The Quail Canyon Inn, which was destroyed by fire Wednesday,
first opened in 1956
Morgan Hill – Former customers of the Quail Canyon Inn are waiting to find out exactly what happened to their favorite watering hole and gathering place as the investigation into the fire that totaled the bar continues.
“The cause of the fire is still undetermined,” California Department of Forestry Fire Prevention Specialist Chris Morgan said Friday afternoon. “These things do take time.”
A fire consumed the small bar, located on the edge of Chesbro reservoir in unincorporated Morgan Hill, late Wednesday night. Firefighters could not save the structure, although they kept the fire from spreading to the surrounding hillsides.
Investigators have been sifting through the remains of the empty shell that once was a gathering place for doctors, carpenters and bikers alike.
“The arson investigators from the Santa Clara County Fire Department are out there today,” Morgan said Friday. “There will be more information later next week.”
No one was injured in the blaze, but those who patronized the bar are feeling the loss.
“It broke my heart when I drove up yesterday,” said bartender Barbara Miller. “We are a community; ‘Quailers,’ we like to call ourselves. This is neutral territory for bikers, they are one great big brotherhood here. And we’re not just bikers. We are doctors, lawyers, carpenters, contractors, plumbers, just a bunch of hillbillies who had a wonderful place to gather.”
The Quail may rise again, according to owner Georgia Jeffers, on the picturesque site jutting out into the reservoir. She still deciding if the popular roadside attraction will be rebuilt.
“It’s so recent, I really don’t know, but I hope we can rebuild,” Jeffers said Friday. “Do you know they are having a vigil up there tonight? Some of them (customers) who are in their 50s now, they were just kids when they first started going there. Many of them are in mourning.”
The Quail Canyon Inn first opened in 1956, Jeffers said, and she and husband, Ray, bought the bar 13 years ago.
“I just loved that place,” she said. “We were blessed to be able to get it. Right now, I’m just dumbfounded.”
The atmosphere of the bar made others equally emotional at its loss.
“Someone left me a message, and when I heard the Quail was gone, I was so sad tears came out of my eyes,” said Jimmy Cedillo of Morgan Hill, who said he liked to stop in while he was out riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. “It was a great place to find a friend, to have a cold drink and enjoy the beautiful view.”
Cedillo, who said he’d been going to the bar for 12 years, said he never experienced any problems while he was visiting the bar.
“I’ve never seen any fighting or friction between people, no problems,” he said. “It was always a very pleasant, familiar atmosphere. You could get to know a lot of the people who went there regularly.”
Miller agreed with Cedillo, saying during her three years as bartender, she had become very close to the customers.
“It’s the only place I know where you can get an estimate for car repair, get your farm produce, have your animals delivered,” she said. “I’ve seen ducks delivered there, I’ve even traded a pony there. It really was a community center. I hope (the Jeffers) will rebuild. I know, if those contractors are taking their time, there will be plenty of hammers and saws out there ready to pitch right in and make sure it gets done.”
