Ale house coming to Atascadero
Guest House Grill owner Eric Peterson stands in front of the location of Streetside Ale House, the newest venture for Peterson and his business partner Trevor LaSalle. Photo by Heather Young
– Atascadero sporting fans will soon have a place to watch the game – and to get an ale and something to drink. Guest House Grill owners Eric Peterson and Trevor LaSalle are opening Streetside Ale House where Spa Central Coast and Avion & Claw – formerly Haven Wine Bistro.
“It’ll be kind of a sports bar,” Peterson said. “[We’ll serve] elevated bar food.”
The pair has hired a chef with whom they are working with to prepare a menu that will provide the kind of food people expect from Guest House Grill, but is not exactly the same.
“We don’t want too much overlap in our menus,” Peterson said. “The biggest overlap will be salads, burgers and sandwiches.” But even with the items that are same kind of food, he said they will get bread from a different baker and meat from a different ranch so they’re not exactly the same.
The ale house, which is slated to open sometime before the end of the year, will be less formal than the owners’ other Atascadero restaurant. “It’ll be more fun,” Peterson said.
He said they decided to open the second Atascadero restaurant – which Peterson emphatically said is not a second location for Guest House Grill – because the city lacks in places for dinner and to watch sporting events.
“Trevor and I love to watch football and basketball and there’s nowhere to watch games in Atascadero,” Peterson said.
The ale house is currently in plan check with the city of Atascadero, Deputy City Manager Terrie Banish said. Peterson said he just finished demolition of the inside of the two units at 6155 El Camino Real in downtown Atascadero, along with his dad, Tim Peterson, and a few friends. Once permits are issued, ProBilt, Inc., owned by Reggie Brard, will take over with the inside renovations, which will include a bar area with as many ales as they can fit, along with hard liquor and wine, and a dining room and TVs throughout the 3,800-square-foot location.
While Peterson said things may change by the time the restaurant opens, he said they anticipate being open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight, though possibly closing at 10 p.m. during the week.
The duo opened Guest House Grill at 8783 El Camino Real in 2008 and then opened The Lake House restaurant at Lakes of the Woods resort in southern Oregon in 2009. Their restaurant is only open six months of the year from May through October. Peterson said he spent the first six summers up there, with LaSalle there now. He said they will likely alternate who goes to Oregon in the summer.
