PlumpJack Expands Empire With New Properties Outside of Bay Area

Hilary Newsom is one busy lady. Last fall she launched a nonprofit organization, the PlumpJack Foundation, and now comes the news that the PlumpJack Group has acquired several new properties. They have expanded to Vail, Colorado with two new restaurant concepts, Pendulum and White Bison. Both eateries are located in Vail Village and opened doors for the winter season in December. Pendulum is located in the Gorsuch building, which is home to the village’s iconic clock tower. Colorado luminary Jake Burkhardt oversees the culinary departments at both restaurants and the local SF-based mixologists behind Wildhawk and Forgery, Jacques Bezuidenhout and Ken Luciano, crafted both cocktail lists. “We are thrilled to join the Vail Valley community with two dynamic dining destinations to serve as gathering spots for locals and visitors alike and PlumpJack is honored to partner with Elevation Vail Partners, LLC,” Newsom said in a statement. “We want to embrace the warm culture and mountain ethos that Vail is known for, and have drawn upon Colorado’s culinary talent to help us execute this vision.”

Earlier today, PlumpJack announced two more acquisitions in Palm Springs: Ingleside Inn and Melvyn’s Restaurant and Lounge. Meriwether Companies, an investment firm who has collaborated with PlumpJack on projects in Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, and Carmel, is working with the group on these two properties. The 30-room hotel is a historic landmark that dates back to the 1920s. It will undergo renovations set to be completed in late 2017. Melvyn’s is located at the Inn and PlumpJack hopes to preserve the famed lounge’s identity. They will pay homage to Melvyn Haber, one of Palm Spring’s most beloved personalities while bringing the restaurant into the present. Haber passed away in October, but Newsom met him before he died and knew his legacy was a good fit for PlumpJack. Longtime staff members such as maître d’hôtel, Brian Ellis, and hotel manager, Armida Pedrin, will be kept on at the restaurant and inn. Newsom plans to look at it like she has the Balboa Cafe, the legendary Marina watering hole which has been serving San Franciscans—young and old—since 1913.

The winery operations of PlumpJack also expanded last year. In September, the group purchased Ladera Vineyard’s 82-acre estate on Howell Mountain. Cade Winery will use the vineyard’s 74 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and 3 acres of Sauvignon Blanc to increase production. Ladera will continue to produce wine, but they are downsizing, so the timing was right for PlumpJack to move in.