Dan’s Grub Shack closing after 14 years in Atascadero
Popular family restaurant Dan’s Grub Shack is closing its doors in Atascadero after 14 years.
Laurie Schwent, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Dan, told The Tribune that the decision to close Dan’s Grub Shack was a hard one.
“It was a dream to open this place,” Schwent said.
The Schwents announced the closing on Facebook earlier this month, saying the restaurant did not fully recover from the financial impact of the pandemic and thanked its longtime customers for their support.
Dan Schwent said that the “perfect storm” of factors including some issues with their building and surrounding properties that had made it hard to keep their restaurant operational.
The restaurant is located in a lightly visited shopping center formerly anchored by Kmart, which closed in early 2020.
Schwent said he has been working in restaurants since the age of 15 and after many decades, “at 71 it might be retirement time.”
Schwent said the best part of working in Atascadero was getting to know the community.
His wife echoed that sentiment and said that she was surprised by how friendly the community was even when they first moved from Arroyo Grande over a decade ago.
Over the past two weeks, the Schwents said that the restaurant has been filled with regulars saying their goodbyes to the restaurant and its staff.
“The sad part was telling my staff,” Dan Schwent said. “My main cook has been with me for 10 going on 11 years.”
On a recent day, diners turned out for a last visit at a favorite local eatery.
“We come here a lot, and we’re definitely going to miss them, the good food, the good service, Dan’s smiling face,” said Katie Sorensen of San Miguel. “It’s so awesome coming in here and chatting with him while we’re eating.”
Jon Franscioni of Paso Robles said he was a frequent customer at Dan’s Grub Shack.
Dan’s Grub Shack is open for its last day on Sunday, August 25.
“Their food’s amazing,” he said. “Sad to see them go.”
Both Schwents said that they were sad to see their time running the restaurant come to an end but are looking to the future and are grateful for the welcome they got from the Atascadero community.
“But life moves on, and we’re happy,” Schwent said.