Getty's New Vintage
A mountain lodge is just the latest venture of Billy Getty and partner
Gavin Newsom.
Faster than daffodils in spring, the logo of Plump Jack seems to
be popping up throughout the San Francisco Bay area. It first appeared
four years ago on a wine shop in the city's Cow Hollow neighborhood.
Soon it was emblazoned upon a restaurant next door, then a nearby
café, as well as a dizzying array of products: T-shirts,
chocolates, boxer shorts, even condoms. Now it has just appeared
some hundred miles to the east, with the opening of the Plump Jack
Squaw Valley Inn, near Lake Tahoe.
Plump Jack is one of San Francisco's more dynamic young success
stories. Although their respective families have given their support,
it's the brainchild of Billy Getty, 25, and Gavin Newsom, 28. Best
friends since childhood, the two grew up learning a number of lessons
from their fathers, who are also best friends. As the elder Getty
and Newsom are serious wine connoisseurs, the sons developed into
earnest oenophiles.
But even with a name like Getty in San Francisco, it isn't always
easy to do what you'd like. The pony-tailed, six-foot, six-inch
Getty remembers the attempts he and Newsom made to educate themselves
when they were barely out of prep school. "We went to every
wine store in the Bay area. When we walked in in our baseball caps
and jeans, everyone told us, 'We don't sell beer, that's the corner
store, boys.'
"We were disrespected," Getty sniffs. No longer. Just
a few years later, he and his partner not only control a thriving
business, but they have shaken up the very entrenched world of wine.
"We wanted to develop a younger generation of wine enthusiasts
and avoid the snobbery that is wine," says Newsom. To that
end, the young men are beating the pants off the competition. The
shop on Fillmore Street has become arguably the city's leading wine
source. In addition to a definitive selection of the top vintages
from California and Europe, Plump Jack offers 200 wines under $10.
"We'll match any price; 90 percent of our wines are discounted-we
often beat Safeway," says Newsom. "Since we opened, three
of the major retailers in the city have gone out of business, citing
us as one of the reasons."
The wine world was even more riled up two years ago, when the two
opened up their Plump Jack restaurant, which features something
unheard of: no markup on wine, which is sold at retail prices. "We
had been so sickened by the wine prices in restaurants," says
Newsom. "They usually marked up two or three times-it's an
egregious practice." So a couple of things happened when Plump
Jack started selling, say, Silver Oak, for $31 while the restaurants
down their streets were charging $60: "The customers loved
it, and the other restaurateurs and the wineries were furious. A
rash of them complained."
But as Billy Getty adds, "Then, a few months later, they all
called to ask how we did it."
Key to the success of all the enterprises has been a unique design
sensibility. On board from the beginning was the Modesto, California-based
team of Craig Leavitt and Stephen Weaver. Leavitt/Weaver conceived
a playful, stage-set-like atmosphere for all the ventures. The look
is both original and amusing. "Billy and Gavin trusted us to
do something unusual for them," says Leavitt. "They pretty
much stepped out of the process and allowed us to go in a whole
new direction."
Billy's parents, Gordon and Ann Getty, were so impressed with Leavitt/Weaver's
work that they hired the team to work for them, too. The designers
turned the Getty's much-used 727 (known around San Francisco as
the "Jetty") into what is said to be one of the world's
most stylish aircrafts. Leavitt/Weaver is now helping to redo the
family's Pacific Heights mansion (so long, Sister Parish). They
have also produced an extensive line of furniture, available through
Randolph and Hein and other showrooms across the country.
In Squaw Valley, Leavitt/ Weaver turned what was once a fairly prosaic
ski lodge into a splendid place to stay. Constructed for the 1960
Winter Olympics, the building had a series of owners, until ultimately
falling into the portfolio of Gordon Getty. Although the place occupies
a breathtaking setting in the Sierra Nevadas, it had never been
anything to write home about. Billy Getty and Newsom recognized
its potential, however. The elder Getty was soon presented with
a business plan. "We believe the present management is not
in your best interest. We believe we should take over the property
because we have no qualifications whatsoever," wrote the budding
entrepreneurs.
The just-reopened 60-room inn features a branch of the San Francisco
restaurant. In addition to its highly rated food, there is, naturally,
the same wine selection, including some 30 California labels by
the glass.
"We're passionate about promoting California wines. We feel
that, when all is said and done, California wines clobber the rest
of the world," says Getty. He also contends that quality doesn't
have to cost a lot of money. "If you know what you're doing,
you can spend $5 at the Safeway and have a drinkable wine. If you
want a really offensive wine, you've got to pay for it."
But he's still looking for respect-for his state. "At the wine
expo in Bordeaux last year, the California winers were treated like
a rodeo, there was complete condescension."
Meanwhile, Plump Jack keeps growing. The company recently purchased
and revamped the venerable Balboa Café, the Mortimer's of
San Francisco. A winery and a chain of coffee shops are due soon.
Starbucks, watch out.
Nobody seems happier about the success than Gordon Getty. "It's
a lot of fun to see the entrepreneurial spirit bubbling up in the
Getty clan again," says the billionaire, who has devoted most
of his time to composing music and writing economic papers. Ann
Getty-on a dig in Ethiopia, pursuing her current passion for anthropology-was
unavailable for comment. According to Billy, however, she is "very
enthusiastic" about his business ventures. "But she's
all over me for everything else," adds the young man, who was
graduated from Groton, attended Brown for a couple years and is
now taking courses in ancient Greek at Berkeley.
Originally, the elder Getty (who is one of many Plump Jack backers)
urged the boys to be cautious, however. "I offered no more
input than any other daddy, but I told them restaurants were dangerous
businesses that are easy to go broke in. However, I said, 'I'll
lend you money, as long as you work hard. Because even if you lose,
you'll learn something.'"
A few years later, even patriarch J. Paul Getty might be smiling
at the results. "I've got my money back," says Gordon.
"And by now the boys have such a good track record, I expect
to see more black ink."-James Reginato
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