Dear Dick,
I thought it might be best to write a letter rather than a column about your ‘demise,’ the word you kept using during our conversation. Although it seemed strange at first that you chose such a grim word, as our discussion progressed I understood. No, you are not dying but certainly your heart is breaking. And rightfully so. Thirty plus years of your life you’ve spent at O.B.’s Pub and Restaurant, which has become a second home to many locals, tourists, and employees, but more importantly a first home to you. Working seven days a week and often receiving calls after hours, OB’s has been more than a job; it’s been your life. To discover what OB’s has meant to you, all one has to do is look at your face; it’s all right there in your eyes as you lament, ‘This is me. This is my soul.’ Amidst packing boxes and walls bereft of the familiar OB’s barn wood, you scan the rustic antiques scattered in unorganized piles on the floor attempting to summarize a life of thirty-five years. Anyone with a heart can see your agony; OB’s is gasping for air and so are you and nobody wants to say goodbye.
In the last few weeks as the community has celebrated you and OB’s, you’ve recounted your story numerous times. For those of us who thought we knew the story, well, we didn’t. The beginnings start long ago and it only seems right to return there. Longtime resident Stefanie Olivieri clarifies for us all a little taste of history and perspective: ‘What many people may not realize is that in the 1950s and ‘60s Truckee was a dying town. Go back a bit further, say 65 years, and Truckee’s population crowned a mere 500 people. When OB’s opened in 1969 it was the first restaurant that brought people – from everywhere – to the boarded up downtown. OB’s breathed life into it, actually starting a renaissance. Robert’s Hardware and other businesses moved in, then sidewalks and the parking lot were added, all the while keeping the historic face of Truckee.’
Stefanie then reflects on the closing of OB’s, ‘Right now we’re at another time of change, a tipping point, as older establishments such as OB’s, the post office, church, and bank leave; and new ones such as the mill site development move in. I’m very sad to see OB’s close. It’s been such an important part of downtown.’
Soon after OB’s opened, Dick, you came on board. As a Sacramentan you visited Truckee all your life, but in 1972 after college and a brief stint in the military you moved to Truckee after OB’s manager and good friend, Bob Ferris, offered you a job as a waiter. Throughout the years you worked your way up to manager and then in 1983 you and Mike Linnett bought out the interest in the business. Finally, in 2000, the business of OB’s became exclusively yours. Armed with a time-honored reputation and intention to endorse a new lease, you continued the OB’s spirit with complete dedication: ‘I kept the quality. I kept the Truckee spirit – the spirit of the mountains, the river, the railroad and the people who represent it all.’
At the beginning of our conversation you mentioned it would take something big to create your demise. Even in the last five years when business started to fall off it was always your intention to keep OB’s alive and thriving for the community. In your own words you remarked, ‘Managing OB’s was not an issue of money; it was trying to perpetuate the concept – capture the spirit of Truckee – and that’s what I tried to maintain.’ To do this, you provided not only an engaging bar and popular family restaurant but housed numerous service club meetings and organized countless special events. Yet, it wasn’t enough.
With the recent boom, call it a second gold rush, rising prices forced some locals to move out of town, and those who remained started supporting the plethora of new restaurants. ‘I’m more of a local place and when so many new restaurants moved in I had to share a lot of the pie,’ you told me.
You explained further, ‘When OB’s first opened the style was ‘60s and ‘70s funk: a lot of plants, chandelier type lamps, barn wood, and stained glass. I added antiques to give it more of a classy Western feel. Of course, with the move toward more modern restaurants I became a bit of a dinosaur. With the loss of local patronage I wasn’t able to cover my expenses and improvements, yet I stayed around because of the people and my belief in Truckee. The recent unattainable rent increase (or selling price) was my final undoing. Continuing to lease or buy from owner Albert O’Brien simply wasn’t doable; this created my final demise.’
As we concluded our conversation, I took a long look around the dining room dressed in delicate lace curtains, hanging plants, and antiques. I finally began to understand why this is so hard. But, there was something else I noticed and realized for the first time, something much bigger. Yes, you’ve kept the spirit of Truckee alive, but the West was here too, highlighted in the décor. From your grandparents’ farm in Kansas to other rural areas in the country, your collection of old wooden sleds and barrels, leather horse collars, rusted winches and crosscut saws, and black and white photographs of Native American Indians and pioneer settlers has reminded us of the beginnings of our small mountain community. In one photograph, in particular, an older OB’s building with the sign ‘Bakery and Grocery’ captures a Truckee of days gone by. Next door another sign reads, ‘Beer 5 cents.’ The West is so prevalent throughout OB’s that it’s not hard to imagine Clint Eastwood, his poncho dipping below one shoulder, gun belt slung across the other, leaning in toward the bartender and ordering a shot of whiskey. You are not only leaving a piece of your life behind, you are tearing down a part of Truckee and ultimately a representation of the West.
Cementing the image of OB’s barn-wood plank walls and lace-trimmed windows in my mind, faltering one last time down the drop-off step into the dining room, and recollecting the many memories accumulated over the years, I defer to your parting words: ‘It’s been a good run, and I feel fortunate to have been part of this.’ Thanks Dick and your staff throughout the years, from all your customers, from Truckee and different parts of the country, even the world, for welcoming us so wholeheartedly under your green awning; you will be missed. We wish you ‘Happy Trails’ as you leave OB’s and go forth on your next ride.
Sincerely Yours,
Your Town
