San Jose: Mini Gourmet makes a big comeback 4 years after a fire closed the diner

The Mini Gourmet mystery is over.

For four years, thousands of people had been driving past this classic San Jose diner on their way to Interstate 280, or to San Jose City College, or to Valley Medical Center, many of them thinking the same thing:

What’s up with that place?

A November 2019 fire had left the interior damaged but the exterior intact. The restaurant at Bascom and Moorpark avenues was fenced off, with no indication whether a tear-down or a reopening was in the offing — until recently, when work crews were spotted and “coming soon” signs sprang up, to the delight of former customers.

Now, after a long pandemic closure followed by an even longer renovation process, Mini Gourmet is back in the business of omelettes, pancakes, tuna melts, burgers, homemade soup and other comfort food.

Owner-chef Florence Khuu, who goes by Flo, felt an obligation to bring back the Mini-G. She said everyone told her, “This is iconic. You can’t close it up.”

The diner dates back to 1965. “Everything was old, so we had to upgrade,” she said. “That’s why it took us forever. It was painful. But the pain will pay off.”

In a way, it already has. Flo said the “back and forth, back and forth” of contractors and city permit officials gave her and her kitchen crew a chance to perfect some new recipes and upgrade others. For example, “The chicken-fried steak (made with certified Angus) is really good! And now we bake the biscuits in-house.”

And, because she closed her Pho Mai #2 down the street, she made sure to keep some of those favorites, including bowls of pho with free-range chicken or Angus sirloin, spring rolls and Vietnamese coffee.

On the official opening day Thursday, longtime customers flocked here to check out the place — and greet the effervescent Flo and the returning staffers.

Colleagues Esther Aguirre, of San Jose, and Ana Rodrigues, of Los Banos, were happy to resume their occasional morning get-together before their LabCorp shifts start.

“I’ve been driving by every day. Is it open? Is it open?” said Aguirre, who lives nearby. In particular, she wanted to know if the weekend prime rib special would return to the menu. (Flo said maybe in the future when she can expand the hours.)

Also keeping an eye on the restaurant’s progress was local resident RoiAnn Thompson, who stopped by for breakfast when the electricity went out at her home. She’s retired from San Jose City College, a big source of prior business for the restaurant. “We came over here frequently for lunch,” she said.

At a nearby table, three retired South Bay truckers — all born and raised here — started reminiscing after finishing up their breakfasts (corned beef hash for one, ham and eggs for another and a waffle for the one whose wife doesn’t care for waffles so he has to take advantage of the opportunity when he goes out).