New Turlock Commonwealth gastropub opens. Owners also take over old Modesto St. Stan’s
There’s spreading the wealth and then there’s spreading the Commonwealth.
The owners of the successful downtown Modesto restaurant have finished work on their new location. Their second site opened last week in the former Dust Bowl Brewing Company’s taproom space in downtown Turlock.
The gastropub is known for its creative sandwiches and extensive craft brew menu. The original Modesto 11th Street Commonwealth location was first opened in 2014 by co-owners and childhood friends Blake Humble and Jeff Brown.
Two years later in 2016 the restaurant got a major boost when Food Network star and celebrity chef Guy Fieri stopped by to film at the restaurant for his his popular “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” show. Humble and Brown also own and operate Churchkey, a separate restaurant on 12th Street in downtown Modesto that opened in 2017.
Renovations on the new Turlock site, at the corner of Main and Broadway, took about six months. The spot’s previous tenant, Dust Bowl, closed its downtown taproom in the summer of 2020, one of the first local business causalities of the COVID-19 pandemic. The brewing powerhouse’s headquarters and taproom on Fulkerth Road remain open.
Humble said the former Dust Bowl space was an attractive fit for Commonwealth. He and Brown had been looking to expand the brand to new locations for a couple of years, but couldn’t find any spots where they wanted. Then the pandemic hit, and brought with it opportunities.
“We’ve been interested in expanding outside of Modesto for a couple years, and we’re really excited for the opportunity to move to this location,” Humble said. “We’ve always been huge fans of Dust Bowl food, beer, just the general scene at both locations and when the opportunity came to move to this building we jumped on it.”
New downtown Turlock gastropub features combo menu
The new Turlock restaurant has opened with a limited menu, but they soon plan to expand to bring in more dishes from the Modesto site as well as brunch favorites. Humble describes the current menu as a “greatest hits” from the Modesto Commonwealth and Churchkey restaurants. Expect new items to be added weekly as the restaurant ramps up its menu.
Right now you’ll see the always popular taco plates on the menu (one of the items Fieri tried on his visit to Modesto’s Commonwealth), as well as the cauliflower bites (a best-seller at Churchkey). They also have a handful of Commonwealth’s craft sandwiches, and will bring the rest over soon.
The new Turlock site’s larger kitchen allows them to add more burgers to the menu, including their new Royale with Cheese, a hearty burger topped with an over-easy fried egg and a cheddar cheese skirt. You’ll find three other burgers on the menu, ranging in price from $11 to $16 and served with fries.
The space has been redecorated inside with bold colors and tiles. The interior can fit about 50 at its regular tables, high-tops and bar. The space’s large floor-to-ceiling windows make it light and airy despite having a covered wrap-around patio that can seat another 30 outside.
Turlock Commonwealth has 17 taps featuring regional and local craft brews, a few fewer than the Modesto site. But Humble said the restaurant has a higher-end wine menu to cater to the Turlock dining crowd. They also offer a variety of mimosas.
Speaking of mimosas, Brown said you can expect brunch, which is popular at both the Modesto Commonwealth and Churchkey sites, to come to the Turlock restaurant by the end of the year.
Commonwealth team have plans for Modesto St. Stan’s space
And Humble and Brown aren’t done expanding. The pair has taken over the former St. Stan’s Brewing Co. location just two doors down from its original Commonwealth spot on 11th Street in Modesto. Humble said they haven’t settled on a concept yet, or at least aren’t ready to share it publicly. But they hope to have it ready in about six months.
St. Stan’s reopened a small taproom in downtown Modesto in the fall of 2017, bringing the iconic Modesto craft brew brand back after it stopped operating from its original Ninth and L street location in 2013. But the taproom became another pandemic casualty and closed in late 2020.
Commonwealth is not the only Modesto restaurant looking to make waves in Turlock. The gastropub’s downtown Modesto neighbor Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill is also working on a second site in downtown Turlock, a little further west from Commonwealth on Main Street.
And, just in case you were worried it wasn’t a two-way street, Turlock’s Memo’s Tequila Bar & Cocina is completing a from-the-ground-up new restaurant near Beyer High School. The new site should open in December.
Commonwealth, at 200 W Main St. in Turlock, is currently open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday. For more information call 209-250-0210 or visit www.facebook.com/commonwealthturlock.
This story was originally published October 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
