Ruth Caldwell

Dante’s on the River, Hwy. 50, California

Dante’s on the River was a restaurant in a remote area of highway 50, a route that connects Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Owned by Kevin and Nancy Cairns, the restaurant was the frequent subject of news stories due to the owners’ strict bathroom policies for non-paying customers, including an eventual $10 charge per non-customer user. An article in the Sacramento Bee plays on the “hellish” nature of the owners’ bathroom-use issues:

“Kevin and Nancy Cairns moved to El Dorado County hoping for a piece of heaven on the American River.

“They got a taste of hell.

“They opened Dante’s on the River seven years ago on an isolated stretch of Highway 50, east of Pollock Pines.

“’It’s a beautiful piece of property,’ Kevin Cairns said.

“But since they opened, they say they’ve been besieged by people who violently demand to use the restaurant bathroom or just do their excretory business in the parking lot. Other motorists pull over to vomit and move on.

“’Nobody’s ever offered to clean it up,’ said his wife.

“As a consequence, Cairns has taken to asking people to leave the lot unless it’s an emergency or they’re coming to the restaurant. […]”   —Carlos Alcalá, “Dante’s on Hwy. 50 becomes restaurant from hell for couple,” Sacramento Bee, March 12, 2011 (reprinted on Lake Tahoe News).

The restaurant is now out of business.

Contributed by Ruth Caldwell (photo 2009)

Related Sighting

Divina Comedia Restaurant, Cusco, Perú