Local restaurant keeps faithful following

Walk into Jack & Rosie's and you immediately become family - likely receiving a hug from owner Julie Zapata along with your steak.

And who knows, perhaps the spirit of original owner Jack Mielke will put in an appearance.

He likes to turn on the music, Zapata said, the same Frank Sinatra tunes that were popular when Mielke presided over the longtime restaurant.

Running a restaurant isn't quite what Zapata envisioned for herself as a little girl. "I wanted to be a bank teller or an airline stewardess and have seven children."

Still, being the proprietress of a restaurant suits her.

"I've always been interested in business. I love to travel. Here I meet people from all over the world. And I like people. I'm a huggy person. I greet people by their first name and with a hug. I love that when I go someplace."

Besides, she said, she's looking forward to the 100th anniversary of Jack & Rosie's that was started in 1935.

Zapata figures one reason the restaurant has remained a favorite with a faithful following is because of the consistency - same menu, same music, same name.

"People come in and they're so happy to see everything maintained," she said. "And they have good memories. They come in and it's like they were just here yesterday and maybe it's been five years."

Two couples have come in for dinner faithfully every Thursday, Zapata said. And they sit at the same table.

"I made the mistake once of giving their table away. I won't do that again," she said with a smile.

Several couples come in on their anniversaries in remembrance of their proposal at the restaurant. But younger people also are discovering Jack & Rosie's.

Along with tradition, the  restaurant offers a quiet elegance with white tablecloths, a fresh rose on each table and candles.

"With the rain we recently had, the lights went out," Zapata said. "So I announced we were having a real candlelight dinner. Everyone clapped."

It was three years ago this month that Zapata and her brother, Joey Reardon, signed the paperwork to take over the restaurant from their Aunt Rosa, the second wife of Jack Mielke. Both had worked in the restaurant in the past.

"One day I got a phone call that she had the paperwork ready and we went into business," Zapata said.

 "I was more emotional than she was," Zapata said of her aunt. "I was the one with the tears. It was hard to see her let it go. She worked here 26 years."

Two years ago, Reardon bought Dos Centavos and focuses on that while Zapata runs Jack & Rosie's. It's still a family business, she said, but now it's her family - her three children are working in the restaurant with her.

Reflecting back over the years, Zapata had a quite a journey to business owner.

She was raised in Yuma by her grandparents. She graduated from Yuma High School in 1981 and attended Arizona Western College for a semester, then went to work for Customs. At the suggestion of her supervisor and mentor, she joined the Navy for four years.

"I wanted to travel and see the world," she explained. She was stationed for two years in the Philippines, during which time she was able to visit several countries.

Upon her return to Yuma, she went to work for Immigration, then Customs again. In the meantime, she joined the National Guard and became a member of the 855th Military Police Company. That took her on many missions around the state, the country and the world, including a year in Iraq in 2003-2004."That's where I spent my 40th birthday. I was supposed to be on a cruise."

A widow since 2001, she left her three children - ages 12, 10 and 9 at the time - with her mother while she was gone. Jeff Duran, a good friend from second grade, also helped with the children, taking them on a vacation and school shopping.

Zapata said that year in Iraq was difficult, with harsh conditions, combat situations and being a woman in that culture.

She returned to Yuma in April 2004 and by the next month had her real estate license. She had taken the courses before deploying and she credits Colleen Newman with helping get her license even though it had been over a year.

"I went to work for RE/MAX and did very well," Zapata said.

With the real estate downturn, she's been grateful to have the restaurant, although that, too, is seeing the effects of the economy.

Still, she counts her blessings and has every intention of seeing the restaurant turn 100.

"It's been a good life. I go to church every Sunday and I'm very grateful to my grandparents and my friends and customers.

After all, she said, "I've seen the most ugly of ugly (in Iraq). That's why I'm so positive."

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.