WORKING -- Christopher Ayayo

HE IS

Mixing more than drinks.

EXPLORING OPTIONS

Christopher Ayayo is mixing family with business and his profession as

a lawyer with his job as a bartender.

Ayayo and his wife Deborah Young became partners recently in her

parents’ Costa Mesa restaurant, the Bamboo Terrace.

Cathy and Dennis Young have run the Bamboo Terrace Chinese restaurant

since 1971. Christopher and Deborah were both working as lawyers in the

Bay Area, but were looking to leave the corporate world and the pressure,

commutes and long hours that came with it.

“I was just getting sick of it,” Christopher Ayayo said.

The two of them began thinking about starting a business of their own

that they both could enjoy and went so far as to start pricing

restaurants in the area.

IN THE FAMILY

At the same time, Deborah Young’s parents needed help with Bamboo

Terrace, which was feeling the effects of its age and increased

competition.

Dennis and Cathy had raised a family running the Bamboo Terrace, but

there were things that needed to change. Cathy Young still added up the

night’s earnings manually, going ticket by ticket, and ordered one bottle

of wine for the restaurant at a time.

It was a method that worked more than 20 years ago, but times were

changing. There were many loyal customers, but they were also aging.

Cathy and Dennis asked for their children’s help.

LEAVING THE CORPORATE WORLD

Christopher and Deborah quit their jobs as lawyers and used their life

savings to give the Bamboo Terrace a much-needed face lift.

With the help of Deborah’s brother, David, who is in construction,

they did most of the remodeling themselves. Sometimes they pulled

all-nighters, painting and doing demolition work, then napping on a booth

so that we would be there to open the restaurant, Christopher Ayayo said.

“We wanted to give a fresh look to an old concept and the

stereotypical concept of a Chinese restaurant,” Ayayo said. “We wanted to

remake that based on our own experiences and emphasize that Asian

Americans have come a long way.”

The restaurant now has a computer system, an updated bar and

entertainment every weekend.

A SECOND CALLING

Along the way, Christopher discovered a strange thing -- he loved

bartending.

Although he has returned to the practice of law and runs his own law

business on 17th Street, Christopher continues to tend bar at the

restaurant every night.

“It’s a good complement to practicing law,” he said.

It’s true that people tell bartenders their problems, he added. And

tending bar has become an unexpected source of referrals for Christopher.

There are also the benefits to Christopher’s own mental health. If

people hated him as a lawyer, they love him as a bartender.

“Here, diners and patrons come in and they want to have a nice

experience,” Christopher said. “They want to have a good time. When

you’re a lawyer, you’re always fighting with someone. It’s adversarial.”

Mixing drinks has had a positive experience on Christopher’s soul.

He’s not only an entertainer, he’s a therapist and friend.

“And no one says anything back at you -- no one gets mouthy at you,”

he said.