Modesto chef closing spot where Guy Fieri famously ate to merge with Bauer’s Downtown
After 11 years in business, Modesto chef and owner Tye Bauer is closing and merging his flagship restaurant, which attracted national attention from Food Network star Guy Fieri.
In a post to the restaurant’s Facebook page, Bauer announced the Bauer’s 66½ Skillet & Grill closure. The McHenry Village restaurant’s last day will be Aug. 1, and its service will then merge with his newest venture — Bauer’s Downtown Gastropub on Ninth Street.
Bauer has been using the downtown location as a base of operations for his businesses throughout the ongoing coronavirus crisis, first offering pickup and delivery and now with outside dining and continued takeout. The McHenry Village restaurant does not have outdoor seating available, and is only open for pickup.
Opened in 2009 in a funky, windowless space on the Briggsmore Avenue side of the popular McHenry Avenue shopping center, Bauer’s 66½ Skillet & Grill served a robust menu of Portuguese and German-inspired foods. In 2016, celebrity chef Guy Fieri visited the restaurant — along with two other Modesto eateries — for his series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Fieri tried two of the restaurant’s signature dishes, the three-meat Octavian Sandwich and its The Lambo lamb burger. Bauer also went on to compete in Fieri’s other Food Network series, “Guy’s Grocery Games,” where he appeared in a tournament featuring chefs who had appeared on Triple D.
Since then, Bauer expanded to two other sites, Bauhaus Tapas Lounge on Downey Avenue and the recently opened Downtown Gastropub.
Changes had been in the works for Bauer’s 66½ since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Bauer said the location had been on a month-to-month lease for the past six years, which was not “a viable option for longevity.” He had earlier considered moving the location, but now it will merge its concepts.
Bauer said operating three restaurants, especially during the pandemic with all its workplace changes due to COVID-19 guidelines, has been challenging and ultimately proved too difficult. Still, he said the decision to close was “not an easy one.”
“At some point with three restaurants, something has got to give,” Bauer said. “That’s the place we weren’t locked in, even though it was our best known location. But the location doesn’t make the difference.”
He said his four staff at Bauer’s 66½ will be moved to his other restaurants to work. Bauhaus, his small tapas spot just off downtown Modesto, should reopen in about a week for outside dining and takeout. Meanwhile, Downtown has fully transitioned to outside dining, taking advantage of the Ninth Street space’s partially covered courtyard and parking lot. He said outside could fit up to 80, while inside has a capacity for about 60.
Once Bauer’s 66½ and Downtown merge, expect the menu to reflect the two. Some favorites from the original spot that will definitely come over include the nachos, tacos, shrimp and more burger and appetizer selections. Bauer opened his Ninth Street location, formerly the short-lived BBQ spot The Burnt End and before that a series of dive bars, last December. It serves an eclectic menu of meaty and vegetarian dishes made with Bauer’s signature bold flavorings. If you haven’t tried his house-cured MF Pastrami sandwich yet, you are missing out one one of the very best pastrami sandwiches in the Valley.
Find Bauer’s 66½ Skillet & Grill at 1700 McHenry Ave 66 1/2 in Modesto until Aug. 1. Bauer’s Downtown is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday. For more information, call 209-312-9558 or visit www.bauersdowntown.com.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 9:30 AM.
