Legendary La Forêt sold to local restaurateurs
Two South Bay restaurateurs — brothers with a love of history and fine dining — are the new owners of La Forêt, the upscale restaurant in San Jose’s Almaden Valley that closed in March when its longtime chef-owner retired.
Maurizio (Maurice) and Giuseppe Carrubba plan some minor renovations before reopening the restaurant in the fall, according to Maurice and former owner John Davoudi.
To the delight of loyal fans, the Carrubbas are retaining the La Forêt name, the French/Continental menu, much of the kitchen staff and popular maitre d’ Sami Deeb, who has worked there since 1982.
“It’s a great day in New Almaden,” nearby resident Sharon Pfeiffer said upon hearing the news. And customer Joe Haar, a Silicon Valley businessman who started at La Forêt as a busboy, announced: “With the kitchen crew and Sami intact, the legacy lives on!”.
That’s Maurice Carrubba intention. “I love history. And I’m an old soul. … We want to carry on the tradition,” he said.
The La Forêt building, which dates to 1848, becomes the second historic Santa Clara Valley property the brothers have taken over, with an eye on preservation. In 2015, they purchased the Mount Hamilton Grandview, the 1884 roadhouse-turned-restaurant located in the east foothills, from the Ciciarelli family.
“When people have poured their whole lives into these places, they want to know, ‘Are you going to continue what we’ve been doing?’ ” Maurice said.
In the case of the Grandview, the Carrubbas have done that, keeping on the menu what had been the restaurant’s signature entree for decades, prime rib, and the classic cheesecake, while adding a long list of Italian entrees for which they had become known. (Sicilian-born, the brothers also own Osteria in downtown Palo Alto and their family runs Caffe Riace in south Palo Alto.)
At La Forêt, they plan to keep serving the diners’ favorite French and continental dishes (and yes, the Grand Marnier souffle), along with some new dishes and perhaps weekly specials, and build upon the tradition of wild game. “La Forêt really put that on the map,” Maurice said. “We’re going to expand that program.”
La Forêt was the first two-story hotel in California and originally housed workers from the quicksilver mines, according to the restaurant’s website. It operated as a boardinghouse until the 1930s, when it become the Cafe Del Rio. That restaurant operated for about 40 years. Davoudi and partner Mike Mashayekh made it La Forêt in 1978, two years after they opened Le Papillon in San Jose.
The restaurant quickly became the go-to place in the Almaden Valley for special occasions.
“The Davoudi family did such an amazing job of making everyone who walked through the doors feel welcome,” said Pam Headley, who ate several “last meals” at La Forêt during the final weeks of business. “It will be great if the new owners can capture some of that as well.”
Davoudi said he had spoken to a few other prospective buyers but was impressed by the Carrubbas’ knowledge of the restaurant business and their interest in maintaining the essence of what La Forêt had been for 39 years.
“That is the outcome I was dreaming of,” he said. “I wish them much success.”
Contact Linda Zavoral at 408-920-5960.