After years of restoration, the historic seaside landmark returns with modern amenities, rental rates, and renewed community spirit

The Historic Cayucos Vets Hall has a new look, new name, and new rates, as the county gets ready to reopen what has been called “The Heart of Cayucos.”

Reporters and members of the Friends of the Cayucos Vets Hall were given an early tour of the facility that has been closed since 2016, when an inspection discovered it was structurally unsafe and was eventually condemned. What’s followed has been a complete rebuilding of the structure that dates back to 1873 and was originally a warehouse for Capt. James Cass’ import-export business.

Now dubbed Cayucos Landing, the Cayucos Veterans Hall is owned by California State Parks, and has been leased to SLO County since about the 1940s. For decades the Cayucos Lions Club was contracted to run the facility, which hosted public meetings for the Citizen’s Advisory Council and Sanitary District, and public celebrations like the Sea Glass Festival and Portuguese Festival, which used the facility for over 75 years, as well as for barbecues and bingo games on the 4th of July and more. Over the years, it’s hosted concerts and too many weddings to count. It truly was the heart of Cayucos — and if things go as the county hopes, it will soon be again.

The county is tentatively planning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 25, said County Parks & Recreation Director Tanya Richardson. The construction on the building is mostly completed with a few minor details being finished up. Richardson said they are awaiting issuance of a “certificate of occupancy,” which will have to come from the county fire marshal. They were given a temporary certificate, Richardson explained, which allowed them to give the media tour. Once they have that final certificate, they can nail down the schedule for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. That’s also when they will start taking reservations for its use. Richardson said they expect it will start being used by the public in October.

Before that, the Chamber of Commerce is planning a special event to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the town of Cayucos, which is affectionately also known as “The Town that Time Forgot,” for its Old West-themed Downtown buildings. Alicia Van Fleet of the Chamber of Commerce said they are planning a three-day celebration Sept. 19–21. Exact details are still being worked out, but Van Fleet said they plan a dance on Friday, a street fair on Saturday, and a Champagne Social on Sunday. Check the Chamber’s website for more details as they are announced.

As for the project, back in 2016 it was discovered that the stage floor in the old building had rotted out and was starting to collapse. An inspection of the whole building also uncovered a problem with the roof — it was no longer securely connected to the walls, and the concern was that a big-enough wind could literally blow the roof off. That led to the county closing it to the public, a move that not only kept it from being used but also displaced the Cayucos Art Association, which had a small gallery space on the east side of the building, away from the collapsing stage.

At one point, the Art Association was allowed to reopen the gallery, but it closed again when construction was getting ready to start. The closure also hurt all the other events that used to be held there and forced the community groups to find a new place to meet. The Cayucos School’s new gym took up some of this need, the CSD started using its own shop for meetings, and the Lions Club has been meeting at the Catholic Church for its weekly luncheons. It was a big blow for a town that had just gotten its other iconic structure, the Cayucos Pier, rebuilt and reopened. The Pier too had fallen into such disrepair that it had to be almost completely rebuilt from the beach some 950 feet out to the end.

The Vets Hall was further complicated because of its status as a historic structure, and under State Parks’ rules, it had to be rebuilt to as close of a historic look and as much of the building saved as possible. This, and its location literally butted up against the beach, brought in the Coastal Commission and its requirements for addressing sea level rise, among other coastal hazard concerns. From the public groundbreaking in December 2022 until now, the project has been a bear to complete.

Because of the historic nature of the building, the project’s “design and construction shall meet the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties,” reads Public Works’ web page on the job. The work had to include:

• Removal of non-historic additions and rehabilitation of the original Cass Warehouse (Main Hall)
• Salvaging original historic materials for re-application; adding new-to-match where needed
• Providing a new foundation 2.5 feet higher than current to address sea level rise
• Installation of new steel framing between two wood trusses to provide structural stability
• Construction of a new addition art gallery, history museum, and kitchen in style to match original building
• Renovating the barbecue patio and picnic area adjacent to the hall
• Providing new ADA-compliant exterior decking and boardwalk with access to the beach and pier

That access resulted in a beautiful 15-foot-wide walkway that starts at the Pier and runs all the way to the parking lot on the north side, creating a walkway overhanging the sand. It will be an amazing addition to the hall, which also features numerous large windows, and a set of doors on the west side overlooking the beach. The views of the ocean and pier are in every window and door.

The kitchen is modern with stainless steel ovens and a six-burner gas grill, plus large industrial refrigerators, and there’s a small meeting room off the kitchen that can be rented separately for small gatherings. The Art Association has a new gallery space that, while seeming to be small, is probably larger than the tiny space the Association had before. Richardson said it’s a space where all of the Association’s local artists will be able to display and sell their works. The Cayucos Historical Society also has a new roughly 425-square-foot space, and both the new museum and art gallery have their own separate entrances on the east side of the building.

The barbecue area has new brick pits and a huge expanse of concrete that seems to be a lot larger than the old picnic area used to be. However, it may just be that it doesn’t yet have the picnic tables that used to be there and the fencing is different too. The Lions Club members took the picnic tables and have been refurbishing them with plans to bring them back out of storage soon. Once the tables return, the picnic area may not seem so expansive.

But it’s the Main Hall that seems the most transformed. Richardson said it’s the exact same size as the old hall, but seems downright cavernous, as it no longer has fabric draped across the rafters that brought the ceiling in the old hall down. Without the fabric, which also used to help deaden sound, the hall seems more like a gymnasium, and there’s an echo, too. The stage is gone; Richardson said they decided not to replace it and chose to install the big glass doors that open onto the rear balcony overlooking the beach. In old photos of the original warehouse, that side has similar doors with rails entering the building from the pier. She said people who rent it can bring in a temporary stage and dance floor if they wish. The hardwood floor they installed throughout the building is beautiful.

Also gone is a small side room that used to be on the north side of the building that had been added on sometime in the past. On the outside, the walls overlooking the picnic area are sided in old barn wood while the three other sides are in new wood siding that has been painted, but in time should fade to better match the old barn wood on the other side. The building also now has an accessible, elevated walkway that nearly encircles the entire building, making the whole thing wheelchair accessible.

On the roof is a steeple housing the old Fire Bell that used to be installed at the Cayucos Fire Station a block away on Cayucos Drive. Signage across the roof peak harkens back to the days when the warehouse sold dry goods and stock feed and was a hub for commerce to area dairies and farms that Cayucos was famous for.

Funding for the project had to be pieced together from several sources including the California Natural Resources Agency, State Parks Department through Prop. 68, the State Coastal Conservancy, and the community, which raised over $500,000. The county also filled in the funding gap using proceeds from a bond sale.

The cost to rent the space is posted online. To rent just the Main Hall for a full 12 hours on a weekday (Monday–Thursday) it will cost $2,350; on Fridays and Sundays it’s $4,200; and on Saturdays it costs $5,600. A half-day rental (8 hours) is $1,333 weekdays; $2,389 Fridays and Sundays; and Saturdays it’s $3,170. There are also hourly rates and overtime rates (over 12 hours in a day).

The county has separate rates for renting just a portion of the building; for example, to rent the outdoor barbecue/picnic area it’s $598 for a weekday; $1,086 on Fridays and Sundays; and $1,455 on Sundays. Renting the full facility will run $5,183 on weekdays; $7,692 on Fridays and Sundays; and Saturdays is $9,744. Here too there are lower rates for shorter rental periods. It should be noted these rates do not include reservation fees or permitting fees, according to the county’s rate schedule.

Readers can make reservations for the Cayucos Landing event center online at cayucoslanding@co.slo.ca.us. Right now they have an “interest list” and they should begin taking actual reservations after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, tentatively set for Aug. 25. And come October, the heart of Cayucos will begin beating once again.

Feature Image: A look into the newly rebuilt Cayucos Vets Hall, now rechristened Cayucos Landing, a county-run event center that should start taking reservations for use in late August. It’s expected to go into use again in October after being closed since 2016. Photos by Neil Farrell