Never fear, Apple Farm fans: Restaurant at SLO inn isn’t closed permanently
The closed doors may have worried some, but the restaurant at Apple Farm Inn is under renovation — not closing permanently, management confirmed to The Tribune.
It’s unclear exactly when it will reopen, however.
Sofya Lukina, general manager of Apple Farm Inn, said the restaurant closed March 24 and was in the process of being renovated as of Monday.
She told The Tribune she did not know when it will reopen though.
“It might take six months or one year or two years — we don’t even have an estimate,” Lukina said.
Details on exactly what might be changing at the longtime restaurant were also scarce.
Established in 1977, the Apple Farm has served a American traditional menu of apple fritters, chicken fried steak and meatloaf to both visitors of the on-site hotel and local residents for decades.
The restaurant even predates the inn, which was built in the late 1980s.
According to a 1987 article in what was then the Telegram-Tribune, the idea for the Apple Farm restaurant came to founder Bob Davis while he, his wife, Katy, and their two sons were commuting to SLO in the early ‘70s.
“There was a real need for a family restaurant,” he told the Telegram-Tribune at the time.
So Davis bought the building at 2015 Monterey St. and converted the existing restaurant at the site, Sam’s, into the Apple Farm.
Over the years a number of renovations and additions have been made at the property, which now includes both an inn and motel, as well as the restaurant and its Marketplace and Cellar.
Lukina said she was unaware of what the latest renovation might entail.
As of Monday, the Apple Farm Inn website said only that it was preparing for an “exciting new chapter.”
“Whether you’ve joined us for breakfast with friends, grabbed a bite to-go, or explored our marketplace, we are so grateful for your continued support,” the website said. “We can’t wait to welcome you back with an updated space and the same warm hospitality you’ve come to love.”