Oldest store on SLO County’s North Coast begins major remodel after 2-year closure
The historic Sebastian’s General Store in Old San Simeon Village has been closed for more than two years.
Now there’s some visible activity toward rebuilding and reopening the circa 1860s structure.
Crews from Covelop Inc. of San Luis Obispo began demolishing the deck at 442 SLO San Simeon Road on Sept. 20.
They’re also figuring out which of the restrooms and cold storage outbuildings can be renovated and which need to be drastically updated, according to Covelop principal Pat Arnold.
Arnold estimates that it will take about eight months and more than $1 million to make the former general store stronger, safer and up to code, while maintaining its historical flavor.
That’s “much more expensive than most people would assume. Quite a bit more,” said Ben Higgins, whose employer, Hearst Corp., owns the structure. “Astronomical, really, considering its small size. Such is the cost of doing business in our state, as well as a testament to Hearst’s commitment to the long-term preservation and use of this historic building.”
Sebastian’s has been closed since August 2019, when Hearst Corp. shuttered the building after an engineer’s safety study reported that the structure wasn’t safe to occupy — in part because it was built with no foundational support.
Hearst Ranch Winery’s tasting room, which had been located within Sebastian’s, moved catty-corner across the road to one of Hearst’s historic, oceanfront warehouses.
History of San Simeon store
Sebastian’s has been registered as a California Historical Landmark since 1960.
According to California State Parks’ Office of Historic Preservation, Sebastian’s is “the oldest store building along the North Coast of San Luis Obispo County.”
“Built in the 1860s at Whaling Point (also known as San Simeon Point), one-half mile to the west, it was moved to its present location in 1878,” the Office of Historic Preservation’s website says.
According to an excerpt from the Hearst Historical Research Evaluation report, Leopold Frankl, who operated a store located on two San Simeon lots he’d purchased from David Mallagh, used a team of oxen to relocate next to that store “the empty Grant, Lull and Company general store building at the whaling wharf on the point.”
“The two stores were joined together to create a single, larger store,” the report said, noting that the combined structure is now “commonly known as the Sebastian Store.”
Hearst Corp. has owned Sebastian’s since December 2009, when the Sebastian family heirs sold the store and the land under it to the corporation named after publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Hearst Corp. had been leasing it for about 18 months prior to that.
Higgins, Hearst Corp. director of agricultural operations, is shepherding the Sebastian’s restoration project for the corporation.
Sebastian’s restoration project starts after 2-year wait
Getting approvals to restore Sebastian’s to its former condition was a multi-level endeavor requiring involvement from county and state agencies and other entities.
All that planning and permitting took time, according to Higgins and Hearst heir Stephen Hearst, Hearst Corp. vice president and general manager of the corporation’s Western properties, including the 83,000-acre Hearst Ranch in San Simeon and the Jack Ranch in Cholame.
Hearst said in August that having the restored Sebastian’s “feel like home ... is certainly the direction that I have given.”
“Sebastian’s store should be, for all intents and purposes, inside and out, as it was prior to ‘surgery,’ Hearst said. “I want it to look the same, I want it to smell the same inside … When we restore/maintain a structure, we maintain them in their everlasting appearances.”
That’s Hearst Corp.’s mission, he said, as it was with restoring the San Simeon ranch bunkhouse, Sen. George Hearst’s home and the beach houses.
New foundation, more in store
The Sebastian’s store renovation project started with crews “demoing the decks,” Higgins wrote via email.
Then, he wrote, “We are actually planning on moving the entire building to construct a new foundation and lay utilities underneath, in addition to other structural repairs, floor plan changes and related improvements.”
He estimated that the move likely would happen in late October.
Moving the building, rather than elevating it in place, is “vastly preferable in terms of worker safety,” Higgins explained.
He and Arnold concurred that doing heavy construction underneath an aging, unstable building just wouldn’t have been safe.
According to Higgins, Applied EarthWorks of San Luis Obispo is “overseeing the historic and cultural monitoring” of the project.
“We’ll be out there making sure the historic parts of the building will be preserved during construction,” explained Amber Long, senior architectural historian for Applied EarthWorks.
Noting that Sebastian’s “is actually two buildings that were squished together in 1878,” Long said she hopes the firm will be able to document which one is the oldest.
Applied EarthWorks archaeology experts will monitor any finds of historic or prehistoric artifacts, Long said, noting that any archaeological finds “could temporarily delay the construction.”
Such finds will also “tell us more about what was going on in San Simeon during the late 19th century,” she said.
Arnold, a Cal Poly engineering graduate, estimated that his crews will need every bit of eight months to complete the current phase of the project — from putting in a foundation to placing utility connections, roofing, siding and more.
Interior modifications will follow, with Hearst Corp. and its eventual tenant taking the lead on that design.
Many of the original elements will be retained, such as the bumpy interior flooring, while others will be replicated.
“We’re used to dealing with old, weird stuff,” said Arnold, whose company owns and restored The Creamery Marketplace in downtown San Luis Obispo. “We need to get it done and finished, weather tight and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant so people can walk on it safely.”
The new flooring “will have all the character (of the original), but people need to get to the bathroom safely,” he said.
“We’re working hard to keep the exact profile,” Arnold said, focusing on “the siding, the overlap” and other factors.
“We absolutely want to retain the historic look and feel of this building for many years to come,” Higgins said last year.
In the meantime, those who love the old store building and all it represents have been watching and impatiently waiting for the return of Sebastian’s.
Hank Krzciuk of San Simeon elatedly told his peers on the North Coast Advisory Council on Sept. 15 that “the Sebastian’s restoration has been approved!”
It was a progress report that he defined as “super!”
Even though two years seems like a long wait, Krzuik said, “That’s really fast to get through county approval. It’s a wonderful thing that finally happened.”
“It’s amazing how generous Hearst is with our communities,” he added.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
