08-03-2025
SLO County landmark for sale for first time in a decade — and it'll only cost you $8.7 million
Uniquely is a Tribune series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in SLO County so special.
The real estate listing says it all: You could own a 150-year-old piece of North Coast history, including a former bed-and-breakfast, restaurant, large party gazebo, wedding venue and a small bakery on a little less than an acre — if you have a cool $8.7 million in your pocket.
The circa 1875 Cass House, centrally located in downtown Cayucos, is for sale for the first time in more than a decade.
It was listed in late February by Behnam Investment Group, the commercial division of Nest Seekers International.
Jeniece Grimshaw's popular Bijou Bakery has been a tenant on one of the two combined lots for more than four years. She rents the compact structure on a month-to-month lease.
Grimshaw told The Tribune on Thursday that she is not worried the sale will impact her business.
The other activities on the property at 149 Cayucos Drive have been idle since 2019.
That's when Traci Hozie-Alderson, niece to the property's owners Harry and Tovya McKellop of San Francisco, closed her Cass House Bar & Grill to focus on her nearby expanding Brown Butter Cookie Co. business.
Properly running two businesses was exhausting, and something had to change, Hozie-Alderson said.
'I loved the Cass House,' she said. 'It was a passion project for me, and I felt so lucky to be there. It's magical.'
Now the property is for sale — and it's already got some interested potential buyers.
The man immortalized in Cayucos history, James Cass, immigrated from England at the age of 12, and was a river pilot who'd tried gold mining and farming in Sacramento County.
At the age of 49, with a wife and five children, Cass moved to the Central Coast and eventually helped establish the bustling seaport town of Cayucos.
He built a wharf and a shipping business; had cattle, dairy and fruit ranches; and established a stage line between his town and the Paso Robles and San Miguel area.
However, by 1944, what had been the prized Cass home was no longer owned by the Cass family, and it fell into disrepair.
'Historic homes can't save themselves,' Tribune photojournalist David Middlecamp wrote in a column on the historic home in 2017.
In the meantime, various families lived in the house, some for many years.
The sprawling house was the second structure designated as historic by a marker from the San Luis Obispo Historical Society — now History Center of San Luis Obispo County. The plaque was placed in 1967, according to the Historical Marker Database.
When a potential buyer in August 1981 wanted the dilapidated property and planned to bulldoze the house, then-owner Harold Biaggini made his wishes for the house clear.
'We told him to go to hell,' Biaggini told The Tribune in 2017. 'That house is going to be preserved.'
And so it was.
Among the subsequent owners of the Cass House were Gary and Nancy Bagnall.
Seeing the landmark status and commercial potential, they invested $1.2 million and 15 years into the community icon they'd paid $400,000 for in 1993.
They turned it into a lodging and restaurant while deeply respecting its heritage, and it opened as an inn and restaurant in 2007.
Fast forward to when the McKellops bought the historic place for $2.5 million in 2014, vowing to further enhance it and capitalize on that potential while honoring and showcasing its history.
They spent another $1.5 million to transition the restored icon into what it is today.
Cass House Inn and Restaurant in Cayucos is being sold
It's complete with five bedrooms in the bed-and-breakfast, restaurant and a bakery, a wedding and special event venue with an arbor and lawn, the Cass Beach Cottage or guest house, a restaurant-grade kitchen and bar and much more.
The Cass House is a block from the Cayucos shore, the pier and the newly renovated Veterans Hall which is expected to reopen as early as this summer, according to Supervisor Bruce Gibson.
The property may not be for sale for long.
The prime location and possibilities for a mini resort have already attracted quite a bit of attention, according to real estate agent Monique Alexander at Nest Seekers.
'There's good interest going on,' she said. 'We've had some bites already.'
But she said as always in real estate, 'we're waiting for that solid offer.'
For more details on the historic home, go to the Cayucos Historical Society's history of the Cass House.
You can also visit Benham's website or call 310-278-8861.
