Point Reyes Light - September 23, 1999
San Francisco chefs buy Olema Inn
The Olema Inn, a lively frontier hostelry turned elegant restaurant and bed and breakfast inn, is being sold to a San Francisco couple for an undisclosed amount.
Professional chefs Dana and Jennifer Sulprizio, both graduates of California Culinary Academy, are buying the 123-year old restaurant and inn from Roger and Marianne Braun of San Anselmo.
Roger Braun said Wednesday that the deal is now in escrow, which is set to close on October 15. Although he didn't divulge the sales price, Braun did say that the price had been adjusted to reflect numerous renovations he and his wife had done since they purchased the property in 1991. (The inn was offered to the Brauns then for $1.4 million).
"There is a lot more here than what there used to be," he said. "We added a porch, did work in the gardens, did some painting, and replaced most of the kitchen."
Braun explained that the Sulprizios plan to make only a few small changes to the inn, and will retain the current chef, manager, and crew. Dana Sulprizio confirmed that he and his wife will maintain the inn's classic and elegant atmosphere and appearance, while making only "subtle" changes.
"We plan to run it as it is through the rest of the year," Sulprizio said. "And then in January we plan to close for a couple of weeks to do some painting, to re-finish the floors, and a few things like that."
As for the menu, Sulprizio said he will make some minor changes, but wants mostly to enhance the offerings with products from the immediate region. "We want to highlight what's already on the menu, and take the opportunity to use the fresh, local produce," he explained.
He said he particularly wants to work with the area's seafood, and the region's wines.
The Olema Inn first opened as the Olema Hotel back in 1876, when it was part of a 9,000-acre rancho granted to Rafael Garcia by the Mexican government.
Garcia established the inn as the town's premier gathering place for ranchers, farmers, and loggers, until it was finally lost by his son Felix in a gambling deal to stagecoach owner John Nelson. Three generations of Nelsons subsequently managed the inn, which was known for its sunny rooms and gourmet fare.
Immediately after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the inn was commandeered by the armed forces as barracks. According to historian Jack Mason, then owner Edgar Nelson, at the age of 75, became "sick of heart" at the damage the troops were doing to the place, and finally "walked into the hotel yard and shot himself."
The inn fell into full disrepair after the war, but was finally restored to its original beauty in 1988 after Drake and One Corporation purchased it for $850,000.
Drake and One's tenure at the Olema Inn helm lasted only three years until they sold it to Roger and Marianne Braun.
Trained as chefs in their native Switzerland, the Brauns first opened the Swiss Cellar restaurant in Ross in 1974, which they sold in 1978 to open the Swiss House on Pier 39 in San Francisco, which they sold last year.
Roger Braun told The Light that he and his wife look forward to retiring to their San Anselmo home after years of working 12- to 14-hour days. "We need to take a little break," he said. "We want to relax and work in the garden."
Braun believes that it is a good time for the new owners to take over the inn. He said that the last year was "the best ever" for the business and foresees no problems for the mid-October transfer.
The Sulprizios, meanwhile, look forward to finally settling in West Marin after five years of searching for their own business. "We had decided to move to the area before we even knew that the Olema Inn might be for sale," Dana Sulprizio said.
The inn, he explained, had been at the top of their wish-list since admiring it one day while stopped at the intersection on Highway 1. "My wife and I looked at each other and said, 'Wouldn't that place be perfect?' Now, we're just looking forward to being part of the community."
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