Esau's Cafe

The Legend of Esau--The date was April 30, 1939. The place was the Golden Gate International Exposition, also known as the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair. Working in one of the tents in the food Pavilion was one W.C. Tom Esau, a talented young cook fresh from the Midwest. Visiting the World's Fair was a prosperous restaurateur from Santa Barbara, looking for fresh ideas to brighten up the small beach town's cooking scene. The fresh idea he brought back was none other than Tom Esau himself. In 1978, along came Scott and Arti Stanley, fresh from traveling the world in search of surf. This time they were in search of work, and they bought Esau's Cafe from Tom, thinking that working all morning and surfing all afternoon would be the perfect job description. For 30 years Scott and Arti have raised their family in the restaurant just like Tom and Ruth did. During their reign, Esau's has been the recipient of many awards, both locally and in international travel guides and magazines such as Sunset and Fodor's.