PERPETUAL MOTION

                                            By Lisa Crawford Watson

 

 

David Bindel sits at one of several tables swept with rose linen, studies a drowsy sea beyond the bay windows that flank him and enjoys the quiet of a restaurant still hours away from ushering in the dinner hour.  He also appreciates the din of fine dining that later characterizes the Old Bath House Restaurant he built and opened nearly 30 years ago, its name a nod to the vintage structure that once served local beachcombers.

 

But in this moment, Bindel seems to relish the opportunity to pause and reflect on this and the many other ventures that have fueled a wide diversity of interests in fine food, fine horses, fine art and family.

 

For nearly 60 years, Bindel has been living what he considers the "All American Dream,"  and he owes it all to a person, a place and a thing.

 

"The person" is Cecil Bindel, his father, now 85, who brought David and his family from Carlsbad, New Mexico to "the place," the Monterey Peninsula, when David was only 4, to buy the Greyhound bus station in Seaside.  "The thing" was ice cream, its origin the ice cream machine inside the bus station.

 

"This is where life began for us," said Bindel, "My dad started to make ice cream, good ice cream, and established Cecil's Ice Cream in three parlors across town.  He owned the ice cream business around here, he was the ice cream king.  So, I grew up in the business, working the parlors, driving the ice cream trucks.  My first business was selling ice cream from a motor scooter at age 14, it was my introduction to the food business.  Bindel still loves ice cream...all kinds ... but admits his favorite, licorice, is hard to find.

 

He also loves the food business, an attraction that has manifested in more businesses than he can count.  His first business crystallized into a formal salon, another Cecil's Ice Cream parlor, which he opened in Pacific Grove at age 20 with a second to follow, two years later, in Seaside.  Ice Cream morphed into pizza a year later, when the opening "Pizza Pub," followed once again, by a second location, "Pizza Pub West," in Pacific Grove.

 

The crown jewel of his early eateries was "King's Cross Station," an architecturally inspired British railway station pub, which developed into a steak house to fill a niche in Pacific Grove.

 

"That's the way my business has progressed," he said, "naturally.  Life has been easy, fun, a matter of following my instincts and enjoying what I do,"

 

A master at reading the market, the moment and his own motivations, what the guy lacks in discipline, in fact, he doesn't even like the sound of the word.

 

"I can't stand discipline," he said, "I prefer to be motivated by a much grander purpose, such as passion,"

 

Bindel was 32 when he designed and built the Old Bath House Restaurant overlooking the bay at Lover's Point in Pacific Grove, an ongoing venture that remains his favorite.

 

"I must say I do like the Bath House the most," he said . "I like the idea of working all day to get ready for a few hours if fine dining.  I enjoy the art of the restaurant business, the art of wine and of food, whether it's designing the building, the menu or a particular dish.  I know how it works, how it will look, how it will taste even before it comes together."

 

Not unlike the ice cream business that catered to customers across the Peninsula,  Bindel continued opening restaurants including the Tinnery, a family establishment he created with a partner across from the Old Bath House, as well as The Grill at Lover's Point, an upscale beach stand serving outdoor enthusiasts adjacent the oceanfront recreation trail.

 

He also established Bindel's restaurant in Monterey which, after three successful years, merged with Compadre's restaurant chain for a year, before becoming Supremo and, ultimately, selling to become Stokes Adobe  as it remains today.

 

"That one location represented a five year segment of a lot of hard work, a lot of good work," Bindel said, "But, I'm a creative kind of guy;  I like to do a lot of different things.  It's in my bloodline."

 

The entrepreneurial artistry throughout the family is not merely reserved for food.  Bindel also founded what was once the Carmel Mercantile Company, an import establishment, which enabled him to explore another business and travel in search of inspiration and interesting items for the store.

 

The Mercantile was followed by Carmel Fine Art, a gallery he and a partner establish at the Crossroads Shopping Center, which tapped into his own passion for painting and collecting art.

 

Business, he insists, is not who he is  but what he does.  He is also a painter, skilled equestrian, golfer, car collector and, his most prized pursuit, father of five.

 

"My mother is a watercolorist, and I paint once in awhile," he said, a nod to his 5x7-foot inpression of the Carmel Mission in acrylic;  "but my daughter, Courtney, a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, is an amazing artist, I look at her work and think, "Where did you learn to paint like that?"  Her paintings are like Picasso when he did himself.  Her work is changing so much, and so is she."

 

Bindel's son, David, creates the graphics and runs their billboard truck advertising business that roams through town.  His son Sergio, purveys art at Simic Gallery in Carmel, and his youngest, 8 year old twins, Monique and Sterling, continually remind  their father about the art of youthful exuberance.

 

"Of all the things, I've done," Bindel said, "my greatest legacy is my children.  Everything else may come and go, but never your children."

 

When not on "active daddy duty,"  Bindel admits he'd most like to be on a horse, a passion of his since his father bought him his first at age 3.  Currently stabling three horses at his Bay Creel Farm in Carmel Valley, he loves to take his Arabian out for an early morning ride throughout neighboring Garland Park where he finds himself alone with the sun, the wind and his horse.

 

"Being able to live the life that people save and save to visit," he said , "is the true definition of paradise.  I enjoy you time with my wife, Kirsten, and my children, my time at the restaurants, and my time with my horses.  If I didn't horses, I imagine what a much better golfer I'd be, but I really can't complain."

 

Bindel doesn't think much about slowing down or getting older;  mostly because he doesn't intend to. But, just in case he does, he's looking forward to doing a whole lot more painting.