Vacaville's Black Oak Restaurant demolished

Demolition crews were seen tearing down the Black Oak Restaurant at 230 Orange Drive on Wednesday. The restaurant closed its doors after 50 years in business as of February 2021 and has sat vacant since.

"It is with a heavy heart and saddened spirit that we must inform you that the Black Oak Restaurant will be closing permanently," a letter to customers at the time of closure read. "It has been our pleasure serving you and the Vacaville community for over 50 years. There have been so many wonderful memories and friendships formed at this restaurant that are very thankful for."

Posted on Facebook, the letter added, "We have been fortunate to have had an amazing staff that worked very hard for us and this restaurant. We are going to miss them tremendously. We would publicly like to thank them for all they have done for us."

Black Oak was the last of three iconic Vacaville roadside restaurants along the San Francisco to Lake Tahoe stretch of I-80 to close, following the closures of the Nut Tree and the Coffee Tree. Each of the trio was famous for large, homestyle breakfast and lunch options with a nostalgic feel.

The Black Oak Restaurant in Vacaville was the last of three in a chain Edward and Barbara Worthan founded in Paso Robles in 1960 and expanded to Vacaville in 1970. A Palo Alto Location was added in 1978. The restaurant also hosted a gift shop with greeting cards and knick-knacks.

The Vacaville location closed during restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and announced that it would not reopen after social distancing restrictions were lifted. The restaurant did serve food outside briefly during the pandemic on picnic tables under red umbrellas.

After the closure, fans of the restaurant took to Facebook with more than 400 comments to celebrate their memories and express their disappointment. Customer Lisa Reed Walker waxed nostalgic about the generational appeal.

"I remember eating at this place from the late '60s on!" she wrote. "The ‘original' restaurant was so fun for kids. Tasting yummy flavored almonds, a gift shop to look through and great food. When I was older and then a mom, I used to go in sometimes just to purchase unique finds as gifts. When it caught fire, I was SO sad. But you rebuilt! I remember rotating from Coffee Tree to Black Oak with my grandparents."

Some visitors came from much further to eat at the Black Oak.

"My folks always looked forward to their breakfast every time they visited from Oregon so much that often they planned the trip so they drove all night so as to get here at breakfast time," Ron Vonsild wrote. "They would insist on going there every morning of the visit."

Social media was abuzz again in Tuesday as residents expressed sorrow at seeing the building demolished.

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