“It Wasn’t ‘Mr. Jordano.’ It was always ‘Pete.’”
We reached out to a number of Pete’s longtime chums and family members and asked them to weigh in on the subject of Pete Jordano. Dodgers bat boy, U.S. Marine, business legend, raconteur; to paraphrase Sinatra, Pete Jordano is a many-splendored thing.
Pete’s Santa Barbara “journey” has been defined by people – business contacts, customers, pals, and passerby. Pete is just the sort of beloved, decade-spanning, omnipresent local one would be tempted to crown the “Unofficial Mayor of Santa Barbara” – but we have the actual mayor of Santa Barbara on record here and don’t want trouble.
Alison Hardey — Owner, Jeannine’s Bakery
I think I was probably eight years old when I met Pete. I was just an innocent little thing, and I was friends with his children. I lived on Mission Ridge Road and he lived on Las Tunas. I went to school with his sons, and we would race down this hill to get to school. And I would see Pete and Gerd and they’d be like, “Slow down guys!” His son Jeff and I used to practice tennis together all the time.
Pete and Gerd watched me grow up almost like one of their own. And so then I ran off and went to Stanford, came back to Santa Barbara and I got involved in this business. Pete has been there looking out for Jeannine’s, looking out for me. ‘Hey, how’s everything doing?’ Over the years, every article we ever had in the newspaper about us, he’d have his secretary cut it out, put it on a plaque and send it to us.
When I was a kid, I just felt like he just looked at me and thought, wow, she’s got something. And you never forget that. And that’s Pete, he’s that teacher. He’s hard, difficult, challenging, doesn’t let you off the hook – but he sees your unique capacity. He believes in people, and he’s there to even back it up.
Pete and Gerd have both done that, and that’s rare. They’re beloved to our community. Pete would always come by my office – “…is there anything I can do to help you?” He was always, always a believer in me.
Ben Scott – Pete’s second cousin once removed, Montecito Bank & Trust Director of Commercial Banking, Jordano’s board Member
So my grandfather and Pete were cousins, same generation in the business. I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved with the company for the last 17, 18 years as a member of Jordano’s board of directors. My dad worked for the company for 30 years.
Pete’s an incredible guy, dynamic guy, an entertaining guy, and he’s got so many great one-liners that are a combination of being spot on, and funny too. I’ve really enjoyed the time that I’ve been able to spend with him, which has been on and off I suppose my whole life, but really in a meaningful way the last 18 to 20 years.
Henry Yang — Chancellor, UCSB
Pete and Gerd are longstanding friends of UC Santa Barbara, and they have so enriched our campus and the broader Santa Barbara community in countless ways through their leadership and generosity.
Pete, together with Gerd, has helped shape the future of our university through his enduring belief in the power of education, athletics, and community. Pete has steadfastly supported our scholar-athletes over the past four decades through his Golden Eagle program, encouraging our students to excel both athletically and academically.
Through his philanthropic support and dedicated service as a former trustee of our UC Santa Barbara Foundation Board for 41 years, he has helped us achieve so much over the years. His involvement, enthusiasm, and heartfelt support continue to inspire all of us. Pete and Gerd are both very special cheerleaders for our community, and we are deeply fortunate to count them among our most treasured members.
Brian Escalera – co-owner, Ellwood at Goleta Beach
I got to know Pete through my father Albert Escalera, they went to Santa Barbara High School together. We also connected through UCSB Athletics, Men’s Basketball in particular. I know what I’m going to get from Pete – the truth, whether I like to hear it or not. He said, “This is the way it is, and if you come to me, then you damn well need to listen to me.” I said, “okay!” [laughs]. My dad’s the same way, has that same belief as far as saying you have to give back; you have to aim at giving and not receiving, and it’ll come back in many ways.
Pete is like my “Gramps.” He is someone who I respect and love very much and look to for advice regarding a multitude of things, especially business. Pete has always made time for me when I have needed his advice. He’s one of the most generous and well-respected individuals in our community and I’m so blessed to have him in my life. Pete, thank you for all you have helped me with throughout the years.
Pete went with his sales rep from Pacific Beverage down to visit one of the stores in Santa Paula. In that store he saw someone in the beer cooler picking up a Coors. Pete told the gentleman to put the Coors back. “I’m the Budweiser distributor and I will pay for your beer as long as you always buy Budweiser from now on.” They went to the counter for Pete to pay, the gentleman thanked Pete for the beer and left. But he must have told his friends ‘the Budweiser guy is in the store and he is buying beer for everyone.’ So while Pete was talking to the manager of the store, a group of men approached and Pete ended up buying beer for everyone. Knowing the man Pete is, it’s – “I can’t buy for one and not the others.” He now no longer goes on the routes with the sales reps. [laughs]
Janet Garufis – President & CEO at Montecito Bank & Trust
I met Pete when I came to Montecito Bank & Trust in November of 2004. And he had been a member of the board for many, many years. Even then, he was one of our longest serving board members after our founders, Jerry Parent and Michael Towbes. I wasn’t a member of the board, but he always had a joke, always had something fun to say, always a compliment.
Pete’s retirement from the board was sort of bittersweet. We loved having him here. There’s no question about his commitment to this community and how important it is to him. I mean, his collection of Old Santa Barbara postcards. They’re famous, right? Pete’s been collecting postcards for, I don’t know how long. He is such a history buff, and he has really told stories through these postcards. He has thousands of them.
He’s a great storyteller, and he would tell stories, especially in loan committee, so our lenders could hear. “I go and call on every single one of my customers. I make it a point of doing that.” I mean, he really believes that if you’re going to have a thriving community, you have to be a part of that. You have to do the work to help that be so, and there’s no question about his commitment to this community and how important it is to him. We’ve made him an emeritus director. He’s been an incredible piece of Santa Barbara history for such a long time, and I think about that, too. Michael Towbes and Jerry Parent and Pete Jordano – these were the guys that made this city what it is, and they were all on this board of this bank.
Randy Rowse – Santa Barbara Mayor
Peter Jordano had been in business for quite a while by the time I worked at Chuck’s Steakhouse for Larry Stone. Pete and Larry went way back. And when we started the Paradise Cafe with my other partner, Kevin, Larry got together with us, and Pete helped us out tremendously. So we met back then, probably in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s.
He’s been a loyal friend. I always wonder about a company’s culture when it comes to employees. With Jordano’s, everybody – from a salesman down to the driver to the guy that was sweeping up – are always just very customer oriented, glad to see you. “What can I do for you?” Part of that is because Pete was a worker himself. I’ve caught him out there more than once, back in the old days, driving a forklift around his own warehouse. He never seemed to have lost that touch, that worker’s touch to the whole thing. Whenever I walked around with him and he was greeted by his employees, it wasn’t “Mr. Jordano,” it was always “Pete.”
He’s got that biggie, the handshake where he kind of pulls you up close to him. And like you said, he’s always got some jokes, but he’s always interested in talking. He always makes eye contact with you. He’s not working the room. When you are talking to Pete, he’s talking to you – the most important person in the room.
Joe Cole – Real Estate and Corporate Attorney, former Publisher ‘News-Press’, former President and Publisher ‘Santa Barbara Independent’
I first met Pete probably over 40 years ago when we served together on the zoo board. He had been out for a long time. He was a force of nature then. And then I was honored about 25 years ago when I was asked to serve on the board of directors of Jordano’s, and I’ve been on that board with him for at least the last 25 years.
For many years, I would see him twice a week at seven in the morning at the gym. He’s a former Marine. He’s stayed in very good shape over the years. And so I think between the board, the zoo, seeing him on the street and going out to lunch, seeing him at the gym, I’m like a lot of people. I think of him as a close friend. He probably has a hundred people in Montecito who think of him as a close friend, and they’re all right.
Having lunch with Pete is an experience because he knows everybody. He knows the waiters, he knows everybody in the kitchen. He heads back into the kitchen at these nice restaurants and talks to everybody and he’s pretty damn funny. And if you need something, if you have a problem, if you need a referral, he’s always had an open door. He’s easy to get ahold of. You can call him old school gentleman.
Joyce Dudley – Retired District Attorney of Santa Barbara County
I initially met Pete and Gerd through Debbie Davison. Debbie was throwing a prize birthday party for her then boyfriend Dennis, and she invited probably four couples. So Gerd and Pete were one of the couples. That was probably 20 years ago. Early on I sent Gerd a photograph of her, Debbie Davison and myself. I put it in a frame called family, and she refers to that all the time. So I would describe us as family.
Pete just struck me as kindness personified. He is an extraordinarily successful businessman, and I’ve had countless dinners with them. Always at some point I just grabbed chairs next to Pete and I say, “So how’s business?” And he always answered it the same way. He would tell me about the people who worked for him. And he would tell me what’s going on in their lives and their children’s lives and their grandchildren’s lives.
Pete and I have very different politics, and we were very close friends. I said, ‘Hey, Pete, I’m going to run for DA.’ And he said, what can I do? I said, well, that’s a great question, and I think I’m going to need things like your support, you being very public about this, you telling your friends about me. And he just listened very carefully and he said, you have all that and more. He goes, where do we start? I said, well, we could start with … – and he says let’s have a party at my house. Let’s have it in the garden of my house. Let’s start the campaign off there.
I remember when I made my public announcement at the courthouse, I told him what I was going to be doing. He gets there with a great big sign and he stands behind me and to my right. He just wanted any photographers there, any TV that was there to see that he was supporting me.
Brent Reichard – Former owner (with brother Bruce) of The Habit
I met Pete probably back in the mid-‘80s, would be my first recollection. I met him when I started The Habit and we just had the one store in Goleta. I’d heard a lot about him, and the first time I met Pete in person, I just loved the guy. I mean, he’s just authentic and he does what he says he’s going to do. That’s a breath of fresh air, especially nowadays.
Pete was really instrumental as The Habit grew. We were partners, I never switched from Jordano’s the whole 40 some years I was doing it. I learned a lot in how I would treat everybody around me – what that meant to your employees. You’re just the same. You’re no better than anybody else. And you know some leaders and stuff that just have a different attitude. Pete is just a great guy. He’s a great guy.
Joe Pasternack – Head Basketball Coach, UCSB
When you think of Santa Barbara, when I think of the community of Santa Barbara, Pete Jordano is the first person I think of.
The first week I got the job here at Santa Barbara, I only knew one other family in town. And Pete had an event at his house for me, to introduce me to the community as the new head basketball coach. He did that for me, and I didn’t even know him.
I think Pete – and everyone maybe in this community would agree – is one of the most well-respected human beings in this entire community. He’s so, so generous. He and GERD are so generous and I’m just grateful to have him as a friend.
Jerry Shalhoob – Owner, Shalhoob Property Rentals
I went to work for Jordano’s in about 1966, for their meat company. We took a liking to each other, and he was very, very approachable. And he was, I think, about third man down on the Jordano totem pole in those days. I worked for him for seven years, and I started my own business in ‘73.
I worked my way through the meat company as far as a meat cutter. They made me a foreman, and then they put me in sales, and Pete made me a sales manager. And then he and I got real tight right about that time because I don’t know, he loved encouraging me. It was a great experience for me. And I have nothing but high regards. He was an unbelievable mentor and boss for me, taught me a lot of things, a lot of business skills. It was just a great experience.
Rich Block – Retired CEO, Santa Barbara Zoo
It was the zoo directly, but over time I got to know him better. Pete was probably the longest running board member at the zoo and something that will most likely never be equaled again. It was about 28 years.
Throughout all my 26 years at the zoo, he was always very encouraging, very supportive. I was at kind of a crucial point early in my zoo experience, and Pete was right there supporting me, encouraging me, and really – my being there 26 years is partly due to Pete. He consistently was very open in board meetings, and he didn’t always say things that I wanted to hear, but the reality is that’s exactly what you want. It’s such an important thing. And Pete was always very good about that.
Jeff Jordano – President and CEO of Jordano’s, Pete’s son
After college I worked for Gallo, and then after graduate school I worked for Seagram in New York and the Stroh’s Brewery in Detroit, Michigan. Certainly, I think the thought was to come back to Jordano’s and those were definitely industry-related experiences. And then after a couple winters in Detroit, I called my dad and said, ‘Hey, how about that family business thing?’
I would say one of my father’s great skill sets is the people side – in business and in the community. I think that’s where people know and love him. Hey, growing up in Santa Barbara with Pete and Gerd as parents, it’s an interesting experience. If you go dining with them, you have to expect to be interrupted. [laughs]
I lead with confidence because my father led with character. At 90 yrs, my father’s legacy remains our foundation.
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