Eddie Papa’s owner’s dream coming true: A restaurant on Main Street

The prestigious and elegant Pleasanton Hotel is returning to the downtown dining scene.

Ed Westmoreland, who owns Eddie Papa’s restaurant on Hopyard Road, has pulled together 17 investors to bring back entertainment and fine dining at the hotel, which dates back to 1915.

“Eddie Papa’s is very successful, but it’s not downtown,” he said. “This is an opportunity for me to be involved on Main Street and to restore the Grand Lady, as the hotel is called.”

Work is underway to rebuild and furnish the hotel’s first floor with only a small desk and one chair in the corner near the front window on Main Street to serve as Westmoreland’s “office.”

Westmoreland has named that area, to the right of the main entrance, the Clubhouse. It will be the first to open, probably by the end of September, and will provide its own casual menu of luncheon and supper specialties.

At the back of the Clubhouse is the hotel’s famous bar that has been there for 60 years. There will be 25 barstools at the bar, with smaller tables nearby. The bar will serve 30 craft beers, local wines and other alcoholic drinks, with five flat-screen TVs hanging behind.

Across from the bar in a separate area, patrons can enjoy their beverages and meals at tall tables in front of a 40-inch television. There’s even a mini-courtyard accessible from the bar for those who just want to stand and chat without a TV.

“The Clubhouse and bar area will be great places to come after a day downtown or on the golf course to have a variety of beverages and fine food,” Westmoreland said. “But it won’t be a sports bar where you find a TV in every corner.”

Also under construction are Lily’s Spirit Room, a new white tablecloth restaurant, a banquet room that will seat 120 at a time, and The Patio, a 100-seat outdoor area with a large TV and a place for music, dancing, even shuffleboard and a dart courtyard.

“Because fall is coming, The Patio will be open for only a brief period this year,” Westmoreland said. “We’ll really pick it up in the spring of next year.”

Westmoreland plans to rent out the Banquet Room for social and business events, including wedding receptions, anniversaries, fundraisers, and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce has already booked the room for one of its mixers.

Westmoreland plans to make the Lily’s Spirit Room Pleasanton’s favorite.

Scheduled to open in time for Thanksgiving dining, it’s named after Lily, the intriguing “friend” who has been haunting the Pleasanton Hotel forever.

“We haven’t seen her,” Westmoreland said, although upstairs office tenants of the hotel have reported unusual nighttime noises and possible sightings.

When fully opened, Lily’s will offer lunch and dinner as well as Sunday brunch.

Westmoreland’s executive chef, Ryan Osentowski, said almost everything served at the new Pleasanton Hotel restaurants will be California-sourced, much of it from the Bay Area. Fresh fish will be purchased from coastal fisheries, beef from Valley farms and poultry from Petaluma chicken ranches.

As many vegetables as possible will come from the Livermore gardens at Hagemann Ranch, maintained by Sunflower Hill, which provides educational/vocational programs and housing for special needs individuals.

Osentowski is joining the Westmoreland team after years of experience at Worth Ranch in San Ramon, Campo di Bocce in Livermore and Bourbon Steak at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

“There are great memories throughout the community of their experiences at the Pleasanton Hotel,” Westmoreland said. “My goal is to help people re-live those memories and create new ones.”

Editor’s note: Jeb Bing is editor emeritus for the Pleasanton Weekly. His “Around Pleasanton” columns typically run on the second and fourth Fridays of every month.

Editor’s note: Jeb Bing is editor emeritus for the Pleasanton Weekly. His “Around Pleasanton” columns typically run on the second and fourth Fridays of every month.