The president of the land company, Gerhard
Schutte, erected a large home nearby,
and his business partner, D. D. Wadsworth,
built a mirror image of the president's
house on the same block 200 feet to the
north. The two homes, visible for miles
across the coastal plain, became landmarks
in the Carlsbad area.
About the turn of the
century the land boom was over. The original
Carlsbad Hotel, a giant five-story wooden
structure with a rooftop gazebo located
further inland, had burned to the ground.
Within a few years the Carlsbad Land and
Water Company was reorganized. The homes
of its two principal officers had been
leased for commercial purposes, and were
now renting rooms and serving meals under
the name of the Twin Inns. They were owned
and operated by Mesdames Whiting and Reedy,
who established many traditions such as
the Blue Willow China, buffet and Sunday
brunch family-style service, and the name
"Twin Inns." The Carlsbad area
was still being promoted, but now by the
South Coast Land Company as the Avocado
Capitol of the World!
In 1918 Baron Long closed
his famous Ship Caf3 on the canal in Venice,
California. His specialty chef, Eddie
Kentner, drove south seeking a likely
place to relocate. Attracted to the Twin
Inns, he acquired the business on November
5, 1919.
Travel between Los Angeles
and San Diego by automobile was arduous
in the 1920s. The Twin Inns soon became
a favorite stopping place for travelers,
enhanced, perhaps, by Mr. Kentner's willingness
to prepare meals at all hours of the night
for "victims" of the automobile
technology of the '20s. Prohibition drove
many fun-seekers south, attracted to Baron
Long's newest venture, which he built
south of the border, the Caliente Race
Track and Gambling Spa in Tijuana.
The increased traffic
made it necessary to enlarge the Twin
Inns. The Rotunda Salon was added in 1922.
In 1936 the lobby and front rooms were
remodeled to provide more space. By 1950
the combination of increased business
and local street widening projects had
made parking a major problem. The old
Wadsworth House was razed to provide parking
in what is now the north lot. In February
1961, Art and D.D. Morgan, son-in-law
Eddie Kentner, Sr., took over the management
of the family restaurant. They were succeeded
in November 1969, by Bonnie and Eddie
Kentner, Jr. In April 1984 the Kentner
family sold the historic Twin Inns building
and all its land. The new owners changed
the name from the Twin Inns to Neimans
upon completion of an extensive restoration
in 1985, which included a stage and live entertainment.
The new and present
owner acquired Neimans in 2004.
Another extensive renovation was completed
in November with a decor uplift to Southern California tropical and beach influenced. The elegant
old Victorian mansion is now called Ocean House, and is ready to
offer a second hundred years of fine dining
and service to San Diego's North County.
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