Sail Inn, landmark West Sacramento ‘fish grotto’, closes nearly 4 years after renovation
Sail Inn Grotto & Bar in West Sacramento, which had assumed new ownership in 2016 after being shuttered for more than two years, closed permanently after New Year’s Eve, ownership said.
The project had been the product of the team that opened Shady Lady Saloon. The trio of Alex Origoni, Jason Boggs and Garrett Van Vleck rebranded the restaurant, formerly known simply as Sail Inn, in partnership with the building’s owner and landlord, Wayne Morse.
Morse told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday that Tuesday was Sail Inn’s last day, and that he was “retiring from the restaurant business” to move on to new endeavors.
“It was a great experience,” Morse said. “I got to meet a lot of great people in West Sacramento.”
Morse did not indicate what was next for the location, at 1522 Jefferson Blvd., but added that if new owners establish a restaurant there, he hopes locals will embrace it.
Origoni told The Bee in 2016 that “Sacramento needed a fish grotto,” and the neighborhood bar was fully renovated after sitting vacant and dilapidated.
In its original run, Sail Inn was a roadhouse bar. In the 1980s, bartender Virginia Mochel disappeared after her shift, her body later found and death attributed to serial killer Gerald Gallego.
Regardless, the renovated restaurant pulled on its storied history and kept “Sail Inn” in its name.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 12:40 PM.
