It will be the same place, the same menu and the same great food next time you eat at San Carlos.

But there will be new owners for the popular island icon. After 31 years in business, Lee and Marianne Jorgensen are selling their restaurant to Dean and Kristin Gellert. The new ownership is effective on Jan. 1.

“It’s just time,” said Lee Jorgensen. “But we aren’t leaving the island. We’ll still be around.”

They’re leaving the restaurant in good hands. Dean Gellert has been employed at the restaurant for 14 years, and has been the general manager for the past five years.

The Jorgensens moved to Bainbridge Island in 1982. At the time, Lee was working as the food and beverage director at the Rainier Club in Seattle. He also worked at the Sorrento Hotel.

“The long hours and the commute became unbearable,” he said. “So we decided to look for a restaurant to buy on the island.”

They found their current location, 279 Madison Ave. N., when it was for lease. At the time it was an Irish tea room and gift shop. They contacted the owner, Roy Egaas, but found they were in line with nine other people who wanted the location.

“He liked our qualifications,” said Lee. “He knew we knew the restaurant business. So he picked us.”

While Lee could cook anything, they chose Mexican fare — it’s now famously known for its Nuevo-Mexican/Southwestern style  — because he and Marianne travel often to the southwest states and Mexico.

They did a preliminary remodel and opened on May 20, 1984. At the time there was a convenience store where city hall now sits, and the athletic club was a bowling alley.

“We had a soft opening for friends on a Sunday evening and then opened for real on Monday,” Lee said. “People flooded in. And it was a tidal wave for about the first year.”

In those days, there were so few restaurants on the island that most people would go to Seattle for dinner out, he said.

Their restaurant soon gained a loyal following. They bought the building outright in 1987 and have built several additions to the original building. Now the restaurant has a separate dinning area, private rooms for parties and a 21-and-older bar.

Because they are one of the only restaurants on the island with a generator, they’ve been the go-to place when the power goes out.

Throughout the years, the Jorgensens have kept their commitment to use only local fresh ingredients, serve great margaritas, and help the community.

“We’ve always tried to hire students as our servers,” Lee said.

They’ve usually had about 20 part-time positions and 10 full-time employees.

“It’s worked out great because we get them as sophomores and keep them for three years and then they go off to college and we scramble to get a new staff.”

The business has contributed to many school fundraisers and charitable organizations. Each year, they book their patio tables — at about $300 each — for the Fourth of July parade which passes right by their place. And then they give the proceeds to charity. They’ve given hundreds of gift certificates to organizations looking to raise money.

Dean never worked at San Carlos as a student. Neither did Kristin. It was about 14 years ago, in 2001, when Dean was out of work and asked Lee for a job.

“I’d been in the dot com world, and, when it tanked, I thought I’d just get a short-term job to hold me over,” Dean said. “But I never left.”

Dean and his wife are both local kids who were athletes and graduated from Bainbridge High, but didn’t know each other then.

Dean learned the business first-hand from Lee and Marianne, and became a master bartender. That’s where he met his wife.

“I lived down the street, but I didn’t have cable,” Kristin said. “So I’d come here and sit at the bar and watch TV.”

Eventually she and Dean became a couple, married  with two sons now (Darryl, 18 months old, Brevin, 6 months old).

Since becoming general manager, Dean said he’s been telling Lee and Marianne that when they were ready to sell, he was ready to buy.

That time came just recently when the Jorgensens decided they wanted to have more time to travel and play golf.

“It was really important to us to carry on the family feel of this place,” said Marianne. “We are really proud of this business and want to turn our business over to Dean and Kristin who have the qualities they need to continue to make this place successful.”

Both couples agree that consistency is the key to success in the restaurant business.

“Consistency of the quality of the food and the service,” said Lee. “And you need to be multi-talented. You have to know how to fix things, how to deal with people, how to keep the books — all those things figure in.”

The Jorgensens know they’ll miss the business. Both their son and daughter have worked there, but have since moved away from Bainbridge Island.

They’re happy that they’ve got a commitment from the Gellerts to keep the same menu, even the fish tacos which, when they were first added in the 1990s, got many a strange reaction.

“We’d been to Ensenada (Mexico) and there was this guy on the corner selling fish tacos from a small cart,” Lee said. “We stood there all day eating them and drinking beers.”

And when they returned home, they added them to their menu, using fresh local fish and grilling or sautéing instead of frying the fish.

Another thing that’s not going anywhere is Marianne’s signature margarita.

“It’s made with a silver tequila,” she said. “But I’m not giving out the recipe.”

Lee and Marianne said they are very appreciative of the Bainbridge Island community that has been so loyal to them.

“It’s been so great to watch Bainbridge grow, and to grow up with these families,” Lee said. “Now the children we knew when we began are bringing their children here to eat. We just want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts.”

San Carlos

The restaurant will maintain it’s current hours of 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays, closing at 10 p.m. on weekends. They also open at 11:30 a.m. on Fridays and serve lunch.

To celebrate the change of hands, Dean and Kristin plan to open on New Year’s Day. They will also have extended happy hours until closing from Jan. 4 to 10.

To find out more and see a complete menu, go to www.sancarlosgrill.com.