As a Morgan Hill native , Julie grew up in and around airplanes . Along with her mother and brother , Julie learned how to fly and earned her pilot ’ s license while still a teenager in high school .
Her parents , Irv and Jan Perlitch , owned and operated the famed Flying Lady restaurant , which graced South County ’ s eastern foothills for more than 20 years . The Flying Lady was reportedly the world ’ s largest restaurant in its heyday and the only one to boast full-sized antique airplanes suspended from the ceiling , surrounded by more than 100 radio-controlled model airplanes gliding along a motorized track . Irv named the restaurant to honor Jan ’ s love of flying , and he incorporated a private airplane runway into the design of the property surrounding the restaurant .
“ The Flying Lady was at the center of my family life from the time I was a teenager , and I grew up thinking that I ’ d always be in the restaurant business ,” Julie said .
Her school years only increased Julie ’ s enthusiasm to return to the family business . She attended Live Oak High School , went on to Gavilan College and then to San José State University where her writing and promotional skills led to a degree in Public Relations .
“ I thought I could put my college degree to work back at the Flying Lady ,” Julie said . “ My dad said he didn ’ t have an opening for a PR person , but he could use a dishwasher !”
Julie worked her way up the ladder in the family business , taking on jobs as a cook , food buyer , waitress , hostess , banquet coordinator and ultimately , handling the marketing and PR .
It was at the Flying Lady that Julie met her future husband and business partner , Pat Belanger , an airline pilot and fighter pilot with the Air National Guard . The couple even tied the knot at the Flying Lady in 1993 in an unforgettable wedding ceremony .
Pat wore his fighter pilot uniform with a tuxedo shirt and cummerbund . Julie was decked out in a white flight suit and scarf . The couple exchanged their vows at the Flying Lady ’ s aircraft museum , took off from the restaurant runway in a vintage 1929 Barnstormer biplane , and were joined in the skies overhead by several other planes piloted by Pat ’ s friends from the Air Guard . During the flight , Julie and Pat exchanged wedding rings and kissed while a video camera inside the cockpit captured the magical moment .
About a year later the Flying Lady closed , and Julie shifted gears to resume her PR career , this time working at a high tech agency in Silicon Valley . As Julie retold the story , her sense of humor and enthusiasm for life came shining through .
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G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E MAY / JUNE 2015 gmhtoday . com