Sourdough Saloon blooms under new ownership
One of Beatty’s most iconic and venerable businesses held a grand re-opening Friday, May 9.
The Sourdough Saloon is back open under new owners Nick Houck and Marco LoPiccolo.
The exact age of the saloon is open to debate, with some claiming that the main building dates from the earliest days of the Rhyolite boom, and others estimating that it might date from the 1940s.
The original building has expanded over the years, including an outdoor dining area, but it retains a rustic Old West look.
The new owners have remodeled and redecorated, but kept much of the original decor, including the dollar bills that decorate the ceiling. Items of space alien decor now give the place a cowboys and aliens vibe.
Patrons in the Sourdough will hear railroad sounds as a model train engine travels an oval track high above the bar, perhaps in homage to Beatty’s history as a railroad town.
Beatty resident Butch Baker says that his father worked in the saloon in the mid-60s, when it was originally called the South Seas.
The Sourdough also serves food and has had a reputation over the years for serving great pizza.
Richard Stephens is a freelance reporter living in Beatty.
