Moss Beach Distillery is a restaurant in Moss Beach, California, located on a cliff which overlooks the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It is officially designated as a California Point of Historical Interest. Originally established in 1927 as a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...

, it converted into a successful restaurant after the repeal of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

in 1933.

History

The restaurant dates back to the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

when it was a speakeasy called Frank's Place. Owner Frank Torres built the club in 1927. Reportedly, illegal whisky was brought from ships, to the beach, and into vehicles for transport to San Francisco during

. A variety of people came to Frank's including the governor of California to Hollywood celebrities, such as actor

Fatty Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel ...

Haunting legends

According to legend, the property is haunted by the "Blue Lady," a female apparition dressed in blue. There are a number of iterations of the story that are set during

: a local girl falls in love with a pianist, or is involved in a love triangle, or stuck in an unhappy marriage where the husband or the pianist murders her. In still other versions, she is a lovesick woman who throws herself into the sea. The Moss Beach Distillery promotes the legend and encourages tourism. In 2008, the cast of '' Ghost Hunters'' found "a series of pranks built into the restaurant, like a ghostly face in a bathroom mirror and a speaker that emitted laughter when triggered by a sensor". According to an interview in the ''

Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's ...

'', former Disney employee Daryn Coleman designed and installed devices to make the chandeliers sway and a phone that rings by itself. The restaurant was also featured on a 2019 episode of ''

Most Terrifying Places in America ''Most Terrifying Places in America'' is an American paranormal documentary television series that premiered on October 9, 2009, on the Travel Channel as a stand-alone special. The special was subsequently broken down into an episodic series. Eac ...

''.

References

External links

Moss Beach Distillery website
1927 establishments in California Buildings and structures in San Mateo County, California Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants established in 1927 CCT San Mateo Section 4 {{SanMateoCountyCA-struct-stub