Management

Jardines is presently operated by siblings Angelina Santana and Valentin Santana, lead by General Manager Linda Friedman. But no one alone can take credit for the operation of Jardines, it takes the hard work and efforts of a lot of longtime team members like Nicolas, Pablo, Moises and Joseph and our Chef Asencion Vargas. These longtime members of the "Jardines family" along with the rest of our team work very hard and always meet the challenges we all meet. Many thanks to all of them!

Our goal is to always provide that high quality entree in a clean enjoyable atmosphere, and have it served with a smile.

Jardines was estblished in 1977 by husband and wife Manuel and Alice Santana of Aptos, Ca. With Manuel's love for fine Mexican Cuisine and art and Alice's talents for business, they decided to open a little restaurant in Aptos, Ca. called "Manuel's Mexican Restaurant" in 1965. It didn't take long to figure out that their love for fine Mexican Cuisine and bold display of elaborate colors were enjoyed by many.

After 5 years of successfully operating "Manuel's", they purchased an old movie theater in San Juan Bautista, and after years of hard work on the old buildings and grounds, they opened Jardines de San Juan in 1977. Manuel planted the shade trees, laid the bricks, established the garden beds all while running Manuel's.

In 1998 Manuel handed over the operation fo Jardines to his son Leonardo and his wife Patricia. Leonardo returned back to the family business after gaining years of experience running other restaurants in California as well as in Europe. He was in charge of operations while Patricia, with a degree in business and hospitality management ensured that the administration ran smoothly.

In late summer of 2011, close to Angelina's 25th birthday, Leonardo's niece Angelina Santana and her brother Valentin Santana took over stewardship of Jardines de San Juan to continue the Santana family legacy and they are now the third generation of Santana's carrying on the vision and traditions established by Manuel Santana.

EMPLOYMENT

Jardines is an equal opportunity employer. If you are interested in working for Jardines, please come by and pick up an employment application. After you fill it out, return it any day from 2-5p.m.
Please state what position you are seeking in the appropriate line, do not put "anything" if you are interested in more than one position, state all positions you are interested in.
We hire for: cooks, dishwashers, bussers, bartenders, servers and host(ess). We hire year round but most of our hiring is done between April thru October. This is our busy season. Jardines has always had a large number of long time employees, getting a server position at the time of hire is sometimes very difficult because we usually hire from within our establishment, and its usually bussers, hosts or bartenders who have requested server positions.

Some of the qualities we seek in potential staff members:
- Smiles come easily
- Puts our guests first
- Great attitude and work ethic
- High Standards
- Punctual
- Responsible
- Dedicated
- Well groomed
- Friendly and personable
- Able to work weekends and holidays
- Team Players
- Able to follow instructions correctly
- Able to perform duties quickly and in an orderly manner
- Experience (not required for employment)

If you feel you meet the qualities above and would like to work in the hospitality business, please come on by and pick up an application.