KING CITY — A six-foot wide photo from the 1914 fire at the Vendome Hotel in King City has been installed at the Rising Phoenix Tap Room at 320 Broadway.
The newly opened business in the town’s historic district is the setting for one of the oldest buildings in town.
Originally built shortly after the town was founded when the railroad arrived in 1886, the hotel was called the San Lorenzo Hotel on the site known as the Vanderhurst block. It was a wooden structure later named the Vendome Hotel and was known for shuttling travelers from the railroad station to the hotel three blocks away.
On July 17, 1914, the upper floor of the structure caught fire and the building was destroyed. The fire, as reported in the King City Rustler newspaper, was so intense that windows across the street were damaged.
It took four years before the property was rebuilt. In 1918, the owner opted for a concrete structure trying to avoid the fire danger of wood. The Vendome continued to serve hotel-goers for many years and was well-known for the Top Hat bar on the first floor.
After the freeway bypassed King City in 1968, Broadway became less traveled and the hotel fell into disrepair.
In April 2018, local businessmen Chris Davis, Chris Madson and Jerry Rava bought the property and worked to restore it. They remodeled upstairs rooms into studio apartments, which were rented to Mee Memorial Hospital for use by their medical staff.
Hestia Coffee and Garcia Wireless moved into the building to provide new retail, and the city converted several parking spaces into a bulb-out dining area.
This past summer, Hever Mendez and his business partner, Matthew Ronconi, remodeled the west side of the building and included a beer garden area behind the building, which is now the Rising Phoenix Tap Room. The business offers beer on tap and other beverages with pizza made in a wood-fired oven. They have made a new place for nightlife and family-friendly gatherings for friends.
Like the rising phoenix of mythology, the tap room has brought new life to the 300 block of Broadway. The large photo hanging on the wall shows proof that a fire that was once a tragedy has evolved into a town asset.
The photo was made possible by a grant from the Rita and Luis Echenique Foundation. Local historians John and Karen Jernigan worked with the Kirk Kennedy Studios of Salinas to enlarge and frame the photo.
The Rising Phoenix Tap Room owners encourage the public to stop by to see the photo. Hours at the Tap Room are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 9 p.m., Fridays from 3 to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 2 to 10 p.m., Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
