A familiar Los Gatos dining spot will soon have a new tenant: Gardenia, a new café and fine-dining restaurant that will feature premium coffee from around the world and French-Asian cuisine.
Carol Wang, a new Los Gatos resident and one of the owners of Gardenia, said she’s wanted to open a coffee shop for several years now, but when the lease at 115 N. Santa Cruz Ave. opened up last year, she knew it was the right place to bring her vision to life. The historic Victorian mansion was most recently home to The Palms, and before that Palacio, Trillium and The Chart House.
“With this beautiful historic Victorian-style building, no one could resist it,” Wang said.
The latest iteration will have its soft opening on July 27 and its official opening on August 2.
Wang recently moved from Danville to Los Gatos. Before that, she worked as an internal medicine physician in China. Since coming to the United States, Wang said, she has focused on raising her children, but she considers herself a “foodie” and began enjoying coffee and cafe culture about five years ago.
Wang said she plans for Gardenia to specialize in high-quality coffee, offering a full coffee menu, as well as brunch and happy hour, in the first few weeks after opening, then adding a dinner menu by September or October, though they haven’t released the menu yet.
The French-Asian fusion cuisine, she said, was inspired by executive chef David Intonato’s background and Wang’s personal tastes, as well as the high concentration of Asians in the Bay Area and South Bay.
“I grew up in China, so I have Asian roots and I’ve always loved French food too,” she said.
Wang plans to apply this standard of excellence to every aspect of Gardenia – with the participation of 2022 World Barista Champion Morgan Eckroth, 2024 National Brewer’s Cup Champion Weihong Zhang and Latte Art Champion Andrew Choi.
“With this incredible team, we will deliver a truly unique coffee experience to the community,” she said.
The name Gardenia, Wang said, was inspired partly by the elegance of the flower, which she hopes to emulate in the store, and partly by a trip to coffee plantations in Panama, where she discovered that the coffee plant shares a similar scent to the fragrant Gardenia.
“Gardenia Los Gatos will not only introduce the best coffee to customers, to the public, (but) also let them know that there is a beautiful, elegant flower: the gardenia,” Wang said.
Wang envisions Gardenia as a gathering space for members of the Los Gatos community, not only for dining but also for social occasions and corporate meetings.
“We would like the community to come here, and we support the community as well,” she said.
Gardenia will be open for coffee seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and for brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Happy hour will run from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. starting August 6 from Tuesday through Sunday, and hours will change to 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. once the restaurant opens for dinner this fall.
Mayor Mary Badame will be present at the Gardenia ribbon cutting ceremony on August 2 from 5pm to 6pm. Visit gardenialosgatos.com for more information.
