School’s in for the Summer
Story by Aja Goare
Photography by Dustin Klemann
Finals may have wrapped up on Cal Poly campus but the nearby Schoolyard has just started welcoming in students, locals and travelers for a bit – and a bite – of nostalgic fun.
Located in the Wayfarer hotel on Monterey Street, the Schoolyard is a reimagining of early years spent on campus sans the exams and detention. “We wanted to pull in campus vibes but also be sort of like alumni back to school days,” says Wayfarer Hotel General Manager Megan Taylor. A shuffle board, arcade games and large TVs airing various basketball and football games fill the space. “We also have a giant scrabble board in our courtyard,” says Megan.
Led by Executive Chef Billy Haynes, the restaurant features breakfast, lunch, dinner and special weekend brunch menus. For the early risers, an order of avocado toast topped with locally grown tomatoes, avocado spread and sea salt on Edna’s Bakery bread may help start the day off right. Or perhaps the breakfast burrito, which is loaded with veggies and avocado, or the breakfast bowl that ditches the tortilla in favor of a bed of tater tots. The fruit and yogurt parfait sources its fruit from The Berry Man. Billy’s personal favorite is the “hangover” breakfast burger. “I used to go to the pub to watch football at breakfast and I’d ask for a burger with egg but nobody ever had that,” says Billy. “So, when I got my own restaurant, I added it.” He says this specialty burger – a brioche bun topped with burger, fried egg, bacon, double American cheese, roasted jalapeño aioli and pickled red onion – is the one of the most popular items on the menu.
For later in the day, the main menu consists of burgers, sandwiches, salads and typical pub food, such as a basket of wings and a bratwurst. “We also have a tap wall that people can get many local beers, wines and ciders from to go with their meal,” says Billy, who adds that boozy shakes are also a great option. According to Megan, Billy worked with brewers at Antigua Brewing Company to craft one of the beers.
But the star of the menu is the smash burger prepared in a multitude of ways. “We’re definitely burger focused,” he adds, noting the six different burgers on the menu. An ode to the former restaurant that occupied the space, the Leroy features a smashed crispy patty with house seasoning, American cheese, pickles, diced white onion, mayo, ketchup, and brown mustard on a soft roll. Any burger can be made vegetarian with a $2 upgrade to an Impossible patty. A “Study Hall” menu features happy hour pricing for smaller bites and pints. The restaurant also hosts a trivia night, and discount wings and pints nights.
Since it opened in January, the Wayfarer has welcomed guests in to its 100 different modern styled rooms. In line with one of its three pillars – “obsessively local” – the hotel showcases various nods to the San Luis Obispo area, such as its wall of books from either authors of San Luis Obispo or books about the coastal city.
As a member of the local community, the hotel is enrolled in the city’s Keys for Trees program, which collects a percentage of room rentals for planting trees in the city. Megan says Wayfarer gives 1 percent of each room rate to the program. Free bike rentals allow guests to explore the city and a climate-controlled pool and comfortable bed welcome them back after a day of adventuring. “Wayfarer means a traveler on foot,” explains Megan. “So, we really encourage and facilitate that here.”
The restaurant is open seven days a week for dine-in and take out.
