I got married on October 1st, 2011, in a little red schoolhouse in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After the wedding, my new husband, Dave, and I drove my 1998 white Subaru Impreza named “Luna” up and over winding mountain roads under a full moon to drop down at the coast, staying the night as a newly married couple at the Davenport Roadhouse.
Most people, including us, didn’t even realize there were hotel rooms here. It was a roadhouse, known more for its long history, hearty food, and fun times. But it fit our budget and the proximity to Santa Cruz, where we had to be super early the next day to sling caffeine from the coffee shop we just opened on Mission Street a couple months before.
Almost exactly fifteen years later, a lot has changed. Fortunately, Dave and I are still married, but that coffee shop has closed, there’s now a fourteen year old kid in the family. I have a different Subaru, and sadly, the little red schoolhouse was destroyed in the CZU Lightning Complex wildfire that tore through those mountain roads in August of 2020.
Outside the Davenport Roadhouse on Highway 1 north of Santa Cruz(Lauren Segal)
And I’m happy to say that the Davenport Roadhouse has entered a new chapter as well, in all good ways. Last summer, siblings Ginny Miller and Teddy Miller, and business partner Gavin Parsons (plus a third partner, Cascade Dewitt on the hotel renovation management side), took the place over, saving the Davenport Roadhouse from time’s degradation and a series of ownership changes, breathing new life and energy into the favorite local landmark.
The Miller family came on surfing trips to this stretch of coast frequently, and brother Teddy has lived in Davenport for years. They have entered this big life change with courage, taking on 126 years of history, growing pains, and a limited budget, to create a space that welcomes the old and new.
Our motto is “the magic is in the mix,” says Ginny. “You can’t control what happens because you’re a roadhouse.” It’s true, and that’s what makes it so cool. Walking in on a typical afternoon you might belly up to the bar next to the two lumberjacks that are regulars for a burger and a beer, a rancher carpenter from Pescadero, a pro surfer, and a Boomer couple on vacation. There’s likely a family playing shuffle board in the corner library, as well.
“The goal is to create a space that can somehow be a vibe that appeals to all of those people,” Ginny says.“The point is to be one thing that resonates with a lot of people.” They have hit the nail on the head in that regard, being authentic and welcoming, as well as open to feedback and incremental change.
Room 5 at Davenport Roadhouse(Lauren Segal)
There’s only nine hotel rooms upstairs, including the “big room,” Room 5 on the corner—where Dave and I stayed. When I tell Ginny this little personal history, she says that when she re-envisioned this particular room she was actually thinking this space would be perfect as a wedding suite. Family and friends could stay in the other smaller rooms and create a whole block of celebration up on the wraparound deck.
The roadhouse building has a lot of lore, as any structure over 100 years old will have. So does the town, where the Davenport Wharf (now just a few blocks of cement in the ocean) operated as a component to the whaling industry in the 1800s. In the 1980s, the building was an artist residency of Big Creek Pottery, a collective of ceramic artists that lived in the rooms above. It’s been said that in the mornings they would lower empty crab cages down to the kitchen on the first floor where the bakers would fill them with cinnamon rolls to pull up. That breakfast delivery system hasn’t been reestablished, but you can still walk downstairs for a fresh scone and a cappuccino.
Ginny has a background working for a design firm in New York, so when they decided to embark on the renovation, they pulled from personal experience as well as input from friends in the know. With a bit of help from interior designer Jacquelyn Morris they were able to create a kind of template for style, era, color scheme, and textures. She warned them it would be a lot of work, but that’s the kind of project this is: a bootstrappy, curated vision with a lot of hands-on involvement.
The result is a collection of mostly found and vintage furniture, a lot of auction items and visits to antique stores. Facebook Marketplace was utilized a lot, as well as Alameda Flea, where most of the board games and hardcover books now adorning the rooms and the library area in the lounge came from.
(Lauren Segal)
The hotel rooms—no two the same—are tastefully simple and clean. A few standout pieces like the Stickley couch in Room 5, balanced with secondhand leather, velvet, and wood furniture finds. Small intentional touches like sprigs of dried wildflowers in a vintage glass jar and an antique skeleton key in a ceramic pot are heartfelt. Other elements to note are the four poster pine beds, The Citizenry moss green quilted coverlets, sisal-covered floors, vaulted tiled showers, and gingham curtains on the tall, floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the ocean.
Adirondack chairs and wooden wine barrel furniture is positioned at different angles on the wraparound balcony deck to catch the views, and cozy plaid wool blankets are out there for when the inevitable fog rolls in.
There are no TVs, mini fridges, or charging stations, and real brass keys unlock your room (there are also door codes texted to you for a self-check if you opt for that, along with a sweet playlist for your drive). It feels bare bones in a welcoming way, with all your immediate needs met—like the pour over coffee stations with mini bags of organic Alta Coffee, started here in Davenport by Patti Spooner over 25 years ago. The Roadhouse is not trying to be upscale and modern. It feels refreshed but authentic, suitable to its origins.
The restaurant is the heart of the Roadhouse, and the decor feels appropriately rustic yet spiffed up with plaid upholstery, flickering iron chandeliers, new outdoor side seating, and a big backyard with a wooden pirate ship. This space is open and sunny, with nice landscaping and long picnic tables, perfect for parties and kiddos. There’s also another bar out there that they use for special events and pop ups, like the recent one with fisher friend, The Big Anchovy.
Jessie Curran, formerly of the Atomic Workshop Group that heads State Bird Provisions, is the new executive chef at Davenport Roadhouse.(Lauren Segal)
After a little bit of trial and error in the kitchen, Jessie Curran has taken on the role of executive chef, following her time in San Francisco with the Atomic Workshop group (State Bird Provisions, The Progress, The Anchovy Bar). It turns out that Ginny went to college with Curran’s twin sister, which is how they connected. Curran, a new mom, moved down to Santa Cruz for a bit of a slower pace, and has injected the menu with renewed energy, while keeping things unfussy but done well.
That comes in the form of some nostalgic classics like a smashburger, pimento grilled cheese, and fish and chips. Fresh dishes include a little gem salad with a cashew green goddess; tangy guacamole with pumpkin seeds and thick stone ground tortilla chips; or the wonderfully herby and chewy barley kale salad with brown butter dates. There’s also steamed clams, a couple giant panuozzo sandwiches made utilizing the wood fired pizza oven onsite, and a housemade veggie burger.
The extensive bar program, put together by Kate Ellis, features some creative seasonal drinks, like the Sundowner with sungold tomatoes or the salty sweet Preserved Lemon Drop. But there’s also a nod to classics, like a brimming-to-the-etched-glass-edge, extra Dirty Martini with three olives and the simply perfect Roadhouse Marg.
You’ll stumble in and find live music most afternoons and evenings, adding to the very local community-centric feeling here (just read Ginny’s sweet post about the project), mixed with the eclectic crowd that stops on their way up or down the coast. There’s a small mercantile nook selling Davenport Roadhouse merch, ceramics, a few books, and local art, such as Tina Somers’ greeting cards (she also created a cute illustrated map of the area that receive if you’re staying the night).
The Roadhouse collaborates with local artists and companies at the inn and restaurant.(Lauren Segal)
The “artist collaboration side has been really fun, and has embodied the ethos of this place really well,” comments Ginny.
That map will show you how much there is to do here… in the daytime. Across the street is the entrance to Secret Beach (locals also call it Odwalla Beach because the original juice factory used to be right there). You can go down to the water, or walk along the coastline bluff and check out the remnants of the old pier as well as the cypress grove a bit further north.
Also north is the new Cotoni-Coast Dairies hiking area, with nine miles of trails winding into the hills on the eastern side of Highway 1, just up from the old cement plant. And there’s also a new Coastal Rail Trail, 32 miles of newly paved coastal connection along the railroad line from Watsonville to Davenport. The Roadhouse has a partnership with Santa Cruz E-Bike Rentals that keeps a fleet parked here so guests can easily book for a biking adventure.
Come nighttime, Davenport is sleepy. The Roadhouse is the pulse of town and you’re staying at the only place open, the spot that draws people here in the first place. So unless you want to drive into Santa Cruz (also pretty sleepy after 9pm), you’re spending the evening in your room with a good book… or your new spouse.
// 1 Davenport Ave. (Davenport), davenportroadhouse.com
The ocean view from Davenport(Lauren Segal)
