Mr. McGoo’s must close doors, find home

After 50 years of entertaining patrons and building a reputation as the most family-friendly restaurant in Petaluma, Mr. McGoo’s is forced to close its doors at month’s end after an ongoing dispute with its landlord.|

After 50 years of entertaining patrons and building a reputation as the most family-friendly restaurant in Petaluma, Mr. McGoo’s is forced to close its doors at month’s end after an ongoing dispute with its landlord.

Opened in 1965 by Bob McGaughey, Mr. McGoo’s is a family-style restaurant on North Petaluma Boulevard. Since 2000, Bob’s son Tony McGaughey took over the ownership of the restaurant, and continued the McGaughey’s reputation for treating customers like family during their dining experience.

“There have been over five generations of families coming into this restaurant,” Tony said. “These are my family and friends. It may not look all that great from the outside, but here, people feel comfortable and at home.”

On March 1, Cindy Machado, the landlord for Mr. McGoo’s building, gave Tony 30 days notice to vacate the building and close his restaurant. According to Tony, the closure came as the result of a lingering disagreement between McGaughey and Machado over the repairs to the building.

“I have this building on a standard lease. Anything that’s my responsibility, like the kitchen, the floors, anything inside the building, is fine,” McGaughey said.

Machado allegedly wants McGaughey to make repairs outside the restaurant at his own expense.

“But, she wants me to do repairs outside the building like pave the dirt roads at my expense, and remove some bricks that my father put in 32 years ago because he didn’t have permission.” Machado was unavailable for comment when the Argus-Courier went to press.

Shortly after receiving his notice, McGaughey wrote a proposal to Machado offering to pay an increased amount of rent and continue to make repairs within his jurisdiction in exchange for renewing the lease on the building.

McGaughey said while a 30-day notice is the legal minimum, it is difficult to relocate on short notice.

“It takes 30 days alone to get a liquor license on a spot. That means even if I move my business, it would take at least that long before I can sell alcohol at that location,” he said.

“In the 15 years I’ve owned this restaurant, I’ve never missed a rent payment. I think she knew a long time ago she was going to serve me notice. Why not tell me six months in advance?”

Many customers at Mr. McGoo’s started their dining experience there as children, and many later brought their own kids to enjoy a meal.

Curt Bascherini washed dishes at Mr. McGoo’s starting when he was 12. Now a fire captain at the Stockton fire house, Bascherini loves to take his wife and daughter to the place where he grew up.

“Thirty-five years ago, when I started washing dishes for Bob, I learned everything I know now about how to be accountable,” Bascherini said. “My first night, I broke a glass. Bob wasn’t very happy at me. I was so nervous because I thought I was going to lose my job.

“But he was sweet. He offered me dinner. Sometimes when my shift was over, his wife Bobbi would give me a ride home. That’s when I knew I was with family.”

Another long-time customer of Mr. McGoo’s, Paul Stypa, had a plan of attack for the restaurant’s return.

“I’ve been coming here for 16 years,” he said. “I own a little clothing store. We make shirts for Tony and the staff celebrating their years here.

“Right now we’re designing a shirt that has ‘We’ll be back’ on the back, because somehow, some way, Mr. McGoo’s is returning to Petaluma.”

While the bar at Mr. McGoos stays open until Mar. 29, the restaurant’s final day is Mar. 22, to ensure McGaughey has enough time to pack up his kitchen and clean the building before they leave.

(Contact William Rohrs at argus@arguscourier.com)

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