Our Story,
To Our Valued Friends And Guests
We value your business and consider each of you our extended family. Our home is your home. Everyone who walks through the front doors or comes to work for us is highly favored and deeply loved by us. Every day we tell our staff to pause for a moment and look around and notice what you see! What you’re seeing is the way life ought to be. It’s the way God intended it to be. So many smiling faces, laughter with friends, date nights, family gatherings, birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, and more! We love it and we love YOU!
The Paige Family
History of Friar Tuck’s
Friar Tuck’s Restaurant and Bar is in the Historic District of Downtown Nevada City. The Historic District is a 16-acre area listed in the National Register of Historic Places in the US.
Friar Tuck’s restaurant is located in a newly renovated historic building. The structure at the corner of Pine and Commercial Streets was originally two brick buildings built around 1860 in downtown Nevada City.
By 1911, when the gold fever had cooled, one building had become the home of Nevada City Hardware and the other Newton’s Shoe Store. That year, the Nevada City Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks #518 (BPOE) purchased the two buildings’.
Both roofs were removed and the buildings were joined.
a second story lodge hall was built and became the Elks Lodge for over 100 years; one of the oldest Elks lodges in the west. The lodge hall had numerous street-level storefronts which changed often over the years.
Friar Tuck's was founded by Greg Cook in winter 1973, featuring star-shaped chandeliers made from stained 2x4s with small lights. Tables were made from burnt plywood, and burlap served as our ceiling, a time fondly remembered as the ‘burlap days’. The restaurant was born from a love of wine and music, making it one of the first wine bars in Northern California. We proudly received the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 19 years. Live local music has been essential to the Tuck’s experience every day since the 70s.
In the mid-1990s, a local engineer and builder bought the building and remodeled it, turning the former Elks Lodge upstairs into the Nevada County Probation Department's offices.
In 1982, Greg married Rona, and they ran the restaurant and bar together. In the early '80s, the restaurant expanded and added a full liquor license, steak, fresh seafood, and more. In 2002, a fire destroyed the building, leaving only a few brick walls. The rebuilding took just 14 months. The beautiful solid mahogany bar was custom made for us by craftsmen in Arcadia, California, known for recreating classic 1800s bars. The Sherwood Forest Room features a unique tree and trellis made by local artists, enhanced with fiber optics. The brick throughout comes from the original restaurant, dating back to 1860. We also have two wine cellars with hundreds of selections.
In 2015, Greg & Rona’s daughter, Carissa Cook, moved back to Nevada City and was hired on as the Director of Operations. She grew up in the Restaurant and spent 14 years working in various aspects of the hospitality industry during which time she also became a sommelier. On December 30, 2016, the founder, Greg Cook passed away. Rona and Carissa Cook continued to operate Friar Tuck’s Restaurant.
At 4:20 am on March 20, 2002, a monster fire gutted the entire building including Friar Tuck’s Restaurant, the Herb Shop Boutique next door, Off Broad Street Theater behind us, and, the upstairs Probation Department. Absolutely nothing was left except for a few remaining teetering brick walls. It took 100 firefighters, 25 fire agencies, and 17 hours to extinguish the fire. The water needs to extinguish the fire nearly drained Nevada City’s reservoir that is the source of the city’s drinking water.
On April 11, 2019, the Paige family saw the amazing blessing of the Lord on what the Cook family has been to the community through Friar Tuck’s and assumed the new ownership with the desire to continue to carry out the passions and visions that have made Friar Tuck’s an institution for 44 years. Ken and Donna Paige are the Proprietors and Chad their son is General Manager. We are proud to say that Friar Tuck’s is one of the oldest privately and family-owned restaurants in California. The Paige family graciously welcomes you and we are pleased to be your hosts.