British pub to fill old Oddfellows hall British pub to fill old Oddfellows hall (July 02, 2004)

Major facelift set on boarded up downtown structure
by Jeb Bing

The Crown, one of Danville's most popular restaurant, is back again with plans to open its second British pub and dining establishment in downtown Pleasanton.

Owners Mari and Paul Kennard have signed a lease for the first floor of a historic building at 358 St. Mary St. and plan to open their new establishment early next year.

Patterned after their Danville establishment, Mari Kennard said the Pleasanton facility would offer indoor and outdoor dining, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a full service bar. She will ask the Planning Commission for a conditional use permit to allow the restaurant and bar to stay open past 10 p.m.

The Kennards have lived in Pleasanton for 15 years and their four children have graduated from Amador Valley High School. Mari Kennard said they have long eyed a downtown Pleasanton site for a second restaurant, but were rebuffed last year in their bid to lease the ground floor of Coffee Roast Express.

In leasing to the Kennards, building owner James Byrd said he will remodel and expand the entire structure to accommodate both the new restaurant as well as to convert the second floor into offices. That will increase floor space from 6,100 square feet to 7,685.

First built as a Methodist Episcopal Church in 1888, the building was rotated 90 degrees and expanded in the early 1900s. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows purchased and occupied the building in 1911, with the Church of the Divine using the building for religious services and counseling starting in the 1980s. Since then, it has seen a variety of uses, including a grocery store, liquor store, delicatessen and most recently, a Chinese restaurant, which closed four years ago.

Besides expanding and upgrading the facility, Byrd also will tear down some of the oldest parts of the structure. Associate city planner Steve Otto said that would make sense since some of the structure is more than 100 years old, and it has been moved, turned and modified to the point that it bears almost no resemblance to the church as it originally was. It also has significant termite and dry rot damage.

Because of the building's long identification with the Oddfellows, Mari Kennard said she might name the new restaurant and pub after the organization.

"After all, we're a British restaurant and the Oddfellows are a traditional British organization with links back to the days of the Guilds," she said.

Both Byrd's and the Kennards' plans for the St. Mary Street building have been endorsed by the Pleasanton Downtown Association and the Planning Commission. The moves also brought relief to planners and downtown business owners who have long complained about Byrd's boarded-up structure.

Work will begin later this summer with completion scheduled in January 2005.

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