page_title: Nepenthe (restaurant)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Nepenthe (restaurant) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: THIS PICTURE SHOWS THE DRAMATIC COASTLINE VIEWED FROM NEPENTHE RESTAURANT
context_page_description: Nepenthe is a restaurant in Big Sur, California, built by Bill and Madelaine "Lolly" Fassett and first opened in 1949. It was built around a cabin first constructed in 1925. It is known for the miles-long panoramic view of the south coast of Big Sur from the outdoor terrace and its California/Greek Mediterranean menu featuring locally and California-grown food.
  Orson Welles and his wife Rita Hayworth bought the cabin around which the restaurant is built from the Trail Club of Jolon on a whim as a romantic getaway. The couple measured the windows for curtains, but never returned. The Fassetts bought the cabin and surrounding land from Welles and Hayworth in 1947 for $22,000. They named the restaurant after a potion used by the ancient gods to induce forgetfulness from pain or sorrow.
  The restaurant is located 29 miles south of Carmel, California and about 800 feet above the coast. The business has had to endure multiple closures of Highway 1 since its founding due to fire, floods, and mudslides.
context_section_description: In 1925, a group of Christian Scientists from Principia College in Elsah, Illinois came to California. They hired local master carpenter Sam Trotter to build a three-story log house on the edge of a cliff in Big Sur, which they planned to use as a private resort during horseback riding trips. They named the group the Coastland Trails Club (also known as the Trail Club of Jolon). By the early 1940s, they were no longer using the cabin and had rented it to a writer named Lynda Sargent. She invited author Henry Miller, who had arrived in Monterey penniless, to stay with her until he found his own place to rent.
  In May, 1944, during World War II, actor Orson Welles, chairman of the Fifth War Bond Drive, and his wife Rita Hayworth were in San Francisco to sell U.S. government War Bonds. Gas was rationed, and they were paid for their appearance with gas coupons. Traveling with their good friend and actor Joseph Cotten, they decided to use the coupons to drive back to Los Angeles along the scenic Highway 1. During their drive, they stopped to picnic and drove up an unmarked dirt road where they found a cabin on a hill perched above the south coast. They loved the view and found a realtor and learned they could buy it that day.  Between the two of them, they produced a cash down payment of slightly more than $156.00 (another story says $167.00) to close the deal on the cabin and land. Hayworth measured the windows for curtains and a new stove and Welles considered laying gas pipe for use in the kitchen, but they were divorced in 1947 and never returned.
  The Fassetts bought the cabin and the surrounding 12 acres (4.9 ha) from Welles and Hayworth after their divorce in 1947 for $22,000. The Fassetts moved into the three room cabin with their five children. They hired architect Rowan Maiden, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, to design the restaurant. They chose two sons of the original builder, Frank and Walter Trotter, to construct the restaurant using local materials including redwood and adobe bricks made by Lolly Fassett.
  The modern restaurant kitchen is adjacent to the cabin's own kitchen. Nepenthe is well known for its Ambrosiaburger, a ground steak sandwich served on a French roll with a custom "Ambrosia Sauce." The menu features locally and California-grown products. The terrace dining tables have a long view over the coast to the south.  The restaurant is known for its Bohemian look and feel, belly dancing, and poetry readings.
  The restaurant became a favorite of Henry Miller.  He later lived on Partington Ridge but returned often to the restaurant and became close friends with owner Bill Fassett. The restaurant became a social hub for artists, poets,  actors and other creative individuals on the coast, attracting people like artists Man Ray, Harry Dick Ross, and Janko Varda; author Anais Nin; writer Ernest Hemingway; poet Eric Barker; actor Clint Eastwood; and scientist Giles Healey.
caption: View of the coast and Santa Lucia Range from the Nepenthe restaurant terrace.
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