Jenner Inn’s new owners have track record at Sacramento’s Delta King

After helping renovate Sacramento’s Delta King paddle wheeler into a floating hotel and restaurant, Charlie Coyne figures he’ll have a much easier time making upgrades at his latest lodging project, the Jenner Inn.

Coyne, his wife, Katie, and cousins Marty and Tom Coyne this month took ownership of the 21-room inn and restaurant, a longtime fixture in the coastal community.

“I think it’s an incredible piece of property, being at the mouth of the Russian River,” said Coyne, a former Marin County attorney who grew up in San Rafael. The owners, who are the principals in Dublin Square LLC, consider themselves “guardians of an important cultural and historic and natural setting.”

He first saw the property up for sale in 2012. However, the property went to another buyer, who eventually returned the it to the original owner. The sale to Dublin Square closed escrow about two weeks ago. The purchase price was not disclosed. The inn has remained open but the restaurant closed several months ago, Coyne said.

The deferred maintenance Coyne plans to tackle in the coming months is nothing compared to the 5-year effort that his three brothers, a sister and he made ?32 years ago to resurrect a derelict, partially submerged riverboat.

When the Coyne siblings acquired the vessel in 1984, he said, “the Delta King had been sunk for 18 months.” Renovation included “an extended period of just getting barnacles and seaweed out of the hull.”

Today, the Delta King is a gleaming white vessel with a red paddle wheel, permanently tied up on the Sacramento River in Old Sacramento.

The Jenner Inn has roots that go back even further than the 1927-era riverboat.

The site was first opened in 1904 as a lumber mill, which provided materials that helped rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. The property eventually became an inn, though the original building was destroyed by fire around 1948.

The current main structure, the biggest edifice on Highway 1 in Jenner, feature twin semi-circular rooms at either end and exposed redwood beam ceilings in between. Its architect is believed to have been a student of renowned architect Julia Morgan, who designed Hearst Castle, Coyne said.

The inn includes 10 buildings, and each of the 21 guest rooms is unique. Room rates start at $118 a night.

Even as the inn remains open, Coyne hopes to upgrade all the rooms during the next three months and to have the now-closed restaurant in full operation by early summer. He plans to start restaurant operations with a breakfast menu, including full, made-to-order meals for guests.

When reopened, the restaurant also will feature lunch, dinner and a full bar.

The inn retains its six full-time workers, who Coyne said share “the vision we have for this property.”

A general contractor has begun work on the guest rooms, and the Coynes are working with a designer for the restaurant and rooms.

Coyne served for 25 years as the Delta King’s general manager and in other roles. His new role is as the inn’s general manager.

His wife and he “just love the west county” and moved to Monte Rio a few months ago.

The couple, he said, decided “we were moving here with or without the Jenner Inn.”

You can reach Staff Writer Robert ?Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.?digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On ?Twitter @rdigit