Thomas Vinolus has been running Bittersweet Bistro with his wife Elizabeth for two decades. Photo by Chip Scheuer.
Thomas Vinolus and his wife Elizabeth first opened the Bittersweet Bistro 21 years ago on the Westside of Santa Cruz. Now in Aptos, the current location is 10 times the size of the original spot.
SCW: What are your favorite items?
THOMAS VINOLUS: Strawberry-chipotle-glazed wild king salmon with chili garlic sauce, a mélange of jasmine, wild and basmati rice, and then we do a stir fry of vegetables on it. The standout is the vanilla ricotta cheesecake. It’s a cross between cheesecake and crème brûlée. My philosophy is if you don’t like to eat it, don’t make it, because nine times out of 10 you can’t make it very well. We don’t do mussels. My wife loves them, but I don’t, so I don’t cook them.
Do you prefer the bigger business?
It has its pros and cons. You don’t get to do as much of the cooking part, which I liked. It’s a lot more management. But then again, we had the old restaurant, and I took two nights off in four years, and those were two charity events. We were open six days, and I worked six days. I would work on the seventh day. [Now] I get a lot more time off, there are a lot more headaches. We have 68 employees. We started with eight or nine. We’re going to add a couple more. We’re going to do a Japanese fusion in the café at nighttime.
How would you describe yourself as a boss?
Some people have a lot of problems with me. Some people say, “Wow, you’re a lot easier than I heard you would be.” If you can do your job, you really don’t have any problems with me. I tell people, “Think about what you’re doing, and have a reason.”
Did you have any reservations about the name Bittersweet Bistro?
My wife did. We argued about it quite frequently. We put up pictures of desserts in the windows, and everyone kept coming in and saying it was going to be another coffee shop. The metaphor is for the bittersweet of life, the bittersweet of business. You love the business, but it takes all your energy.
What’s your favorite salad?
Hands-down, our roasted fig salad. With a hazelnut dressing, gorgonzola, and we’re using orange segments now. We’re using pomegranates later on. It’s dynamite.
