The red, London-style double-decker bus parked beside the closed Hideaway Bar and Grill at 2565 Franklin Blvd. has already achieved its intent. Multiple times a day passersby stop to gaze or pose for photos in front of the exceptional bus.
This growing interest and curiosity about the vintage vehicle is the reason the building’s new occupants bought the bus and placed it in the parking lot while transforming the old neighborhood bar into a new burger joint.
Michael Feagins and Willow Eskridge, owners of a successful hamburger restaurant in Parkland, Wash., leased the site of the shutdown Hideaway after seeing an online advertisement for the 1921 building. “We’ve lived in the cloudy Northwest for years and it was time for a sunnier home base and a second restaurant,” Feagins said.
Though Feagins and Eskridge had no restaurant experience before opening Parkland’s Lucky’s Drive-In in 2015, they quickly built a following – not only because of their burgers and fries, but also because of the show-stopping 1955 bus they retrofitted to serve as indoor seating.
“When we decided to open the Sacramento location, we knew we wanted another bus,” said Feagins. “We searched online and found this double-decker one in Redding. It previously served as a San Francisco visitors center, then passed through a couple owners, and finally was the only item that survived a property devastated by one of the California wildfires. Now it’s going to be a part of a burger restaurant. It’s already a head-turner.”
The bus also fits the “vintage modern” aesthetic that will be on display at Lucky’s Drive-In Sacramento.
“We’ll have oldies playing in the background, with the smell of toasted bread and French fries filling your nose when you walk in,” Eskridge said. “You’ll come for the bus, but stay for our famous fries. “
Our menu will have a little something for everyone: old-fashioned classic burgers, fries, milkshakes, all beef hot dogs, house-made chili,” she said.
“We also have a burger salad, a bun-less option, and a veggie burger. And the fries: They have a light coating, which makes for a crisp outside with a soft inside.”
The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with indoor and outdoor seating, and the red double-decker bus to draw people in.
“We’re a Mom and Pop-type place, bringing our Pacific Northwest love down to sunny California,” Eskridge said.
They are still in the permit process. As soon as they get final approvals, they’ll begin the remodel, with a target opening date of Aug. 1.