The iconic Felton restaurant, Don Quixote’s International Music Hall, has been sold to local businessman Bradd Barkan for $2.2 million.
The restaurant was owned and operated by Sue Ko since she purchased it in 1994.
“It was very joyful but it’s time to move on,” said Ko this week. She said there was keen interest from potential buyers. “Lots of people were sorry they didn’t get their opportunity.”
When escrow closes July 31, the Highway 9 restaurant will become Flynn’s Cabaret and Steak House, according to Barkan, 50, who operates California Dreaming Real Estate with Heidi Hart. His real estate office is next door to his new restaurant.
“I have a new purpose,” said Barkan, who also owns the Central Coast Wellness Center in Ben Lomond, a medicinal marijuana dispensary.
The new ame of the restaurant is a tribute to Flynn Post, former owner of Cali Style in Scotts Valley, who died of liver cancer two years ago at 35. Barkan said he and Post had been close friends for a decade.
The two discussed keeping Post’s name alive by opening a restaurant with Flynn’s name in the title.
Barkan, a resident of Love Creek in Ben Lomond for the past 12 years, has been in the restaurant business since he was a college student growing up in Upstate New York.
“Flynn knew this day would come,” he said.
Barkan and Post even discussed a favorite quote of the dying man that will be imprinted on each menu: “Breathe, Eat, Drink, Love, Be Present.”
Barkan added that he received support from Post’s wife, Kelly and the entire family, to rename the eatery.
The dining experience at Flynn’s will come full circle.
Gone will be the Mexican food found at Don Quixote’s, which was formerly named Tampico Grande.
The new name harkens back to Costella’s Chalet and Steak House, which occupied the building until the 1980s when it was sold.
The difference will be that patrons will have the option of ordering fresh seafood, organic, gluten-free dishes and grass-fed sustainable food products, said Barkan.
“The demand for this niche option outweighs the supply,” said Barkan, referring to eateries in the San Lorenzo Valley. “People can’t find a place to go.”
Barkan already feels at home in the restaurant. Even though his modern real estate office is located right next door, he has preferred to operate out of a large room off the foyer in Don Quixote’s. He has occupied the office space for the past two years.
The menu will become slightly more upscale, Barkan said, with lunch and dinner ranging from $15 to $60.
An all-you-can-eat salad bar and quick, less-expensive food at the bar will also be available.
One thing that won’t change is the restaurant’s eclectic approach to top-notch, international entertainment.
Acts will still be booked by Tom Miller, who has been in charge of bringing entertainment to the venue for 13 years.
“We’ll have a bigger budget and bring great music from all over the world to our neighborhood stage,” Miller said. “This is exciting stuff.”
