From bank to steakhouse to something new, downtown Modesto building gets glam makeover
First it was a bank. Then it was nothing. Next it was going to be a steakhouse. And now it’s an event center.
Further proving that the only constant in life (especially during a pandemic) is change, one of downtown Modesto’s most distinctive and long-vacant buildings has found new life — again.
The site, at the corner of 10th and I streets across from the Gallo Center for the Arts, celebrated its grand opening earlier this month as Venue 833. The business joins a cluster of event centers along the same block in downtown Modesto, which includes The Century and Greens on 10th.
Building owner Jaime Jimenez, who took over the site in spring 2019, said the pandemic forced him to change course. He had hoped to turn the two-story former bank building into a luxurious, high-end steakhouse.
But then COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry, as safety precautions and spikes in illness continue to disrupt the industry. So Jimenez said that after doing research and analyzing his options, he switched course and opened as a full-service event venue instead.
During the pandemic, “venues and weddings and corporate events were held back. So I saw a niche there for the future,” Jimenez said.
Former downtown Modesto bank given glitzy makeover
The 13,000-square-foot site has undergone considerable renovation to convert the former bank into a glitzy event center. First opened in 1965, the building was commissioned by the Modesto Savings and Loan and designed by Stockton architectural firm Mortensen & Hollstien.
With its dramatic concrete arches, floor-to-ceiling windows and multitextured walls, the building also is considered a prime example of the modernist classic architecture of the era. Over the years, it switched banks, from Modesto Savings and Loan to World Savings and then Wachovia Bank before its eventual closure more than a decade ago.
Oakdale-based entrepreneur Jimenez spent the last 20 years in the cattle industry. In 2019, he sold his two companies, J&M Wholesale Meat and Imperial Foods and began working on the bank building and a series of other Modesto projects.
But the pandemic put a damper on those plans. Some of his smaller ventures opened and closed in the past three years, including a short-lived free downtown shuttle service and a pizza parlor a block away from the bank site.
Instead, he focused on making the former bank into a swanky venue, with two stories of gathering space as well as a large outdoor area. Venue 833 director of events Tammy Scott said they wanted to highlight the building’s unique architecture while creating an upscale, Great Gatsby-era atmosphere.
But first, the transformation required extensive renovations, which included adding new flooring, lighting, HVAC and electrical. They kept several original touches, including the center’s grand staircase and the bank vault. The latter is now one of the center’s two VIP areas, along with an upstairs room with balcony that overlooks the Modesto arch.
“This structure, the glam, the beauty (of it), we can’t construct a structure like this to even open up a venue today,” he said. “We kept the interior intact in the sense we kept the staircase and the vault. We got it from dormant to something that’s usable now.”
Renovations continue on new event center
Scott said they’re still working on a second phase of the renovation, which will add a commercial kitchen and create an outdoor patio. The center currently has a prep kitchen, but once all of the work is finalized, there will be an in-house chef for catering.
The space can fit about 300, depending on seating and table arrangements. The outside area, formerly the building’s parking lot, has been used for private events the past year already. So far indoors, it has hosted a handful of client events, including a New Year’s Eve party and the Big Valley Christian School winter formal.
Rental prices for the venue start around $3,500, but Scott said plans can be customized. Regular rentals do not include the two VIP areas, but those can be added.
Scott said besides hosting rentals, they hope to host their own regular events, including pre- and post-show gatherings for big Gallo Center concerts — though Scott said Venue 833 is not an official partner with the downtown performing arts center.
“We want to be an all-around place for everyone to come,” Scott said. “We keep saying 833 is the place to be.”
Still, Jimenez hasn’t given up entirely on his steakhouse dreams. His original plan was to name the restaurant after his great-grandfather, who started a successful cattle business in California after immigrating from Scotland.
“(It) might be a possibility in the future. Things could change here in two or three years. My plans and my dreams were always to have a high-end steakhouse and give that service to the community and surrounding cities,” Jimenez said. “So that might be a possibility.”
