Life’s a Brees: Beach bum, surf nut discovers passion for restaurant industry

Ken Miller

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 | 8:16 a.m.

Marty Brees could not possibly have chosen a career more in conflict with his lifestyle.

Brees, a California native who fully fits the profile of a beach bum - he's tanned, fit and wears shorts to work - has a true passion for the beach, surfing and music. He loves surfing so much, in fact, that at one point he took a job as a flight attendant because it allowed him to pursue a surfing lifestyle. He fully intended to pursue music as well.

But more than 20 years ago he got a taste of the restaurant industry. As much fun as he was having on the waves, he liked the buzz he got from the fast-paced, bustling world of food service.

Brees still surfs, but he now lives hundreds of miles from the nearest beach. His free time is almost nonexistent. And his music dreams, well, they're on hold - for the time being.

Brees has owned and operated the Coffee Pub at 2800 W. Sahara Ave. in Las Vegas for 20 years, and his customers include not only families and well-worn travelers, but a who's who of local politicians as well.

Located at the Plazas shopping center, the establishment is relatively concealed from West Sahara. Brick-lined columns greet visitors to two separate eating areas, one with a dining room and the other with a bakery.

Long benches padded with fabric line the bakery area, and tables and chairs complete the seating arrangement. Green walls are highlighted with stained wood moldings and low-key wallpaper, reminiscent of the type you'd see at your grandmother's house.

A hardwood floor is edged by a 2-inch-by-2-inch tile pattern. Mirrors line the wall dividing the two eating areas, and the dining room is covered with historical photos and large paintings.

Brees can often be seen greeting customers - he's rarely absent.

While it's not exactly lying on the beach and waiting for the next good swell, Brees said he feels he's where he belongs.

"I got myself into it," he said. "It's what I do best."

Music and waves

Brees was born in Anaheim, Calif., in 1956, and remembers hardly ever playing indoors.

"I took advantage of all the wonderful things Southern California had to offer at a young age," he said. "My friends and I would ride our bikes to the beach and go body surfing, stuff like that."

The little time he was indoors, Brees watched a lot of TV. It was from TV that Brees got his musical inspiration.

"I saw 'The Jolson Story' when I was 5 years old," he said. "It changed my life. It was what got me into singing."

Brees sang in choirs while growing up, and at age 10 began dabbling in both keyboard and guitar. While he never performed professionally, he wrote a few original songs and pursued music just for pure pleasure.

He discovered board surfing at age 12, and an addiction was born.

"My mother would come to pick us up, and I'd still be in the water. My friends would call, 'Hey, Marty, your mom's getting mad. She's not going to take us out for burgers.' I'd pretend like I couldn't hear her."

Even a scrape with a swell couldn't dim his enthusiasm.

"A swell came out of nowhere and snapped my leash and pounded me again and again," he said. "I remember thinking I wasn't going to make it out of there."

The next day he was in the water again.

Dream job

Brees' family moved to Laguna Beach when he was 17, and surfing continued to dominate his life, even after he realized he was now expected to get a job and make a living.

He discovered the perfect job at age 20.

"I read in the paper an airline was holding open interviews for flight attendants," Brees said. "My buddy said there weren't a lot of guys doing it, and it would be easier to get hired.

"I figured I could surf around the world," he said. "A benefit of working for the airlines was I could go anywhere for free."

Brees applied and was hired two weeks later. After five weeks of training in San Mateo ("It was great -- five guys and 30 women"), Brees reported for duty.

There was only one minor detail: Brees had to move to Las Vegas, away from his family and his way of life.

"It was extremely lonely and a difficult adjustment," he remembers. "We started in January, but when the summer months hit, all I wanted was to go to the ocean. It took a good year to adjust to life in Las Vegas."

The pay wasn't much to brag about, either -- $600 a month, with $300 of that going to rent. "My roommate and I had a lot of 99-cent breakfasts," Brees said.

He got a part-time job cleaning pools in Las Vegas to make ends meet, but he had to be ready to take to the air with sometimes only an hour and a half's notice.

You'd never hear him complaining, though.

"I worked a three-day trip with four days off," he said. "I could always go wherever I wanted. I've surfed in Hawaii, Costa Rica, Australia, all over the globe."

No if, ands or ...

Brees ended up working for the airlines for seven years, dividing his time 50-50 between Orange County and Las Vegas. Despite the long commutes and sometimes hectic schedule, he was having fun.

Actually, he was having a little too much fun.

"One day on a flight, I opened the galley service door to moon a jet taking off," Brees said sheepishly. "They even wrote an article about it in the airport periodical: 'This is one way an airline can get your attention.' I got a couple months off for that."

While taking his mandatory break, Brees went to work for one of his friends in Laguna Beach, Calif. -- at a small cafe called the Coffee Pub.

"He needed to unload it for personal reasons, and I decided I liked the fast pace," Brees said. "I thought it was something I could improve upon, make more efficient."

His financial situation was still tight, but Brees' friend gave him a friendship discount, and his father gave him a loan. Brees was in business.

"It turned into a really cool project," he said. Once his probation was over, he hired his sister, Christy, to manage it. During his time off from the airlines, "I'd go run it during the day and surf at night."

He operated the Coffee Pub in Laguna Beach for nearly three years, but finally sold it in 1981, "when people offered me a very tidy sum for it."

But Brees soon discovered he missed the Coffee Pub.

"I went back to work for the airlines, but I was really antsy," he said. "It just wasn't enough."

Desert bloom

Ever since he'd arrived in Las Vegas, Brees had been admiring the Plazas shopping center and its clientele.

"I always used to drive by here and think, 'What a great place to put a Coffee Pub,' " Brees said. "I just decided to do it. I didn't do any studies or research -- I did it more for the love of the business. And I knew Vegas was growing, and there was nothing like this in Vegas."

In 1984 Brees took the leap, starting with just 14 seats and a menu that consisted mostly of muffins and coffee.

He may have started out simply, but even a simple menu was enough to occupy all his free time.

"I was forced to quit the airlines," he said. "I went on leave with the hope of returning to keep my benefits, but things just got too hectic here. It was hard, because I loved that job. It was so much fun."

Brees learned to experience a new kind of fun: expanding both his menu and his restaurant. The menu now features everything from chicken fajita wraps to smoothies to quiches; five employees have grown to a staff of 14; and the eating area has increased to 125 seats.

Brees said the menu evolved thanks to his customers, who were constantly suggesting new dishes to add.

"We cooked on hot plates originally, and then, thanks to our customers, evolved into a kitchen that was functional," he said.

You'll definitely find a personal touch in Brees' menu as well. The omelet titled "The Big Wally" is named after his father.

Adding to his restaurant's reputation is its political clientele. On any given day, you'll find Sen. John Ensign, Mayor Oscar Goodman, Rep. Shelly Berkley, District Judge Jennifer Togliatti and Assemblyman David Goldwater.

Brees said most of the political elite had frequented Poppa Gar's, another popular coffee shop, until it closed about six years ago. Brees' establishment inherited most of that clientele, which Brees attributes mostly to the quality of the food.

Although Brees finds himself surrounded by politicians, he said he has no political aspirations himself.

"I decided I could do more for the community by not holding office," he said, including his work on the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the National Resources Defense Council.

One of Brees' recent projects was a fund-raising golf tournament for one of his employees, Terry Henslee, who has MS. In a perfect bit of yin and yang, Brees takes summers off to surf in California (he also maintains a residence in Laguna Beach), and Terry takes over. In the winter, Terry takes off to go skiing and Brees is in charge.

Family affair

Brees moved to Las Vegas alone, but he is now surrounded by family. His mother, Eleanor, and father moved to the desert in 1991, and Wally occasionally helps out at the restaurant as a "utility guy," Brees said.

In addition, Brees married in 1997. He and wife Zoi have a 5-year-old son, Brecker.

Brees loves telling the story of how he met his wife.

"I saw her on a mural inside a fitness center," he said. "I used to fantasize, 'I wish I could meet a girl like that.' Well, one day this girl walks into the restaurant, and I realized it was the girl from the mural.

"I tell all my friends I snapped my fingers and she was mine, but it didn't really work out that way," he said. "It took months of my awkward attempts at romance."

Zoi and Marty recently opened juice bars in all the Las Vegas Athletic Clubs. Zoi takes care of the juice bars and Marty takes care of the restaurant.

Brecker can often be seen at the Coffee Pub charming the customers, but Brees said he doubts his son will ever take over the business.

"I asked him, 'Brecker, do you want to run the shop someday?' He said, 'No, Dad, I want to drive a garbage truck,' " Brees said, laughing. "He's a fun-loving, inquisitive, bright kid who dances and sings. I think he will be in the music industry."

Brees said he may at some point decide to move on to music as a profession and surf full-time, but for now he seems content.

"I realize this is a high-stress job, but trouble is almost like a game for me, to see how quickly I can turn it around into something positive," he said. "And it's the people who make this place. The people's response to what we do, the way they feel about the restaurant, is what makes this all worth it."

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