. In a Daily Pilot

interview with S.J. Cahn, Bromberg pointed out that he is the son of

a door-to-door salesman and a mother who worked at a cosmetics

counter.

As the son of a factory manager and a mom who worked part time at

various jobs, I have a pretty good picture of the source of

Bromberg’s work ethic.

In all likelihood, he saw his father and mother work many hours a

day, never complaining, just doing what it took to get the job done;

to provide for their family.

That is the work ethic with which he was raised. And while he made

many important career decisions on his own, they were no doubt

influenced by his parent’s behavior.

Successful attorney, mayor of Newport Beach and now a judge in the

Orange County Superior Court, thanks to an appointment by Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger.

Xavier Bengoechea probably shares some if not all of these

qualities with Bromberg. Bengoechea is already making plans for

upgrades and figuring out how to overcome a couple of major hurdles

on the horizon.

It’s too bad Schwarzenegger got to Bromberg first. He and

Bengoechea may have made a pretty good team.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].