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| Westley Hotel recovers stolen barbecue |
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| Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Saturday, 02 February 2008 | |
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WESTLEY — Almost six months after it was stolen, the Westley Hotel’s barbecue has been found. Owner Leo Georgopoulos got his massive trailer-mounted cooking machine returned after some friends spotted it outside of Farmington on Jan. 26. “I was crusin’ in my pickup just looking at the scenery,” Patterson resident Brian Mota said. “I looked out the corner of my eye and said, ‘That’s it.’” Mota told Georgopoulos he had seen the missing barbecue, but the owner of the Westley restaurant had his doubts. Still, he drove to the small town east of Stockton the next day and instantly knew he had found his barbecue. “Right away, I knew (it was mine),” Georgopoulos said. “No one else has my barbecue.” The hotel hasn’t served barbecue since the theft, but that will change Sunday when Georgopoulos serves up tri-tip, ribs and chicken for Super Bowl XLII. Those fixings are in stark contrast to some of the items Georgopoulos found in the barbecue after recovering it.  Steve Gravelle (left) and Leo Georgopoulos inspect the condition of a recovered barbecue pit that was stolen last year from the front of the Westley Hotel. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator Someone had used the barbecue to burn a motorcycle seat and what looked like tree branches. It appeared people had used one half to cook with and the other half for warmth. The hotter-than-usual fires melted away some paint, causing some rust to form. Georgopoulos and a small crew of helpers power-washed the rig Wednesday and said the only permanent damage to the barbecue, which retailed at $8,000, was a pried-open lockbox. Mota spotted the barbecue sitting in someone’s front yard in a rural area close to Farmington. He made sure to drive by a couple of times while trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. “(After it was stolen), I made the boastful statement, ‘I’m going to find that barbecue,’” Mota said. “That barbecue meant more to (Georgopoulos) than a car.” When he got Georgopoulos out there the next day and confirmed it was the right machine, they called police. However, police initially were reluctant to recover the rig. Without any documentation proving Georgopoulos owned it, police could not take it from the Farmington house. Then, an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer who knew Georgopoulos passed by and stopped to see what the restaurateur was doing all the way out there. Upon learning of the stalled recovery attempt, he assured the San Joaquin deputies that the men were reputable West Siders and the barbecue was their property. The officer’s endorsement and Georgopoulos’ ability to describe the barbecue in detail was enough for the deputies to make an arrest. The man they arrested told police he had bought it off another man, Mota said. Georgopoulos said he hopes whoever was responsible the theft is punished. But mostly, he’s just happy to have the barbecue back and is looking forwarding to firing it up again on Sunday. “We were cleaning that thing until 12 o’clock last night,” Georgopoulos said with an unceasing smile. To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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