New sit-down restaurant coming to Atascadero
From left, Carty Holland of Holland-Knapp Construction, Mohan Sohi of Holiday Inn Express & Suites of Atascadero, Jerry Holland, Jeff Marston of Marston’s restaurant, Ron Holland of Holland-Knapp Construction and Amar Sohi of Holiday Inn Express & Suites of Atascadero.
Owner of Marston’s San Luis Obispo to open Atascadero restaurant
–Atascadero will soon have a brand-new sit-down restaurant on the south end of the city between Holiday Inn Express & Suites of Atascadero and Jack in the Box. The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will include a full bar and wood-fired pizza oven. The building will also have 2,000 square feet of meeting and event space adjacent to the bar and restaurant, Holiday Inn Express & Suites of Atascadero Director of Sales & Marketing Jessica Sohi said.
“[It’s] a perfect facility for meetings, reunions, wedding rehearsals, etc.,” Sohi said. “Atascadero fits very nicely within this market. … We are easily accessible to the larger event venues and for the smaller events or shoulder events (like a rehearsal dinner) Atascadero is perfect location. … We are in a choice location for destination weddings and corporate events and people are catching on.”
The restaurant will be owned and operated by Jeff Marston of Marston’s San Luis Obispo; the meeting and event space will be owned and operated by Holiday Inn Express & Suites of Atascadero. Marston has not yet confirmed the exact menu, and Sohi said there are still months until construction is complete. The restaurant will likely be open from 11 a.m. to midnight and will possibly serve breakfast Friday through Sunday. The restaurant will be casual, family-friendly dining that also serves upper-end food and drinks.
“However, he is anticipating that the lunch menu will be offering burgers and a variety of salads and sandwiches,” Sohi said. “The dinner menu will boast a variety of meat selections and seafood options, creative appetizers and small plates, many of which will be prepared in the wood burning oven. The full bar will be focusing on local breweries, wineries and signature craft cocktails.”
Sohi said that construction began in July and it is expected to be completed in May 2016. Currently, the site has been graded and the framing is going up and the roof is being installed. She said the plumbing and electrical work will be completed by the end of the year.
The site is being developed by H&S Hospitality, LLC, which is owned equally by five locally based partners. The restaurant will be built in a Mediterranean-style of architecture. It was designed by Larry Gabriel Designs + Arris Studio and will be built by Holland-Knapp Construction.
“This is sure to fill the unique dining experience that Atascadero residents and visitors alike have been craving,” Sohi said.
When the hotel opened almost 7.5 years ago, the plan of the initial site owners was for a chain restaurant, such as Olive Garden or Panera or Chipotle, to go in. Jack in the Box opened in one of the two locations next to the hotel in 2009. Sohi said that H&S Hospitality was waiting to see if anyone would take the opportunity to build a restaurant in that location, but when no one did, the company decided to invest.
“For H&S Hospitality, finding a local, independent restaurateur was the goal,” Sohi said. “Our area has so many talented people and having an independent restaurant owner fits well with Atascadero and the local, handcrafted climate here. Commercial building is now on the increase, the economy is better and the hotel has been doing well.”
