Nepenthe (restaurant)

Nepenthe
Company typePrivate
Industry
  • Restaurant
  • Gift shop
FoundedApril 24, 1949; 75 years ago (1949-04-24) in Big Sur, California, United States
FounderBill and Lolly Fassett
Area served
Big Sur
Key people
Willie Nelson, Hunter S. Thompson
OwnerKirk Gafill, grandson of founders
Number of employees
135 [1] (2017)
Websitenepenthe.com

Nepenthe is a restaurant in Big Sur, California, built by Bill and Madelaine "Lolly" Fassett and first opened in 1949. It was built around a cabin first constructed in 1925. It is known for the miles-long panoramic view of the south coast of Big Sur from the outdoor terrace[2][3] and its California/Greek Mediterranean menu featuring locally and California-grown food.

Orson Welles and his wife Rita Hayworth bought the cabin around which the restaurant is built from the Trail Club of Jolon on a whim as a romantic getaway. The couple measured the windows for curtains, but never returned.[4][5] The Fassetts bought the cabin and surrounding land from Welles and Hayworth in 1947 for $22,000. They named the restaurant after a potion used by the ancient gods to induce forgetfulness from pain or sorrow.[6][7]

The restaurant is located 29 miles (47 km) south of Carmel, California and about 800 feet (240 m) above the coast. The business has had to endure multiple closures of Highway 1 since its founding due to fire, floods, and mudslides.

The restaurant employs 105 people and maintains about 20 workforce housing units.[8]

  1. ^ Big Sur: Exploring California's Tourist Hot Spot Turned Ghost Town
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference strories1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "California Bucket List". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 2017-12-24. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference weekly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Nepenthe cabin where it all began 60 years ago". The Mercury News. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference nmga was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Granddaughter writes history of Nepenthe". San Francisco Chronicle. November 13, 2009. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  8. ^ "The Long Road to Work". Retrieved 29 June 2023.