"It's so hip and cool... it's like someplace you'd find in Sacramento!"
Well, there's a mighty high bar to clear.
Seriously, these people need to get out more.
The subject of the above comment was the newly re-opened Padre Hotel in downtown Bako. It's been a downtown landmark since the 20's, but had sat derelict and boarded up for years. The owner had a long running dispute with the city over his plans for the property, and he did what any sane businessman with a beef with the city does - he built a full size mock-up of a nuclear missile and had it mounted on the roof pointed directly as city hall. For years.
Bako-ites, nothing but subtle.
At any rate, he finally sold out to a group of investors several years ago, and they poured millions of dollars into renovating the hotel and finally giving Dogpatch a little hipness and class.
And by all accounts they've succeeded in spades.
Everyone is raving about it, and what I've seen on the TeeVee and off their website (where I stole the above photo, because I'm lazy) looks positively "Sunset Strip-ish".
Kind of "The Standard Hotel meets a dude ranch".
Even "Viceroy-esque", without the chartreuse.
Who, exactly, would stay there is anyone's guess. It's definitely designed for the "A-list" crowd, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to check in. Any hapless travelers who find themselves stranded here, either on business or because of a blown tire, have their pick of Ramadas out by the highway.
I hope they can make their money back at the bars.
I'm sure at some point we'll check it out... while it's still open.
Because here's the thing - if you talk to the locals you'll hear about countless people who, over the past 20 years, have opened up numerous chic, hip, cool, un-Bako restaurants, bars and clubs. And after an initial splash, a brief honeymoon, they've all failed within a year.
Probably because they didn't have drive-up.
At some point you realize Bako is the way it is because that's the way Bako likes it, and they don't need any city folk to tell them otherwise. When Sacramento is considered too cosmopolitan, you're banging your head against a brick wall.
Still, hope springs eternal. It looks really nice.
