Building owner Ignacio Velazquez has reached a deal with Country
Rose owners Sharon Baker and Nicole Geslin to have them move their
restaurant into the central downtown location at the corner of
Fifth and San Benito streets.
HOLLISTER
Expect piles of potatoes and a lot more down-home cooking in downtown Hollister now that The Vault has closed for good and Country Rose will move into the space.
Building owner Ignacio Velazquez has reached a deal with Country Rose owners Sharon Baker and Nicole Geslin to have them move their restaurant into the central downtown location at the corner of Fifth and San Benito streets. Velazquez remains the building’s owner in the lease arrangement, but there was no sale of rights relating to The Vault brand.
That means the decade-old restaurant catering mostly to lunch and dinner crowds will give way to a breakfast-focused business that has thrived and outgrown its latest location at 696 Fourth St.
Baker noted their current site’s lack of space for a growing customer base and the downtown building’s size and visibility as key factors in the decision.
Country Rose has been at the Fourth Street spot for three years and before that ran out of a San Felipe Road location for two years. Baker hopes they can move into the 452 San Benito St. building by May 1 and she doesn’t expect Country Rose will have to close at all during the transition.
She said Country Rose’s regulars are most concerned the restaurant’s atmosphere could change with the move. Although the owners plan to add a salad and soup bar to the menu, improve their lunch offerings and eventually offer a dinner menu, Baker said the atmosphere will remain the same.
“We’re going to try to keep it the Country Rose, the way we started,” Baker said, “where everything’s comfortable, where they don’t think they have to dress up and come to a fine-dining place.”
That means customers can expect the same Country Rose fixtures – such as the popular Potato Pile that includes a heap of home-fried spuds, bell peppers, onion, sausage, bacon, cheese, sour cream and avocado.
Velazquez said he’s excited about the breakfast theme – The Vault never offered those items – and other ideas the Country Rose owners have for their business.
“They’re dedicated,” he said. “They understand the building, how beautiful it is. They want to bring in old pictures of the community and emphasize the historical part of the building.
“The whole experience has been great – knowing who they are, knowing what they’re going to do.”
Still undecided is how to handle the building’s second floor – which Velazquez had used sporadically for special events, parties and extra bar space during the biker rally weekends.
“We’re doing a pretty good volume right here and we don’t want to try to do too much at one time,” Baker said. “We’re kind of just going to take baby steps.”
