WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. OCTO BER 13, 1916, PAGE 13 WitbyBs inesýs By BLAKE PURDY Staff Writer Variety is the spice of life, they say. Variety is the spice of the restaurant business, says John Pass. Mr. Pass ought to knowv. Ile has been in the restaurant business in various corners of the world for miost of bis hf e. Mr. Pass bas now brougbt bis knowledge and philosophy' of food to Whitby. He and long tinie friend John Villena, botb currently Osh,,,wa residents. opened Little John's Restaurant at 1201 Dundas Street West on September 1. (The restaurant was narned after the owners and Mr. Pass'godson). Several people have tried to run a restaurant -at that location for the past few years but have packed it in for one reason or another. With the attitude which the new owners bave toward the restaurant business, tbey should be around for a long time. Mr. Pass and MIr. Villena want to keep tbe cusiomers satisfied and, during a recent interview, described just bow they intend to do that. Atmnosphere and imiagination are the two key words. An important part oif a good atmosphere is cleanli- ness, they feel. "I arn very fastidious about cîeanliness because. at one time, 1 used to eat in restaurants three or four times a day", says Mr. Villena, who is more or less responsible f'or management of the restaur- ant-controlling the înoney and keeping tbe part-time staff in line. A native of the Phillipines, lie bas been working witb Mr. Pass in that capacity on a part-time basis for some time now. Mr. Villena also holds down a fuil-timne position as a nursing orderly at Oshawa General Hospital. "I invite anybody to see mny kitchen 'm not ashamed of my kitchen because it is ci ean" says Mr. Pass, who is in charge of preparing the meals. Another important part of a good atmosphere is caring about the customners and giving them good service, they féeel "The kind of service that we expect in restaurants is the kind -of service that we lke to give to our customers", say§.Mr. Villena. "The customer comes IIfirst",. agrees Mr. Pass.1 ers if they think they have been served well. p "No matter how busy weg arc, we ahvays corne out andM ask our customners '1-1w is your meal?'," says Mr. Villena. "The mnost rewvarding thing is to have the customners satisfied".r "I always ask the patronss 'Is everything satisfactoryr with you?'." says Mi-. Pass. l "If it's not, 1 vant to know s vh y".t "If îny custorners aren't happy, l'in upset", he says. "I want to give the best. The patrons deserve it". Mr. Pass wants to "give the besi" in food Loo. liec s Wveil cualified to do it. Mr. Pass, who w~as born on the Queen Mary seven days before hîs parents arrîved in Indiana from Wales, -lias served the rnost dlite and the lowest paying customners". s according to Mr. Villena. "But, he cooks the same for botli" Mr. Pass paid bis xvay r through schocol by \vorkingk for the food conct.essîinairesJ at Anierican institutions ot learning.t Apart froîn a stint in thier service. spent teachîig in thep US., Gerniany and Russia. %Ir. Pass lias been in the restaurant business ail lis adult years. fie lias worked at the I Iuno Kong 1lilton . the Onesta I lotel in Canton, Ohio, the Flying Dutchman in l3uwnanville, the Sleepy 1lIoilow Country Club in Stouffville, and mnanv other eateries Loo numecrous to mnention. But, the job of wvhich Mr. Pass is nost proud is a five- year stint at -the posh Los Angeles Country Club, a I ,600-mem ber closed club with four I 8-hole golf courses, which he describes as "the richest country club in the world". While there, he prepared meals for the Shah of Iran and Johin Paul Getty, both mul ti -bill ionaires, former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon while tbey were senators, actress Shirley Temple and a host of other superstars in various fields of endeavour. Mr. Pass recalîs most vi vidly bis experience as travelling cook for Nikita Kruschev while the Russian Premier, bis wife and daugbter toured the U.S. for 17 days. Cooking for ail those people means Mr. Pass had to cater to varied tastes - from the ordinary to the unusual. i\ccording to Mr. Pass, the purpose of the special was to give patrons a preview of Nhat they could expect if and wvhen they returned to Little J oh ns'. le lias, in the past, served. or will, in the future, serve roulade or stuffed steak, stuffed bacon, stuffed kaiser rolis, stuffed trout, stuffed liver, duck, goose, hickory snîoked chicken, heart, beef tongue, etc., as specials. "My specials go every day", says Mîr. l>ass. lt's no wonider, especially wheni you consider that they cost s2- -,5 or less. But, bis creaiivity 5 îlot continied to full course mecals. It extends to snacks- soups. sandwiches, e tc. -~We neyer repeat the sainle soup of' tle day ini a we saYs Mr. Viîllena. "We try to be difterent". lloinmt ' lade soups include real Texas chilii soup. which keeps the insides warni during the swinter; weddi ng soup. xiiich ggets its nanie froni thle colouri fi conli in a t i n of nîeatballs. 'spiiach , oniions. greeni peppers. caiiots anîd ipar»sley; raîn souu, wliich îs mnade of licef hroth and egg whli tes; on ioni SOLI[), coliicte wi thI a Sliot of she rry;- minestrone sîî;cheddar soup; etc. Not surprisingly. MIr. 1I>ass s.îys tlie sotnos selI well also. A couple other big sellers are Reuhen sandwiches, two suices of rye bread around swiss clîcse, cor i beef, sauerkraut and Thousand Islands dressing; and genuine tacos. Most of the above items are not available at your average restaurant. "I'm trying- to introduce sometbing new to Whitby", says Mr. Pass. "The patrons deserve it". "I try to serve something different every day", be says. "People know that they can corne ini here and have some- ibing different" "Any restaurant thiat bas not got an imagination should not be in existence", says Mr. Pass. 1I hate things that do not have an imagination". "I bate repetition", he says. 1I don't warit anyone to go out of business, because tliey help 'me by being repetitious."1 The owners do, however, cater to people with less exotic tastes. John Villena and John Pass of Little Johns' Restaurant. Free Press Photo cly, nidgei,ý W.A.C. Se/Lby, c.a. B Offices 171 King Street East, Oshawa C.J. Roberts, c.a. Cliamber Meeting Dr. Jim Ricks, program co-ordinator of the adolescent unit at the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, wilî be the guest speaker at the October meet-' ing- of tbe Whitby Chamber of Commerce Monday at noon. His tipic Will be "Involve- ment of the community and business in tbe rehabilitation of adolescents". Tbe meeting place for the Chamber luncheons lias been changed to the Explorer Restaurant, 900 Hopkins Street. Anyone wishing to attend ibis meeting is asked to confirmi reservations with the Chiamber by caîîing 668-4506. The annual meeting of the Chaînher, for the plirpose of electing officers, will be beld Nov. 15 at a time and place to be aîînounced. charte red accountants ,K. [vadge tt, c. a. R. W. Bo/er, c.a. c'W. Marlowe, C.a. Telephones 579-5531 885-2335 - -; Variety is thé spice offood business, say restaurateurs USED4 CAR & TR UCK WITH BANK FINANCING AVAILABLE_ CERTIFIED TRUCKS 74 Ford Econolîne "Sý ton V-8 aut1o 18,000 miles Lic. D58 705 S2,995.00 73 Clîév ton Pickup V-8 st ick Lic. A93 088 S2,495.00 69 Ford Ranchero V-8 auto rally wheels Lic. AL7 094 S I1.595.J0 CERTIFIED CARS 72 Chirysler Town & Country Wagon Air con., 9 passenger Lie'. AWT 074 $2,295.00 72 VW Bug autornatic Lic. DXU 898 $1 ,495.00 68 Mercury Montcalm 2 door V-8 auto Lic. ABC 871 $895.00 72 Toyota Corolla Deluxe 41,000 miles Lic. DXK 906 $1 ,395.00 DON'T MISS "THIS WEEK'S CIERTIFIED SPECIAL" 72 NOVA 6 cylinder auto power steering 38,000 miles Lic. HFK 206 $2,1 50.00 72 DEMON V-8 stick bucket seats Lic. BEU 352 $ 1,850.00 "AS IS SPECIALS" 72 VEGA Hatchback 34,000 miles Lic. APT 408'$350.00 69 CHJEV Belair V-8 auto Lic. EAL 609 $39 5.00 67 MUSTANG factory mags V-8 auto Lic. DZF 665 $425-00 68 TOYOTA, Station Wagon Lic. JVR 909 $1 50.00 PHONE STEVE For more information» AT 668-1542 STE VENSON/ BRADLEY 81Dundasî St. ý-W.,Whitby