Gumba’s Italian Restaurant: A Sunnyvale tradition carries on legacy
Like many people before and since, Gumba’s Italian Restaurant owner Tony Valle moved to Silicon Valley in 2000 to make a living in high tech.
An electrical engineer, he joined a startup. It went under after about three years later, but not before Tony became familiar with the charms of Gumba’s, which had been around since 1989 or 1990. When Gumba’s opened, there was but one other operating restaurant operating in what is now a thriving foodie paradise in historic downtown Sunnyvale.
When the startup folded, Tony switched gears and started selling investments. That was OK until 2008, when the subprime mortgage crisis hit.
The housing market went into the tank amid rampant foreclosures. Suddenly, even Silicon Valley didn’t have a lot money floating around. The capital dried up, and the few investors out there were skittish, not knowing where the bottom was. However, Tony knew the crisis also couched opportunities for those wise enough to exploit them, and he was looking for them.
A baker’s son buys Gumba’s
When one of his connections told him Gumba’s founder Bob Sadri was looking to bail out of his restaurant amid the hard industry slowdown, Tony — who grew up working in his parents’ bakery — saw his opportunity to fulfill a dream.
“I always wanted to own my own restaurant,” he says. So, he bought Gumba’s at what he calls a “fire sale” price in 2012. It was losing money, but he was confident he could turn it around as time slowly improved.
“The thing that was most attractive to me about Gumba’s,” the Sunnyvale resident says, “was that it’s been kind of an iconic place in Sunnyvale for generations. … I wanted to continue the legacy of the founder — good food and good service.”
That’s pretty much what he’s done — often under the watchful eye of Sadri, who was a regular morning customer for years after he sold Gumba’s to Tony.
Good food and good service, of course, pretty much never go out of style, so Tony hasn’t much tinkered with the menu or service model. The fresh ingredients and homemade pastas and sauces, as well as the checkered tablecloths, remain intact. He did add delivery and catering, online ordering and a few more options to the already extensive menu.
Pasta, pizza, salad and seafood
Other than that, a visit to Gumba’s is pretty much same experience Sunnyvale residents and downtown workers have long loved. Pasta, pizza, salads and seafood dishes, he says, still account for 85 percent of his business.
Guests can also order beer and wine, and Tony offers a few promotional specials and a selection of signature dishes.
If you’ve missed out on the Gumba’s experience, or haven’t been back in a while, why don’t you come by and see what the fuss is about? It’s a delightful rock of tradition standing strong against the surging waves of change that characterize Silicon Valley. Say ciao to Tony.
Gumba’s Italian Restaurant is located at 176 S. Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale. Call 408-737-8384. Breakfast served from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Live music the first three Thursdays of every month from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. www.gumbas.com