Jan Mezoui, right, is keeping Zino's Ristorante & Inn in Kelseyville, Calif., open and thriving with the help of her family, including her granddaughter Katie Anderson. Mezoui's husband, Zino, a noted local chef, was killed in a hit-and-run collision while riding his motorcycle on September 24, 2010. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Many people have big dreams, but it's a special person who has a dream that touches and inspires others, even in the toughest of times.

People who knew Zino Mezoui agree that he was that kind of a special person, whose passion and enthusiasm enveloped those who came in contact with him.

On Sept. 24, the 57-year-old restaurateur took his motorcycle out for a long-awaited ride on Highway 29. During the ride, he was hit and mortally injured in a hit-and-run crash.

The tragedy for his family became a tragedy for the community.

An incredible outpouring of grief and appreciation followed his death, and hundreds gathered to remember him at his memorial service at the restaurant this fall.

Since her husband's death, Jan Mezoui has been dealing not only with the grief of losing a beloved husband, she's also attended court appearances for the man accused of hitting him, 31-year-old James Nightingale, who has remained in jail since turning himself in five days after the crash.

But her primary goal is keeping open the restaurant that she and her husband opened in 2007, Zino's Ristorante & Inn, located at 6330 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.

While Zino isn't there manning the kitchen, the restaurant has continued to serve its patrons as it always has. In fact, the restaurant was open the same night Zino died – with the doors opening for dinner before Jan even had been notified that her husband had died at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

After the death of a loved one, especially in such a traumatic fashion, it might be considered natural to want to pack it in.

But not Jan.

“I had no thoughts about closing because we worked four years really hard to get it to where it's at,” she said of the ristorante, which overlooks Soda Bay.

Closing down and giving up would be a disservice to Zino – who envisioned making the lakeside restaurant into something truly special – and to the customers, she said.

Customers have been extremely supportive “and very happy that I'm still here,” she said.

Zino may be gone, but he's certainly not forgotten. His warmth, kindness and generosity had endeared him to a countless number of friends and admirers both in Lake County and elsewhere.

His presence at his restaurant remains – in the food, the service and the family who is carrying on his dream. On one wall, there is a drawing of the Disney characters Lady and the Tramp sharing a plate of his pasta, with a cartoon Zino looking on.

While the restaurant business is a tough one – perhaps the toughest, said Jan, who has owned a variety of businesses, including Richmond Park in the 1970s – she enjoys it.

Jan's father was a chef and she's always enjoyed cooking herself, so the restaurant business has been a good fit. “And I love people,” she added.

When Jan and Zino met in 2001, he was just getting out of the restaurant business. He'd been the successful owner for 25 years of the Sonoma-based Zino on the Plaza.

The couple built a new home in Sonoma and also purchased a home in Buckingham, where they began to spending increasingly more time.

Finally, they decided to sell the Sonoma house and make Lake County their permanent home. “We just decided we didn't need two big houses,” she said.

Once settled into their home in Lake County, it wasn't long before Zino wanted to get back to work, Jan said.

Zino – with his seemingly boundless energy and passion – looked back at the restaurant business, and they purchased the restaurant and inn, with its beautiful lakeside location. Previous to the purchase it had housed a British pub.

Two months after buying the restaurant and inn, it was open for business, just in time for the July 4 holiday in 2007, Jan said.

“It was a whirlwind for two months,” she said, recalling how everything in the kitchen had to be rebuilt, with all new equipment installed.

On July 2, they posted the “open” sign, and within a few hours the place was packed, she said.

Along with Lake County residents, Jan said many Sonoma County residents who visited the area or had second homes here knew Zino and flocked to the business.

Moving forward

With private evening parties, luncheons and the usual busy evenings, Jan said business has been steady in the months since Zino's death.

The menu – which bears Zino's distinctive touch – is remaining the same. The food is all based on Zino's own creations, said Jan. “Thank goodness, we have the recipes.”

The restaurant offers some unique dishes like pescatore – a mix of clams, mussels, shrimp and fish, served over pasta in a light cream sauce. They also occasionally serve cioppino, and are known for dishes with great sauces, as well as steaks and desserts.

Jan is aided in the work of running the restaurant by her family.

Her daughter-in-law assists with busing tables, and two of her sons are helping out as are two of her granddaughters, who are servers.

Granddaughter Katie Anderson can be seen hard at work at the restaurant in the evenings, cheerfully and efficiently taking orders, and chatting with customers. She's also the restaurant's dessert maker.

“She was pretty much trained by Zino,” said Jan.

“That I was,” said Anderson, putting on her apron ahead of the dinner crowd's arrival on a recent evening.

Jan plans to enlarge the small bar area into a cocktail lounge and offer a small plate menu.

“Zino and I talked about this before he was killed,” she said.

In addition to the restaurant, the property has three large inn rooms for rent for around $79 a night, said Jan, noting that the inn was regularly full when Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa was open and hosting shows. The resort's closing “impacted everybody,” she said.

The restaurant also offers live music Fridays through Mondays. Performers include pianist David Neft on Saturday nights, and Kevin Stone playing keyboard and flute accompanied by his girlfriend on steel guitar on Sundays and Mondays.

There's plenty coming up at Zino's. Their new chef will start later this month, they'll be open for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and also on New Year's Day, when they'll hold their inaugural “Polar Bear Plunge.”

Jan said she gets rave reviews from customers for food, atmosphere and service. The emphasis, she said, is on service and good food, like Zino wanted it.

Zino used to greet customers with a hug. Jan said she now tells people she gets two hugs.

“I love all my customers,” she said.

The restaurant is open Thursday through Monday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the winter.

Visit Zino's Ristorante & Inn online at http://www.zinoclearlake.com/ or call them at 707-279-1620.

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