Javier’s in Century City Opens

By Robert Gagnier

Robert Gagnier-Can you introduce yourself to the readers of Century City News?

Omar Sosa- My name is Omar Sosa. I have been with Javier’s Restaurant now for 22 years. I originally started back in the original Laguna Beach location, and we are excited about opening here in Century City.

RG-Javier’s is coming over to Century City with a built-in reputation that is legendary to the beach communities here in Southern California. Like your father, you have worked many years to get where you are now. What is that you feel will ultimately separate Javier’s from so many other great restaurants here in Los Angeles, the west side, and particularly Century City-given the fact that there are now additional nearby options because of the new renovation to the mall?

OS-Well we try to make every single dining experience for our customers a unique and special one. We pride ourselves on quality and service-that is what we have tried to represent from the get go. So, when guests come to our restaurant for lunch or dinner we expect them to leave our restaurant happy and full! That is our number one priority.

RG-The local crowds that will frequent your location here in Century City will no doubt differ in some respects from the patrons that your beach locations have drawn. How do you plan on rising to the challenge that may await your employees here, given that Century City is practically ground zero to the likes of powerful entertainment executives, producers, agencies and stars? In short, how on God’s green earth are you going to deal with the mega egos, to say nothing of the snoopy TMZ guys?

OS-Well we have two rooms that will accommodate various VIP’s who may wish to have some degree of privacy, or total anonymity. The first room in the middle of the restaurant seats roughly twenty-two guests who can have their own separate function, be it business related or celebratory in nature.

Then we have Javier’s Room, which will offer and individual and his or her guests completely privacy- and seats about sixteen. Javier’s room will offer total secrecy-no one can see you coming in or out! If someone wants that degree of privacy, they will be escorted through one of two entrances, and walk right through the kitchen!

RG- So; in short, the folks seeking to dine inside Javier’s’ Room will be well on their way to the single most exclusive dining room in Hollywood? Nice. lol

OS-But to be honest with you, we want to treat all of customers with the same level of professionalism and respect. We do understand that we are in L.A. and Hollywood and we will get our fair share of celebrities coming in. And we will meet their level of expectations and give the level of service and treatment that they have come to expect. We are also going to treat the everyday person with VIP treatment as well.

RG-When exactly did you start with the company, what was that original position?

OS-I was fifteen when I started working at Javier’s and my first ever position was that of host. I stayed with this restaurant throughout high school and part of college. When I turned twenty-four we opened another Javier’s in Irvine, and the owner asked if I wanted to be a manger for that location. I said yes, and he proceeded to take me under his wing. He has pretty much taught me everything that I know today. I can tell you that working for this company has been a true blessing. The owner is one of the humblest people you will ever meet. He is a good man, very generous and kind. All the employees here who have worked for him have worked here for years. For example, the managers that will work at the Century City location all look young such as Ernesto is twenty-five. But he has been with the restaurant since he was seventeen. He has that excellent restaurant presence and super energy. As far as the varying degree of egos that may or may not walk through the doors, we’ll be ready. Back in 2012 we opened in Las Vegas and that experience in and of itself prepared us for just about anything! We’ll be fine! We dealt every day with casino high rollers who all felt that they were entitled to special treatment, especially after they lost perhaps $10k or more that day! But I think that if we do what we do best from a customer service standpoint, and treat all our guests as first-class patrons, we’ll be all right.

Q&A continues with the owner of Javier’s, Javier Sosa…

RG-Javier your story of coming from very humble beginnings is well documented. You continue to inspire levels of loyalty from your workers that is the envy of many restaurant owners-both private and corporate. What is it that you feel separates Javier’s from a lot of the other restaurants that you will compete with here in the Westfield Mall in Century City?

Javier Sosa-It’s hard for me to give you specific reasons as to why employees are so loyal here. Perhaps you can ask them, but we do things different here than at most restaurants- we run it as a family operation. We still have people who have been with us for over 30, 35, and 40 years. Coming from me it may not sound as good-but what we do we do it with a lot of love and passion. Our mission since the very beginning was to not to become the best Mexican restaurant, but rather the best restaurant, period. And so, I have been very fortunate and blessed to be surrounded by people who have been so loyal to the brand over the years, and we are here because of them.

RG-Do you see any different challenges that may face you and your employees here in Century City?

JS-I don’t see any special problems or challenges whatsoever. Before we opened in the Las Vegas MGM, we had many meetings. And their mentality was basically, "Javier, you know you can’t run your restaurant here the way you do back in Orange County”. I can tell you that I didn’t change things one bit. I didn’t change our overall philosophy or anything. And we are blessed in that we have become the busiest restaurant in Vegas. And so, we met the challenge in Las Vegas because we believed in ourselves and our brand. You know, everywhere you go in Vegas you can be surrounded by big chips, big money players, high rollers, you name it. But at the end of the day, what makes Javier’s succeed there is the same that will enable us to succeed here. We are like family and I can tell you that our workers can leave Javier’s and go anywhere in the restaurant industry. We know that our loyal patrons from Laguna Beach, Irvine, and other locations are going to come out and support us. But my challenge is not to worry about who comes through that door, but rather to make sure that we have the right people working for us here in Century City. We are going to create the same ambiance and vibe in this location as it is in the others. I am not afraid of any challenge as far as customers go. My challenge is to make sure my managers, servers, bartenders, and hosts are ready to provide world class customer service-therein lies the challenge!