Brewery Gulch Inn: Breathtaking and Sustainable

by Bruce Boyers,

Even within the state of California—let alone outside of it—there are many who have never heard of the small Northern California coastal town of Mendocino. A three-hour drive north of bustling San Francisco, it is situated between dense, unspoiled redwood forest at its back and breathtaking blue Pacific Ocean at its front. It has retained most of its heritage, and throughout the town wood-frame buildings reminiscent of both New England (from which came its first settlers) and the old West (of which it was a part) sit proudly beneath still-functional wooden water towers.

It was in this place that Guy Pacurar, following a long search for a bed-and-breakfast to purchase, finally settled. “I’m a native of San Diego, California,” Pacurar told Organic Connections. “For 20 years I ran a student exchange program there, but I always wanted to have a bed-and-breakfast or an inn somewhere. In 2006 I started looking, first on the East Coast up in Vermont and New Hampshire. But I was there in January; it was minus 17 degrees and I decided that was way too cold for a Southern Californian.

“I worked my way around the country and looked at about 29 places before I found the Brewery Gulch Inn, and a couple of things attracted me. The area was a big part of it, but the eco-sensitivity and the orientation toward the environment were big factors as well. The previous owner had established a focus on the environment that was very attractive to me.”

That environmental focus had begun with the construction. “The inn was built from eco-salvaged redwood,” Pacurar explained. “This is wood that was logged in the Big River area 150 years ago. What they would do is they would dam these rivers up here during the dry season; they would log, and then they would dynamite the wooden dams when the rains came. The logs would all float down to the mill at the base of the river, but some of them got pushed into the silt at the river bottom and remained there. The previous owner found them, raised them up, milled them down on his property, and built the inn out of them.”

Pacurar continued this tradition, and enhanced it. “The focus in this region—on organic, locally sourced and environmental consciousness—is so different from Southern California,” he said. “It’s just something that I believe in. For the food we serve, we grow a lot of things either on the property or on a vineyard in nearby Anderson Valley. Up there we grow 32 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and a number of the vegetables. Here at the inn we have an herb garden. For everything else we try to use, as much as possible, locally sourced ingredients from people who grow or raise things in the area.”

While there are a number of producers that Pacurar regularly purchases from, there are others who simply drop by. “A variety of different providers that grow things locally come by our back door,” Pacurar continued. “Our chef usually doesn’t decide the evening’s menu until late in the morning, because more often than not we have different growers who come by the kitchen door. He buys whatever is the freshest or looks the best.”

Sustainable practices extend into the accommodations as well. “It is kind of a thread that runs through almost everything we do here at the inn,” Pacurar said. “We use eco-friendly items for our cleaning products in the rooms. We bought Energy Star–rated washers and driers that utilize much less water and energy than the ones that were with the inn when I bought it. We use organic cotton products in different parts of guest rooms and in bathrooms.

“We also renovated all the accommodations in 2008 and 2009. When we pulled up the carpeting to replace it, we put a cork underlay underneath and used low-VOC carpeting. We repainted with low-VOC paint. There is energy-efficient fluorescent lighting too, and all of the rooms have gas fireplaces as opposed to wood fireplaces, which seem to be better for the environment.”

In addition to enjoying the splendorous beauty that Mendocino has to offer, Pacurar hopes guests will learn something while they’re there. “We of course strive to provide an escape for them, a relaxing stay, great food and an appreciation for this part of California,” he concluded. “But what I hope most of all is that they take in the practices that we use here, and put some of them into practice back at home.”

For more about the Brewery Gulch Inn, visit www.brewerygulchinn.com.