SLOCUMS SOLD
For six years, Slocums restaurant on Mammoth’s Main Street has stood boarded up, an untouched time capsule. Everything inside exactly as former owners Cindy and Tom Avena left it.
But on April 3, that era came to a close. It finally changed hands.
The buyers, Mary Beth and Todd Ericson, are a local couple stepping into one of Mammoth Lakes’ most visible restaurant spaces with no clear plan and a long list of unknowns.
For the Ericsons, that uncertainty is part of the equation.
“We’re in listening mode right now,” Mary Beth said. “We’re listening to what people think would work well there, the town, and the fire and health departments.”
Whatever their approach, the Ericsons know they are bound to get feedback on the old Slocums building. For many in town, it wasn’t just another restaurant.
Built in 1966 and renovated in the early 1980s, the space evolved from a waffle house into “Captain’s Table,” and eventually into Slocums, a longtime local favorite. Its happy hour was consistently packed, and getting a spot at the bar at 4 p.m. on a Saturday was, as some remember it, nearly impossible.
The restaurant ultimately closed in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ending a 37-year run. Later that year, the property was sold to an out-of-area investor, yet repeated attempts to lease or sell it fell through, leaving the site in limbo for years.
“Out-of-area investors just don’t see the intangibles,” Mary Beth said. “It’s a beloved part of the community.”
The Ericsons’ connection to Mammoth Lakes began more than a decade ago, when Todd, then serving in the U.S. Air Force, was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base. The family began visiting regularly, returning often enough that the town began to feel like home.
In 2019, they made the move permanent.
Since then, their roots have deepened. Two of their children have graduated from Mammoth High School, with a third graduating this year. Mary Beth, who works in property management, has become involved in local volunteering and the MHS booster club.
As a result, she found herself “increasingly interested in investing in this community.”
The sale, priced over $1 million dollars, included furniture, fixtures, equipment, and a restaurant-specific liquor license.
It also came with significant issues. After years of vacancy and decades since its last major renovation, the building has a failing roof and asbestos that will need to be addressed before anything can reopen.
In other words, the barrier to entry isn’t just financial.
It’s also logistical and experiential, especially since the Ericsons have no background in restaurant operations or large-scale commercial renovation. Todd, now Senior Advisor to NASA’s Administrator, brings decades of aerospace experience, but not in hospitality.
“We’re not restaurant people,” Mary Beth laughed.
Even so, they see a clear demand.
“A main complaint I get on the property management side is that there aren’t enough restaurants in town,” she said. “All the local feedback I get is that everybody would love to see another restaurant… something that reflects what they remember, but in a modern application.”
The couple aims to settle on a concrete plan within the next month, while making it a priority to honor what Slocum represented to the community.
Because inside, little has changed since the day it closed. Tablecloths still drape the tables. Candles sit where they were left. Salt, pepper, ketchup. Cash boxes labeled with servers’ names. A chalkboard menu, still marked in former owner Tom’s careful handwriting.
In the coming weeks, the Ericsons plan to open the space for a community night, inviting those with connections to the restaurant to take home pieces of its past. Donations will go toward a new culinary scholarship for a Mammoth High School senior to support further education in gastronomy.
Updates and event details will be shared on the Ericsons’ Instagram,
@whatsnextatslocums.
