El Dorado Saloon & Grill up and roaring again: ‘Smelled like Pine-Sol more than a burger’
March 15 was a rotten day for Ron Martin, a cheerful man in the dining business who was suddenly delivering bad news.
The owner of the El Dorado Saloon & Grill in El Dorado Hills laid off 30 of his 34 employees. It was the result of being “hit over the head” with the coronavirus that swept across the globe and right into this region, leading to the shuttering of schools and reducing the restaurant industry to a dine-out trickle.
“That was brutal to let all those people go,” Martin said. “It wasn’t just us. Happened to places everywhere, and we said then that we were going to fight through this, that we’ll have our day and we’d get back.”
Friday was that day. And then Saturday, and then Sunday, with continued optimism on the menu and horizon. The El Dorado Saloon & Grill was booming over the weekend after dine-in service was allowed for the county, as it was for Placer County.
Martin was in the midst of the action Friday afternoon, the pop part of a mom-and-pop operation that includes wife Kat, brother Rob, sister Rhonda and parents, Fred and Mary.
Martin greeted patrons who waited more than 60 days to return to this popular spot on the corner of Francisco Drive and Green Valley Road and who didn’t mind the 30-minute wait to get inside. Customers were jovial as they hoisted a few and cleaned off their plates. This was something of a celebration, not a political stand in an effort to reopen the region.
Martin said he was pleasantly blown away by the customer response. He sensed there might be good crowds after posting on the restaurant’s Facebook page it would reopen for full business Friday. The restaurant took Wednesday and Thursday off from dine-out service only to prepare for the crunch of business. There were more than 5,500 page views on that Facebook post.
“It’s the busiest we’ve been,” Martin said. “Just wow.”
Even during rain showers Sunday, people waited for a seat. No one seemed to mind a good soaking.
“We had 30 people on the patio, then the rain, and everyone grabbed their plates and ran inside,” Martin said. “No one cared. It was amazing. People enjoyed the experience of being able to dine out. ... We’re in the business of environment. People come here to hang out, and we thrive in that environment.”
Of those 30 that Martin laid off? All but one returned to work, and the one who did not graduated from cosmetology school and is pursuing work in that field.
“Love it here and couldn’t wait to get back to work,” said Lynn Starr, a longtime server.
Starr spoke through a mask. All staffers wore face guards and ensured that the outside dining was well-spaced, with 6 feet between tables. And disinfectant was everywhere. Staffers regularly wiped down menus, door handles, tables, chairs, bar tops and the restrooms inside and out.
“It might’ve smelled like Pine-Sol more than a burger,” Martin said with a laugh.
Laughs part of the vibe here, and so is music. The only bummer in the reopen, Martin said, was the tunes will remain muted.
The El Dorado Saloon & Grill is big on Thursday karaoke and there’s live music Fridays and Saturdays. But those events draw large, packed-in crowds. None of that is encouraged as California gradually reopens its economy amid safety guidelines imposed by county health officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“If you think about karaoke,” Martin said, “not everyone sits in their own seat, and we’re not allowed to have 100-percent capacity yet with the restrictions. The music isn’t in our immediate plans. We don’t know when it will be, unfortunately.”
A lifelong California resident, Martin said his business was fortunate to have survived all of this. The family decided to close their business for a week after the pandemic hit to assess and plan. Then they started a bar remodel, hopeful of a reopening. Martin and family have winced at the closures of area restaurants, including Biba.
“Our heart goes out to all of them,” Martin said. “We read the paper, watch the news, and we feel for them as we’re all knee deep in this. We know the struggle and how difficult the restaurant business can be, and how successful and fun it can be.”
Martin and wife Kat are swamped beyond being restaurant owners. Busy is what they do. A one-time chiropractic specialist in the area, Martin is an assistant football coach at nearby Oak Ridge High School and Kat is the school’s cheer coach, which includes winning a national championship this academic year. Cheers to that.
“One thing about El Dorado Hills is it’s a tight-knit community, and there aren’t two more invested people than Ron and Kat,” said Eric Cavaliere, the Oak Ridge head football coach and longtime patron of the El Dorado Saloon & Grill. “They’re the faces of El Dorado Hills. It’s great that they’re back open. To figure out how to make it all work after the shutdown, to follow the rules, it speaks to their dedication of doing things right.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 4:00 AM.