How new owners revived the Davenport Roadhouse and turned it into a North Coast destination

Last summer, when business partners Ginny Miller and Gavin Parsons bought the Davenport Roadhouse, the historic two-story inn and restaurant was struggling. Within a year, they have transformed it into a destination aimed at welcoming locals and travelers. 

Large and stately, with a balcony that wraps around two sides of the building and offers panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, the roadhouse dominates the tiny seaside town of Davenport. First built in 1906 and rebuilt in 1977, it has, at times, been a cash store, dance hall, residence, haven for artists and surfers, pottery studio, and a bar and eatery. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of protected coastal land, the roadhouse is a focal point for Santa Cruz Mountains communities Bonny Doon and Last Chance, and an inviting stop for travelers cruising Highway 1 between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, located 10 miles to the south. 

But the past few decades were hard on the roadhouse. In the 2010s, the restaurant and bar, which takes up almost the entire ground floor, had a reputation for inconsistent food and service. Former owners Christopher and Vanessa Chamberlain weathered the pandemic years, the CZU Lightning Complex fires and intense storms during the winter of 2023, which ripped off part of the roof. They established a lively bar culture with regular live music before moving on in 2025. The nine rooms on the second floor were dated and dingy, and largely rented on an “if you know, you know” basis, according to Miller. 

Miller and Parsons saw a piece of California history they could make their own, an opportunity to bring the roadhouse into the modern era. Over the past 12 months, and with the support of a third partner, Cascade Dewitt, on the inn renovation management, they’ve harnessed their professional backgrounds in hospitality management and design to revive the restaurant and nine upstairs rooms while preserving the roadhouse’s relaxed artistic soul. 

Miller grew up surfing on the North Coast, and her brother, Teddy Miller, lives in Davenport. She had her eye on the roadhouse for years. “Sometimes when you walk into an old building, it speaks to you. You feel the ghosts and the history, and you can envision the past and how it could be in the future,” said Ginny Miller. “This is one of those spaces that just happened.”

In Santa Cruz County, restoring historic hotels can be challenging. The Brookdale Lodge in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Aptos’ Bayview Hotel have both endured a revolving door of ownership and operation. Creating a business that’s inviting to modern guests while maintaining old-school charm is a delicate and often expensive balance, especially when coupled with restaurant management, itself an almost Sisyphean battle against rising costs.

In the Davenport Roadhouse’s case, the space was functional, but needed vision. While working at a design firm in New York City that specialized in historic renovations of community spaces – including the famous Chelsea Market – Miller learned how to pair modern operating models with preservation. “But I don’t necessarily believe that has to be done with a billion-dollar project. I think that we actually need more of that at the local scale,” said Miller. 

She connected with Parsons, who shared her vision and brought a background in hospitality management. “When I saw it and I heard her speak to the project, I was like, I get it. Yes, I can make this happen. Let me shepherd that,” he said. 

Over the past year, the two steadily chipped away at updating the rooms, improving the restaurant, adding landscaping and an outdoor event space. 

Miller, Dewitt and Parsons worked with interior designer Jacquelyn Morris – recently the senior designer at the Office of Charles de Lisle, a studio with a focus on the Californian perspective – to update the rooms with new beds and floors, and decorate the charming spaces with a mix of antiques and art that effuses the roadhouse’s coastal aesthetic. No two rooms are the same, and all are priced flexibly between $200 to $500 a night, depending on the day of the week and time of year. 

They aimed to interpret the Californian ranch and beach styles, and maintain a relaxed and artistic atmosphere inspired by whimsical stories of the roadhouse’s past – like a time in the 1970s when the cook used a crab pot pulley to deliver fresh cinnamon rolls from the kitchen to hungover artists staying upstairs. 

Pottery, clothing, food items and other goods made by nearby artists are available at a small market and gift shop tucked behind a lounge fitted with a large Chesterfield sofa, a shuffleboard table and flatscreen TV. Miller and Parsons worked with Santa Cruz-based artist Tina Somers to create a map of the coast’s attractions for guests. 

In May, they brought chef Jessie Curran from San Francisco to lead the kitchen, taking over from chef Roland Konicke. Curran, who moved to Santa Cruz seeking better work-life balance with her family, channeled a rustic, seasonal ethos into dishes like the punchy kale and barley bowl with banana peppers and caramelized brown-butter dates ($18), fresh corn and nectarine salad over fried cheesy grits ($15), and a mound of steamed clams with bacon in a seafood broth ($30), served with crusty bread. 

The menu also offers skillfully prepared crowd pleasers, like the Cash Smash, a pleasantly messy smash burger with fries ($22), fish and chips made with beer-battered rock cod ($22) and a pimento grilled cheese on sourdough ($12), with or without a beef patty ($5). The lunch and dinner menu is offered daily starting at 11 a.m. 

The restaurant offers breakfast daily starting at 8 a.m. during the week, and 9 a.m. on weekends, with a compact list of classics: homemade biscuits with butter ($9), eggs and Texas toast ($12), buttermilk pancakes ($15), a breakfast burrito ($11), and chia bowl with coconut yogurt and fresh fruit ($11), plus extras and coffee. 

“[Curran] saw the vision, could verbally articulate it, and then articulated it on the plate,” said Parsons of the partnership. Her professionalism in the kitchen allowed Parsons to pivot fully to front-of-house management, he said. 

Events have become a cornerstone for the business. A longtime site for live music, Miller and Parsons ensured that each area of the roadhouse could be adapted for large gatherings. The corner suite was designed with a bride and groom in mind, with a buyout on offer for the entire property. The restaurant hosts performances four to five nights a week, with “Dooner Tuesdays” reserved for hosting musicians based in nearby Bonny Doon. 

They built out the outdoor event space behind the roadhouse with a covered bar, a dozen picnic tables and – a welcome sight for any parent hoping to finish their meal in peace – a custom wooden play structure shaped like a pirate ship. This summer, Miller and Parsons began hosting pop-ups like The Big Anchovy and the premiere of a local surf film. 

There’s more to come. Alexis Carr, one half of the team behind Soif Wines, is consulting on the wine list and future events, alongside the existing cocktail program curated by Kate Ellis. And after a year of incremental changes, Parsons and Miller are looking forward to finding their footing and building toward a sustainable future. 

Ensuring that the Davenport Roadhouse welcomes neighbors and tourists is a priority. “We think of it as these concentric circles,” said Miller. “We want to make sure this place feels special for our local audience. I think if you do that, it ripples outwards. When someone walks in the door, they know that this is a place that locals love – and then they want to feel like a local.” 

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