Century-Old Restaurant In Walnut Grove Burns To Ground

WALNUT GROVE (CBS13) — Generations of regulars were in disbelief after a century-old California Delta restaurant was destroyed by fire.

Giusti's Place in Walnut Grove went up in flames Thursday afternoon, reduced to rubble. A century of memories, meals, and beer mugs—gone in a single afternoon.

Owner Mark Morais couldn't help but wipe away a few tears.

"It's taken over a hundred years to create a local gathering hole, and it took about three hours to destroy it," Morais said. "We've had a lot of people walk through the front door."

His grandparents started Giusti's restaurant. He followed his own father as a third-generation owner.

Employees could only embrace as they watched firefighters pouring water on the burned-out building. A fire that started in the kitchen, moved up the walls and then everywhere.

Drone video shows the flames from high above Walnut Grove, where the building has been a landmark for as long as everyone there has been alive.

Megan Backer does not know life without it.

"It's devastating, heartbreaking," Backer said. "I'm a third-generation employee. My mom worked here, my grandma worked here."

Regulars will miss the camaraderie and the home-style cooking.

"I just had dinner here last night," Norman Garcia said. "It has the best minestrone of anywhere I've eaten minestrone. I mean, I've been all over the United States."

It was a restaurant that served more than good food. It served as a center for this Delta community, for more than a century.

Owner Mark Morais says it's too soon to say if the family will try to rebuild.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.