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The Stable Cafe, a classic diner that has been tucked away inside the Alameda County Fairgrounds for decades, has decided to remain open despite having lost a significant portion of its clientele due to the recent closure of the stables and horse racing at the site.
Maria Juarez, a Walnut Creek resident and the current owner of the cafe, told the Weekly Monday that she plans on serving the community for as long as she can.
“Between the people wanting me to stay (open) and me not having anything else to do, I decided to stay and see how the cafe holds up throughout these next few months,” Juarez said in a Spanish-language interview with the Weekly, translated into English.
While she couldn’t say for certain what the Pleasanton fairgrounds might have planned for the restaurant in the future, she said if they let her she will continue to stay open.
“I have plans of staying here for a while but I don’t know what (the fairgrounds) office have planned … but if they let me stay and the cafe stays operational, I’ll stay there,” she said.
The California Association of Racing Fairs — the joint-powers authority that conducts business activity with fair associations and also represents the horse racing industry in the state — announced in January it was not going to pursue any horse racing meets this year, including at the summer fair in Pleasanton.
CARF had rallied to try to put together a full year of racing in 2025 following the closure of Golden Gate Fields — the horse racing track in Berkeley that had typically hosted these horse meets — late last year.
According to a March 28 press release from the Alameda County Agricultural Fair Association, the fair had been engaged in discussions with Bernal Park Racing to “explore options for maintaining training and stabling operations in Pleasanton”.
However, the Southern California Vanning and Stabling Committee still announced that the fairgrounds will no longer serve as a licensed auxiliary vanning and stabling facility beyond March 25.
“Last week the Alameda County Fair and Bernal Park Racing requested an extension of vanning and stabling operations until June 1, 2025,” the March 28 fair press release stated. “Shortly thereafter, the Southern California Vanning and Stabling Committee determined that Pleasanton could no longer be utilized for these purposes due to the absence of a licensed operator, lack of regulatory approval, workman’s compensation requirements, and water quality compliance issues.”
While the fair association noted that this outcome has directly impacted racing employees, who were hired by individual horse owners and trainers, and their families, it has also affected the Stable Cafe’s primary customer base.
Juarez, an experienced restaurateur who runs Taqueria Plaza Mexico in Antioch with her husband, first reopened the cafe on June 14, 2024 after former longtime owner Esther Hall closed up shop in September 2023 so she could spend more time with her family in Utah.
But it wasn’t until last December that Juarez first learned about the closures of the stables and that the fair would be ceasing racing and training operations.
In an interview with Tri-Valley Foodist Deborah Grossman for a previous blog, Juarez said that she wasn’t happy with having to close up shop on March 25 — the same day that horses and their trainers had to vacate the site. But after talking to the fair association, she said they told her she could keep the cafe open for the community if she wanted to do so.
“We are excited Maria decided to stay open,” Kristin LaPorte, director of marketing and business development at the fairgrounds, told the Weekly. “The cafe is a great addition to the Fairgrounds. The community enjoys the Stable Cafe, they hold meeting(s) there and adore Maria.”
Juarez said while this week is the first full week where the cafe won’t see its usual customers who work at the stable, business hasn’t been affected too much.
Other employees who work at the fairgrounds, several neighboring residents and a group of veterans who have been going to the cafe since before she took over the business have been keeping business afloat, Juarez said.
“People from the community (still) come,” she said. “It’s not all the time but people are coming out.”
She said events like the recent All American Get-Together event that was hosted by the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association at the fairgrounds have also helped her business.
Juarez also said the people who have been visiting the cafe recently have also been helping her out with spreading the word that the restaurant is still open and she hopes that they can gain more traction in Pleasanton because she wants to expand the business and continue serving the community for as long as possible.
“That makes me happy because if they start recommending (the cafe) to their friends and family, that means more people will start coming back,” Juarez said.
She also said she is working on improving the cafe’s online presence so people know they are still open and are welcoming any and all customers, not just people who work at the fairgrounds.
The Stable Cafe is open every day from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The root cause of bad decisions is greed.
Greed plays a powerful role in driving many poor decisions often blinds people to consequences, prioitize short-term goals, and skews judgement.
Greed is tunnel vision, can narrow important factors like risks, ethics, or long term consequences. People may overlook red flags because they’re fixated on potetntial rewards.
We had lunch there a couple of weeks ago and will go back for sure. It’s not a white tablecloth spot, but the food is good, the atmosphere friendly and welcoming and you come away feeling nourished in both body and spirit. One of Pleasanton’s best off-the-beaten-path experiences. See ya’ again in a couple of weeks, Maria!
Never knew it even existed, but, thanks to this and Ms. Grossman’s article, we had breakfast there this morning. It was wonderful and Maria Juarez is very nice indeed. Places like this deserve our support!