March 7, 2005

Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe opens second N. California location in Campbell

Business partners to open more restaurants in next two years

By Shari Kaplan
Staff Writer

Azar Tabatabai worked in the high-technology industry for more than 20 years; she’s also a former math teacher. Her husband, Majid “Mike” Tabatabai, is likewise a high-tech worker by education and experience. It took gentle but persistent encouragement from close friend Fred Assadi to persuade the couple that going into the restaurant business with him wasn’t such a far-fetched dream after all.

Camille’s co-owner Azar Tabatabai, far right, gathers with some of her staff beneath a taste-tempting poster at her new Campbell restaurant. From left are lead employees David Valenzuela and Lucio Rodriguez and manager Pajman Norozi.

And so the Tabatabais, together with Assadi, looked for establishments offering contemporary, healthy and creative food and stopped their search with Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe, a franchise founded in 1996 by David and Camille Rutkauskas of Oklahoma.

The Tabatabais and Assadi—all of whom live in the Silver Creek/Evergreen Hills area of San Jose—had a “soft opening” for their second Camille’s on Jan. 24 at 1700 S. Bascom Ave. in Campbell. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at a future date.

The trio’s first Camille’s opened late-summer 2004 in the Main Street Shopping Center, located in South San Jose’s Blossom Valley area. It was also the first Camille’s to open in Northern California.

“When I first saw Camille’s fresh concept, I knew that this, together with my passion for good food, quality and service, created a perfect opportunity for us to offer something very different and very refreshing to customers—something they could get nowhere else—in an environment that was relaxing [and] enjoyable,” says Azar.

Because she and Mike are health-conscious people tired of the “burger-and-fries” theme of the fast-food industry, she says they wanted, like many other restaurateurs these days, to offer an alternative.

The Tabatabais liked the Camille’s alternative so much that together with Assadi, they are planning on significantly expanding the chain in the South Bay. “We attained the exclusive right to open more than 10 Camille’s Sidewalk Cafes in San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Santa Cruz,” Azar says. Approximately 70 percent of the restaurants will be located in the San Jose area, with about four slated for opening this year, with the balance in 2006.

The standard Camille’s menu consists of signature sandwiches in the form of wraps, “natu-wraps” and grilled hot wraps. These meals-in-hand come with creative names like Tex Mex Club, Chicken California, Bangkok Thai, Hail Caesar, Poblano Chicken, Mexican Daredevil and Paris Bistro. Breakfast wraps combining low-cholesterol eggs, rice, cheese and fresh vegetables—with or without meat—are also available.

Other sandwich options are warm grilled paninis like the Napa Valley Chicken, Italian Roast Beef or the Veganini, along with cold sandwiches constructed the standard way.

Wraps and sandwiches are complemented by tri-colored chips and salsa, except for the grilled hot wraps, which come with mixed field greens instead.

Azar Tabatabai looks forward to bringing the eclectic flavors of Camille’s to Campbell. She and husband Mike, along with their business partner Fred Assadi, opened their first Camille’s in South San Jose in mid-2004. Photos by Shari Kaplan

“The panini is our most popular sandwich; even though it has the most calories,” Azar notes with a chuckle.

Rounding out the menu are soups and a wide variety of salads. Camille’s is also known for its smoothies, whose names compete with the wraps in terms of creativity. They include the Banana Split Swirl, Blueberries Cozumel, Peach Paradise and Toffee Coffee.

Because the Tabatabais’ Camille’s will predominantly be located in the multi-cultural Silicon Valley area, Azar says they are working with corporate headquarters to complement the standard menu with specialties that reflect local diversity.

“Here in Silicon Valley, we have people from all cultures. It’s important to have foods that appeal to all ethnic groups,” she explains.

“Ninety percent of people think Camille’s is a Mediterranean café anyway. We have a little of everything, like French, Italian and Spanish” she says, noting the variety of countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. “We might add pizza on foccacia bread or thin crust; or we might have Mediterranean or Middle Eastern foods like shish kebobs or marinated chicken in lemon juice, olive oil and herb sauce.”

“Corporate [headquarters] really likes our ideas. We thought if we brought in a few new things, we could get rid of a few things that might not be selling as well. We’ll probably bring the pizza in first,” she says.

Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe is located 1700 S. Bascom Ave. For more information, call (408)559-0310.