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Community: Adversity has created strong ties
Steve and Christina Pappan opened Trio Restaurant & Bar in Guerneville in 2010.
CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / PDPublished: Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 5:13 p.m.
When Steve and Christina Pappan decided to open their own restaurant in Guerneville a few years ago, they could not get a loan.
“We went through every route,” said Christina, 30, who grew up in Monte Rio. “We were told we should open in Santa Rosa, because they're more successful.”
But they dug their heels in and last May opened Trio restaurant at 16225 Main St., thanks to the generosity of friends and family who believed in them and pitched in with free labor and loans.
That's the way it goes in this small, resort town in the shadow of the giant Sequoia sempervirens. Adversity — the floods, the long winters, the isolation — only seems to strengthen ties between residents.
“It's a close-knit community,” Christina said. “It was really cool to see other business owners come to help us when we opened.”
A graduate of Montgomery High, Steve Pappan moved out to the river after getting his first cooking job at the Blue Heron Inn in Duncans Mills.
“I like the pace, and the people are really nice,” he said. “As soon as you hit that Korbel stretch, your blood pressure goes down ... We're a people place. Come out and relax and slow down.”
Like the rest of the county, downtown Guerneville has suffered during the economic downturn, but Main St. is filling up again with some exciting new businesses, and the town continues to evolve.
“Guerneville can be kind of druggie, and if you fall in with the wrong people you can really go down,” Steve said. “But there's a new group of people who are about making Guerneville what it could be and should be.”
Trio restaurant embodies both the history and diversity of the town while catering to both a blue-collar and upscale clientele.
“Here, you've got the guy with the $24 steak and the $40 wine, sitting next to the guy with the Budweiser and the burger,” Steve said.
The building has persevered through fires and floods over the years and has a ghost in its basement to prove it.
“Everybody told us this place was haunted,” Christina said. “The ice machine flies open, and things disappear and reappear.”
Over the past 20 years, the building has served as a series of gay bars. Before that, it housed restaurants and bars, including the River Rendezvous and Buchanan's.
Pappan, who has cooked at Applewood Inn in Guerneville and Topolos in Forestville, was grilling rib-eyes at Stormy's in Bloomfield when he first met Christina.
She was an ROTC cadet in the Air Force who had studied aeronautical engineering. After her discharge, she landed back in Guerneville and worked her way up to manager at Main Street Pizza.
Those skills come in handy at Trio, where she runs the front of the house and books live music every night.
Meanwhile, Pappan pours his passion into the kitchen, creating specials like Seared Ahi with Wasabi Cream and classic dishes like Rib-Eye Scallopini.
He works in an open kitchen that abuts a full bar, where there are plenty of front-row seats to watch the chef in action.
“We have a full bar and do live music every night, so it's a full evening,” Christina said. “But the secret weapon is Steve.”
Meanwhile, the restaurant has become a late-night hang-out for musicians and chefs getting off work.
“The door can open up and the whole town will walk in,” Steve said. “The taxis run late. We feed you food and make sure you get home.”
You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com.
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