F. McLintocks’ landmark steakhouse in Pismo Beach is heading to auction
The signature neon glow of F. McLintocks’ Saloon and Dining House hasn’t been visible on the side of Highway 101 since late 2024, when the iconic San Luis Obispo County restaurant closed its doors.
Now, the landmark restaurant’s Shell Beach home of 53 years is going to auction later this month.
Ty Green, an attorney with Adamski Moroski Madden Cumberland & Green LLP who’s representing the foreclosure sale of the property, said the auction will be held March 24 at 11 a.m. in the breezeway adjacent to the county Central Services Building at 1087 Santa Rosa St.
In a foreclosure sale, a lender will try to recover money from a defaulted loan or mortgage by auctioning the property to buyers, usually via a cash-only purchase, or in this case, a cashier’s check.
The sale of McLintocks will only be for the property on Mattie Road and won’t include other assets such as its name, menu or recipes, Green said.
Green said he expects the first bid to come in at around $2.6 million, with an auction driving the price up depending on what buyers are willing to pay.
McLintocks leaves legacy in SLO County
McLintocks was launched by co-founders Bruce Breault and Tunny Ortali, who purchased Matties, a 100-year-old farmhouse restaurant on Highway 101 in Shell Beach, and renovated it, turning it into a saloon-themed dining hall that featured a giant stuffed buffalo in its waiting area and a large gift shop.
A second San Luis Obispo location would follow in 1975, along with a line of retail food products.
In its heyday in the 90s, the steakhouse ranked as the nation’s 30th most-profitable restaurant, drawing in high-profile guests such as then-Gov. George Deukmejian.
McLintocks then expanded into Paso Robles and Arroyo Grande, reaching a total of four locations across San Luis Obispo County.
However, recent years have seen the local brand’s footprint shrink, with the Paso Robles location closing in 2020 after a 23-year run — a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic — and the Arroyo Grande location closing in 2024 after 40 years.
The last remaining McLintocks location, on Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo, continues to serve crowds with its barbecue at the Thursday night Farmers Market, but the saloon itself has only been open sporadically.
The restaurant endured the loss of its two founders in recent years, Breault on Nov. 28, 2020, and Ortali on Sept. 22, 2021.
Bruce Breault’s son Toney Breault, who ran the McLintocks and other longtime local establishments Buffalo Pub & Grill and Frank’s Famous Hot Dogs, also died unexpectedly earlier this year at age 54.
This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 2:28 PM.
