Tres Hombres had its humble beginning on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe in Kings Beach, CA in the summer of 1974 as the Cantina Los Tres Hombres, when three friends from LA decided they wanted to live the mountain life. Skiing in the winter and beach volleyball in the summer, ah those were the days. Alas, all good things sometimes must come to an end. In 1984 the partnership split up and the Cantina was sold.
A few years later, in the summer of 1986, one of the original Hombres, Johnny Scurto, was on a road trip and found himself in Chico looking through the big windows of an empty brick building on the corner of 1st and Broadway. He thought to himself “this is a very cool building and could be a very cool Tres Hombres”. He called his former GM, Michael Thomas and the two of them spent the next several months drawing plans and asking friends and family for money. In Oct 1986 the construction and remodel began, turning a once clothing store into a restaurant. The big day finally happened on Jan 7, 1987 when Tres Hombres Long Bar & Grill opened for business, not because they were ready but because they ran out of money and needed to open.
Business ran smoothly, growing as the then small town of Chico grew. Tres celebrating its 10th anniversary and its 20th anniversary. Then in the early morning hours of Dec 1, 2009 tragedy struck. A kitchen fire destroyed the back half of the restaurant. The heroic efforts of the CFD saved the more historic front half dining room and bar areas. A long ten month rebuild ensued and with the help of the City of Chico, Tres was able to reopen in Sept 2010 with a brand new kitchen and a front patio dining area, the first in downtown Chico.
Johnny & Michael are still partners and work hard to make sure Tres customers enjoy themselves in a cool environment with a “Best of Chico” margarita served up by a friendly bartender. Please come in and say Hi, meet up with an old friend or make a new one.
