There’s been good stuff cooking at Lee and Marianne Jorgenson’s restaurant for many, many years.

Sure, San Carlos is the oldest continuously owned restaurant on Bainbridge Island. Its Mexican/Southwestern cuisine has drawn accolades for years, and its herbed crab chimichangas once took “Best Entrée” honors at Bite of Seattle.

But even before that, wonderful aromas were wafting from the kitchen. When the Jorgensons bought their restaurant, it was a teahouse that never quite made a go of it. Before that, it was a private home.

Ross Thomas, a member of the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce, remembers eating at that house, which belonged to a friend’s family, in high school in the ‘70s.

“I ate in what was then, and still is, the kitchen,” he recalls.

The cooking was good then, but it’s much better now, laughs Thomas, who has been dining at San Carlos throughout its 18 years in business. In fact, he had his name on a plaque on one of the tables for years because he brought business associates to lunch there every Friday. These days, the Jorgensons serve only dinner, seven days a week.

Thomas, who is branch manager of the Bainbridge Island Washington Mutual, was on the Chamber selection committee that chose Lee Jorgenson as the Business Person of the Year three months ago.

“We looked at how active they are in the community: What are the things they are doing for the community?” says Thomas. “I just couldn’t see anybody more deserving than he was.”

Indeed, the Jorgensons juggle a variety of community-service projects. They have been involved in fund-raisers for the Boys & Girls Club, Little League, Junior Golf, youth basketball and football, Crop Walk, and the Chamber. They were also instrumental in this year’s Bainbridge Island Bacon Bowl, which pitted Bainbridge Island high school seniors against police officers and firefighters on the softball and football field.

The Bowl holds a special place in Lee Jorgenson’s heart.

“We raised money for the senior trip,” says Jorgenson, “but it was really an effort to get kids and cops on the same field together. Everyone came away feeling just wonderful.”

The Jorgensons have always been committed to helping the community’s young people, and have gone out of their way to offer jobs to high school kids.

Travis Mc Ardle, a cook at San Carlos, started working at the restaurant in high school and has stayed for three years.

“Lee is great,” says Mc Ardle, “he’s just like one of the guys. He doesn’t act like ‘I’m the boss,’ like some bosses I’ve had.”

Jorgenson was always good-natured about accommodating a high-schooler’s schedule, says Mc Ardle.

“School came first. If you ever had homework to do and couldn’t come in, he understood and called in someone else.”

Jorgenson’s generosity to his community is matched by his expertise in the kitchen, which benefits immensely from his years as food and beverage director at four-star establishments like the Sorrento Hotel, the Rainier Club, and Hyatt restaurants. He decided to give up the swanky jobs in 1984 and apply his training toward a Mexican restaurant of his own — with a continental flair, of course.

“We had just had a new baby, and the hours and commitment were just too demanding, so we discussed the possibility of opening our own business.”

The rest is history.

That baby, Jarett, is now 18 and just graduated from high school. Daughter Lauren is 21. The Jorgensons have tripled their business over the years and added a patio, expanding from 60 to 125 seats.

Even in the beginning, things were hopping at San Carlos.

“We were so busy remodeling, we thought, gosh, let’s just get open and then we’ll worry about marketing,” recalls Jorgenson.

When they did open their doors: “It was just like a tidal wave. We just couldn’t keep up with it, it was so busy. There weren’t very many restaurants in this area at that time. We’d tell people to bowl a couple of frames at the bowling alley next door, then come back.”

Looking back, Jorgenson could hardly be more pleased with the decision he made back in 1984.

“I think, for an independent, free-standing restaurant to have an 18-year run is a pretty good record. We have a lot of steady, loyal customers.”

And many of those customers, like Thomas, appreciate Jorgenson’s contributions to the community as much as his cooking.

Says Thomas: “I wish we could clone him.”.