HISTORY
A HISTORY IN FOOD History of local restaurants showcases Bakersfield’s diverse communities
Noriega Hotel, pictured here circa 1960, still stands in the same spot on Sumner Street.
By Jeff Nickell Photos courtesy of Kern County Museum used by permission akersfield and Kern County are known for their fine-eating establishments. Popular eateries are symbols of the many cultures that make up the many communities in this town and county. Fine Basque restaurants sprang up in what was originally called Sumner, then Kern, and later East Bakersfield. Today, the moniker Old Town Kern is given to the area. Basques came to Bakersfield to be shepherds, as well as for other occupational opportunities. But the true lasting legacy of Basques in Bakersfield is the restaurants that still attract visitors from far and wide. The late Huell Howser, of California’s Gold fame, often ventured to Bakersfield just
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The New China Cafe at 18th and R streets circa the 1920s.
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to satisfy his Basque food craving (the Picon Punch was a lure as well). He even used his show as an excuse to come to Kern County to film here and then eat Basque food. The oldest Basque restaurant is the Noriega Hotel founded in 1893 by Faustino Noriega and Fernando Etcheverry. Juan and Gracianna Elizalde took over the restaurant in 1931 and their family continues to run it today. Noriega is said to be the last Basque restaurant/boarding house in the world. Another long-loved Basque restaurant is Wool Growers, started in 1954 by J.B. and Mayie Maitia, which is still family operated today. Its famous customers include Howser, President Ronald Reagan, Barbra Streisand, Fergie, and “The Rifleman” Chuck Connors, just to name a few. Just as the Basques opened restaurants in Old Town Kern, Chinese residents opened eateries (among other things) in downtown Bakersfield near the once prominent China Town (think 17th, 18th, and L streets). Those places are gone, but the tradition lives on in Bill Lee’s Bamboo Chopsticks, established in 1938, and the Rice Bowl, opened in 1945. The oldest Mexican restaurants are Mexicali and Sinaloa. Mexicali was opened in 1939 by Santos and Trinidad Gamez on Baker Street. Before opening
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A snapshot from New Chinatown in Bakersfield looking east on 18th Street from Q Street in April 1903. Mexicali, Santos built a gas station and tortilla factory with his own two hands. Mexicali Restaurants started off selling hot dogs, snow cones, malts, and hamburgers before Trinidad’s enchiladas became so popular they necessitated a remodel of the building and menu. Originally named Sinaloa Spanish Food and started by Mike and Annie Munoz, Sinaloa moved into what used to be the Kern County Orphanage in 1957. The orphanage was built in 1909 on land donated by Ellen Baker Tracy to the City of Bakersfield. The restaurant was changed to Sinaloa Mexican Restaurant in the 1960s. — Jeff Nickell is executive director of the Kern Adult Literacy Council. If you would be interested in becoming a volunteer tutor, please call 324-3213.