SLO hotel group buys historic Pozo Saloon. Here’s what it has planned for reopening
The Pozo Saloon is opening its doors for the first time in months under new ownership.
On Wednesday, San Luis Obispo’s Nomada Hotel Group announced on Instagram that it had acquired the 1880s-era bar and concert venue located in rural Pozo southeast of Santa Margarita.
“Ya heard it here first, folks! We’re welcoming the one and only @pozosaloon as the latest addition to the Nomada family,” the company wrote in its Instagram post.
The hotel group did not disclose the price it paid to purchase the Pozo Saloon.
The saloon has been closed since November due to work on some much-needed upgrades, according to a Facebook post.
Nomada Hotel Group is holding off on reopening the Pozo Saloon for daily service until 2023, when upgrades to the property are completed.
In the meantime, the venue will host a series of special weekend events, called Sunday Sessions, from July 31 to Oct. 30. Each Sunday Session will feature a four-course meal and live music.
“Our expansion is always based on finding old properties that we are passionate about regenerating,” Kimberly Walker, founder and managing partner of Nomada Hotel Group, wrote in an email. “We have a huge responsibility in making sure that we honor our properties and the incredible history.”
The Pozo Saloon joins Granada Hotel and Bistro in San Luis Obispo, Hotel Ynez in Solvang, Skyview Hotel in Los Alamos, among other Nomada Hotel Group properties.
History of Pozo Saloon
According to its Facebook page, the Pozo Saloon was “the primary watering hole for weary travelers making their way over Pozo Summit” for more than a century.
Although the venue’s website states that the saloon opened in 1858, local historian Pam Parsons said her research suggests it was actually built sometime between 1881 and 1892.
A Sept, 1, 1881, newspaper article stated a saloon owned by A. Herrera burned to the ground, but there’s no mention of the saloon having been rebuilt by 1883, Parsons said.
“We can’t prove anything before 1891,” Parsons said.
The first documented owner of a saloon in Pozo was Francisco Herrera in 1892, Parsons said.
In recent decades, the Pozo Saloon has become a popular spot for road trippers, bikers and music lovers.
The saloon has featured performances from big-name artists such as Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Ziggy Marley and Kacey Musgraves over the years, hosting the Pozo Stampede music festival from 2009 to 2016.
Rhonda and Brian Beanway, who had served as the Pozo Saloon’s owners since 1984, shut its doors in 2017 after canceling two music festivals.
Los Osos resident Dean Marchant and his partner, Alex Kagan of San Diego, purchased the property from the Beanway family in 2018.
SLO County venue reopens with music, food
The Pozo Saloon will return to its event venue roots with its first Sunday Session, which will be held 3 to 8 p.m. July 31.
The event will feature music by Water Town Band and a four-course, family-style dinner crafted by the culinary director of Granada Hotel and Bistro in San Luis Obispo, according to an Instagram post.
The menu will include a pit roast of two Carolina hogs, according to the Pozo Saloon’s Facebook page.
Tickets cost $100 apiece, including a complimentary cocktail, and can be purchased on the Pozo Saloon website. Eventgoers can purchase oysters and wine and beer separately.
While many people expressed their excitement on social media about the Pozo Saloon reopening, not everyone was pleased about the steep ticket prices of the Sunday Session series.
“$100 tickets ... tell the locals in less words that this place is not for them anymore!!!,” Instagram user daziemoonstone805 wrote.
Instagram user therobinrocks called the move by Nomada Hotel Group a “major fail.”
“This actually kinda sucks,” they wrote on Instagram. “$100 is ridiculous. I really hope this isn’t the direction the new owners are taking this place.”
“These special events have been designed to set the saloon up for success as we work toward bringing back Pozo’s traditional daily service and family-friendly offerings next year,” Pozo Saloon officials wrote on the venue’s Facebook page in response to comments.
What’s next for Pozo Saloon?
The second phase of development for the Pozo Saloon is building lodging, according to Nomada Hotel Group.
By the summer 2023, the hotel group said, the property will feature 30 different types of “encampo” accommodations, from Airstream trailers and upscale tents to recreational vehicle hookups.
“Among its variety of unique amenities, the property also boasts a distillery, central pool and outdoor soaking tubs, and full-service restaurant neighboring the location’s lake, hiking trails, and horseback riding trails,” according to Nomada Hotel Group.
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
