Ambitious plan for old A.J. Spurs building in Templeton starts with a new restaurant
In spring 2020, five lifelong friends from Templeton were sitting on Main Street, staring at the vacant Templeton Mercantile building.
The friends reminisced about birthday parties spent at A.J. Spurs, the steakhouse that operated inside the building until the COVID-19 pandemic made running the restaurant difficult to sustain.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, the Mercantile housed the Iron Horse restaurant and its iconic bar — one of the only saloons in the North County communities of Atascadero and Templeton.
“That’s such an iconic building of downtown,” Templeton Mercantile co-owner Taylor Odenwald said of the property.
Odenwald said as he sat downtown with friends, staring at the building, he was worried it might be torn down by other owners or turned into sterile office spaces.
“I was like, ‘Well, who would want to go in on this with me?” Odenwald said. “And a few people raise their hands, like, ‘Alright, let’s do it.’”
From there, a three-phase plan was hatched to re-envision the historic building into a collection of new uses that include a casual indoor-outdoor restaurant, an old-school bar and lounge and a high-end steakhouse.
Meet the owners of Templeton Mercantile
The Mercantile ownership team consists of five friends with day jobs — Odenwald and Wyatt Ayers, both general contractors; Seth Roberts, a professional artist; Jeremy Limpic, who works in marketing technology; and Joe Daniels, a journeyman machinist.
Odenwald, who along with others in the ownership group was once a touring musician, compared the team’s work at Templeton Mercantile to a band making music.
“A lot of the way that we approach things is not dissimilar to making music together,” he said. “Everybody kind of chipped in their little ideas here and there and what comes out of it is a collaboration of all of our visions.”
The friends all grew up on the Central Coast and live in Templeton today.
“It just seems like with our heads together we can make something really special,” Odenwald said.
The current plan is to divide the Templeton Mercantile building into multiple establishments.
“For us, it felt like it was time for something a little different rather than just one giant steakhouse,” Odenwald said.
Pig Iron restaurant opens
December 2021 brought the first phase of the revitalization: Pig Iron restaurant.
The restaurant, which is named for the type of metal used to make cast iron skillets, includes a small indoor dining room and a large open patio with heaters and a fire pit, where patrons can catch up over craft cocktails and watch people stroll Main Street.
“The idea behind the food and the feel is we wanted to go for, like, California comfort food,” Odenwald said. “So, almost like the idea of a greasy spoon, but it’s not because we’re in California and people on the Central Coast don’t eat like that for the most part.”
The menu features higher-end ingredients in its selections and the owners try to source from local purveyors whenever possible, he said. For example, the coffee is roasted by Spearhead, the bread is fresh baked La Migliore and pasta is made by Etto.
Pig Iron menu features dishes for carnivores, vegetarians and kids
The restaurant serves lunch, dinner, craft coffees and cocktails and brunch on Sundays.
Some of the signature lunch dishes for meat eaters include the tri-tip sandwich on fresh local bread or the fried chicken sandwich.
Vegetarians might enjoy the Lion’s Mane mushroom milanesa torta or the Di Stefano Burrata for something a little lighter.
Small plates — such as the charcuterie platter with three local meats and cheeses, berries, nuts and more — can be ordered starting at 4 p.m.
Dinner service for larger plates begins at 5 p.m.
Burger lovers can sink their teeth into the Niman Ranch Beef Smashburger. Or for something more adventurous, try the pan-seared kurobota pork chop or duck confit with lentils.
One of Odenwald’s favorite parts of the food at Pig Iron is the playful children’s menu.
“I think it’s the best kids menu on this side of the Mississippi,” Odenwald said. “It’s just really cute.”
For breakfast, children can dig into favorite kid’s cereal brands like Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs or Cheerios with “rainbow”-colored milk or piggy pancakes, among other whimsical options.
For lunch and dinner, kids can eat a hot dog shaped like an octopus or a waffle sandwich, which can be turned into a PB&J, grilled cheese or peanut butter, banana and honey.
Bartender shakes up classic and imaginative cocktails
Grown-ups can enjoy cocktails created by the former bartender at Sidecar in San Luis Obispo, Jose Sanchez.
The beverage menu includes whiskey-forward classics like an old fashioned, Sazerac, Paper Plane and Manhattan. There’s also a daiquiri, margarita, negroni and Aperol spritz.
Some of the more inventive options include the Aphrodisiac Potion, with pineapple-infused mezcal, passionfruit, lime and other ingredients; the Come Up, with Appleton spiced rum, vanilla syrup and coffee liquor; and Cupboard Medicine, with rye, cola syrup and orange bitters.
The restaurant also is working on expanding its local wine list and has some imported and local beers available in the fridge as well.
“You can definitely have that when you come in to come here,” Odenwald said of the wine and beer, “but what’s going to get thrown in your face is how amazing our cocktails are and that’s what we’re pushing for.”
In addition to the dine-in restaurant, Pig Iron has a small shop that sells cold brew coffee, grab-and-go lunches and to-go cocktails, along with items from local businesses, Pendleton products and other merchandise.
What’s coming up next at Templeton Mercantile
The owners are now waiting on permits from the county before beginning construction on the next two phases of the Mercantile remodel.
Odenwald said the team plans to change the banquet room into a lounge-like dive-bar area for hosting live music and special events.
The team plans to preserve the old oak bar with brass elephants that was once used by Iron Horse restaurant and move it from the room it is currently in over to the banquet room.
The vision is to transform the space into the local watering hole with historic signs from Templeton businesses hanging on the walls, Odenwald said.
In an ode to the Mercantile’s history, the business will be named Miss Finley’s Finishing School in recognition of the girl’s charter school with the same name that occupied the Templeton Mercantile building for a short time.
The final phase of the rebuild is in the center of the property and consists of two mid-sized rooms. The plan is to tear down the dividing wall to create a bigger space where a traditional, oak-fired steakhouse with higher-end menu items will be served.
The locals who are working to revitalize Templeton Mercantile are doing this in honor of their hometown.
“I like to play music and have toured all over the United States. There’s a lot of really cute small towns, and Templeton is definitely on the top of the small town list,” Odenwald said.
“I’ve always had a deep love for Templeton and think that it’s the most special town that I’ve been to.”
Pig Iron Restaurant is located at 508 S. Main St. in Templeton. The restaurant is open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and for Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
