This Pismo restaurant is shutting its doors — with plans to reopen as luxury hotel with rooftop bar

The owner of Mattie’s Bar & Eatery has closed her Calfornia-fusion restaurant in Pismo Beach while she plans an ambitious expansion, but she has several hurdles to clear before that can happen.

Mattie Moore shut her doors Aug. 1 with hopes to build a three-story restaurant, hotel and bar at at 558 Price St. by fall 2019. She has hired San Luis Obispo architect Steve Puglisi for the project.

However, City Manager James Lewis said Moore has much work to do if she wants to even present her idea to the planning commission.

“The city would certainly have concerns for a project of that size in that area,” Lewis said.

Moore met with Associate Planner Mike Gruver and presented the sketches of her three-story idea and plans to meet with him again in September. But she has not scheduled a complete conceptual review, meeting with the planning commission or filed for permits, according to the city.

In her plans, the first floor of the three-story building would house Mattie’s restaurant and a commercial space. The restaurant would have the same California-fusion style with more choices on the menu.

On the second floor, 14 boutique hotel rooms are planned, ranging from $200 to $500 per night depending on market price, time of year and day of the week.

And the third floor would feature a rooftop bar and lounge with an ocean view, open to both guests and the public.

“We just want it to be a place of luxury for tourists and people living in Pismo,” Moore said.

Moore said she projects that the new building will cost her around $5 million. Lewis said an idea such as hers would cost significantly more.

Although Moore is not set on a name for the hotel, she said it would likely be called M’s at Pismo Beach. She intends to keep the name of her restaurant the same because “Mattie” runs in her family and was also the name of one of the first women in Pismo Beach to own a hotel, Moore said.

As of now, Lewis said the city does not support the project because of parking and safety issues.

Moore said she hopes to break ground on construction “within the first quarter of 2019.” The city, however, said it will take much longer than she anticipates.

Moore first opened Mattie’s Bar & Eatery in Paso Robles and after three years moved to Morro Bay. About three years later in January 2017, she relocated to Pismo and opened Mattie’s Bar and Eatery last June after renovations.

Moore said she had thought of opening a hotel and restaurant in the past in both Lompoc and Morro Bay but had difficulty navigating city planning. She said she felt Pismo Beach would be the right place to finally peruse her idea.

For more information, visit mattiespismobeach.com.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Pismo Beach City Manager Jim Lewis.

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This story was originally published August 9, 2018 at 10:12 AM.