June 1, 2006

End of an era

Farewell celebration for Almaden Feed & Fuel

Customers still aim to attain historical status

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

What started out as a farewell celebration ended as a call to action at the Almaden Feed & Fuel on Memorial Day. Although the current owner plans to develop the site, patrons are racing against time to save the establishment by having it designated a historical landmark.

For Jenn Foster (pictured with Connie Smith and her son Jake), who relocated here from Arizona and started working here 3 ½ years ago, the people at the Feed and Fuel are her family. Photos by Lorraine Gabbert

When current owner Jon Carson applied to the city for a development permit to rezone the property for 14 single family homes, Almaden residents Mark Erickson and Ed Della Monica set to work researching the history of the restaurant and bar, along with the possibility of relocating the building.

As patrons began to remove mementos from the walls, Della Monica stopped them with a rallying cry. “It’s not over yet!” he exclaimed. “Jon doesn’t have the zoning done and we’re not about to give up. We can’t let the Feed & Fuel be destroyed!” His declaration was met with the solidarity of patrons whose joy at reuniting with old friends had been tinged all day with the prospect of having their neighborhood gathering place destroyed.

Della Monica believes that this site, which was constructed in 1892, is worth preserving. “I live in New Almaden by the Quicksilver mines and the old cemetery and it’s a unique area full of history, and Almaden Feed & Fuel is its gateway,” he said. Through their research, a committee of dedicated patrons has learned that as well as being a stagecoach stop between downtown San Jose and New Almaden’s Quicksilver mines, Civil War generals and Lincoln’s troops stopped there. “It’s part of California’s history,” he adds.

The Almaden Feed & Fuel is a popular hangout for bikers. The noise from these bikes has drawn complaints from nearby neighbors.

Like many long-standing customers, Della Monica doesn’t understand why Carson chose to develop this site. “He could have bought property anywhere,” he says, “Why knock down an historical building and destroy something over 100 years old?”

Denelle Fedor, former Almaden resident agrees. “It’s a responsibility when you buy a piece of property to maintain it in the way it is meant to be maintained,” she said. “The current owner had live entertainment, which did not create a positive community environment.”

As a child, Fedor recalls having dinners with her family at Almaden Feed & Fuel, when it was a family restaurant and bar like Chili’s or Applebee’s with the rustic charm of Henry’s Hi-Life. “A community isn’t made up of only homeowners but should include a variety of uses, including businesses and restaurants. Developers and eminent domain should not dictate what is or isn’t a community nor homeowners who move into an existing community.”

The 1937 Almaden Days Parade in front of the Hills View Inn (now Almaden Feed & Fuel) on Almaden Road. Pictured: Terry O’Connor in a tuxedo, Harry Pollock in the left front seat and Florence Pfeiffer in the back seat. (Photo courtesy of Marge Calcaterra, previously Miss Pfeiffer).

Della Monica and Fedor are also frustrated that the county has been unwilling to grant their committee’s request to rezone land along McKean Road from agricultural to commercial, permitting them to relocate the bar and grill there, although it is considering rezoning the Almaden Feed & Fuel’s property from agricultural to residential.

However, according to Della Monica, the best-case scenario for those who consider the Feed & Fuel a home away from home is to leave it standing at its present location. With this goal in mind, they will present their case to the Historic Landmark Commission at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at San Jose City Hall.

Quicksilver Kitchen owner Connie Smith remembers a time before suburban sprawl when the Quicksilver Kitchen and Redwood Cabin Tavern were popular destinations along Almaden Road and hopes that the Almaden Feed & Fuel won’t be the next landmark destroyed to make way for houses. “After spending 10 years of my life there,” she says, “I watched them demolish my restaurant to build houses. For that to happen again would be a shame. I’m surrounded by ‘progress’ and it’s just sad.”

Bartenders and patrons at Almaden Feed & Fuel were like family. Pictured from left are Nikonake Guzman, “Momma” Linda Guzman, Jack and Cheri Maes.

The farewell gathering at Almaden Feed & Fuel on Memorial Day was bittersweet for Smith, who notes that visitors there aren’t just patrons, but friends. “It was like old times,” she says, “but it was also sad. Some people were saying, ‘Oh did you come to the wake?’ Everyone had a good time but we’re hoping it can still be saved.”

Jerett Blaskey has frequented the establishment from the time he turned 21. “I’ve met a lot of good friends here,” he says. “It’s the only bar in this little town. It means a lot to people and it would be sad it see it go.” Longtime customer Ian McIntosh agrees. “It’s like getting evicted from my home,” he says.

Previous Almaden Feed & Fuel owner Blondie Barnd recalls when she ran the place in the 1980s and ‘90s and the place was always packed. “The dinner house specialized in steaks and baby back ribs,” she says. “People used to walk over for dinner and some would stay and listen to the bands and dance. Something was happening all the time.”

“This is our bar!” Noble Grand Humbug, Mountain Charlie desires to preserve the heritage of this watering hole.

Besides being a community social center, the Almaden Feed & Fuel has supported many community organizations and held fundraisers for Leland High School, Little League and Pop Warner among others. It is also a special place for horsemen.

The site is also held dear by many local residents who have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries there. Some couples even met and held their wedding receptions at the restaurant. According to Lauren Bowker, who is known locally as “Hi d’ Ho!” for 50 years, the Santa Clara Horsemen have ridden their horses there after meetings.

Bowker, who met his significant other Christina Weiss there 15 years ago, took this to the next level, riding his horse through the bar on their anniversary. “It’s a place where everyone knows your name,” he says, “and friendship is as good as gold.”

Bowker considers the Almaden Feed & Fuel one of the last vestiges of Almaden’s history. “They tore down the Quicksilver Kitchen and Redwood Cabin Tavern,” he notes, “and closed New Almaden’s Country Store, Opry House and Down Under.”

Motorcyclists also enjoy hanging out at the Almaden Feed & Fuel. Photos by Lorraine Gabbert

According to news writer Patricia Loomis in the July 30, 1956 edition of the San Jose Evening News, the saloons were patronized by ranchers, miners and workers at Pfeiffer's Greystone quarry, stagecoach riders and frequent visitors to New Almaden. “This remains the last standing saloon and Way Station of the original nine between downtown San Jose and the Quicksilver Mines,” says Bowker. “Everybody and everything stopped at these saloons for more than 125 years.”

In addition to providing research to the Historical Landmark Commission, the committee dedicated to saving the Almaden Feed & Fuel is pursuing its own historical evaluation. The previous evaluation from Archeological Resource Management rates the building and location a high level "Structure of Merit" at 56.43 percent, just a few points shy of a "Candidate City Landmark" at 67 percent.

“We think the City Council needs a better reason to let the Almaden Feed & Fuel be torn down than to just build more homes,” says Bowker. “We need to preserve this part of this living history!” Della Monica agrees. “We’re not giving up yet,” he says. “We’re going to give it all the fight we can.”