The Martin Hotel

Far from the rains of Bilbao and the shores of Biarritz, an enclave of Basque culture lies tucked away in the northern Nevada desert. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, waves of Basque immigrants, many displaced by economic hardship or political unrest, sought new opportunities in the region.

Many of the descendants of those Basques remain in the state today. The history of the Basque diaspora is well-preserved in the city of Winnemucca, about two and a half hours northeast of Reno. One notable place where Winnemucca’s Basque heritage is celebrated is Nevada’s oldest restaurant: the Martin Hotel.

The story of the Martin Hotel begins in 1913, when French restaurateurs Augustine A. Martin and Elisee Henri Martin moved to Winnemucca and assumed the operations of a local tavern, first built as a brothel in the late 19th century. The hotel wasn’t their first entrepreneurial venture; according to a letter written by their son, Rene, the couple had run a French restaurant in Reno and later “went broke on a sheep deal” in the Sierras when the sheep were killed in a cloudburst. 

The Winnemucca hotel, however, proved a much more successful gambit. It was especially popular with men in the livestock business, who came for dinner and a place to sleep when passing through town. “It was not unusual for a sheepherder to come in from his long stay with the sheep; be paid off in full for his work and then turn this entire sum over to my father,” Rene Martin recalled. 

During the Prohibition era, the attic of the hotel housed a speakeasy. According to hotel lore, revenue department officials raided the attic and poured the booze onto the street, where locals came with cups to scoop up samples.

Today, the Martin no longer operates as a hotel, but its revelrous spirit remains intact. The dining room features long, family-style tables and original embossed tin ceiling and wall panels. You’ll want to come hungry: In the evenings, all meals are served “in the Basque tradition,” including wine, soup, Basque beans, mashed potatoes, homemade bread, and the house bread pudding. At the bar, mixed drinks are categorized on the menu by their date of origin, from the Noriega Picon—a twist on a classic Manhattan first served circa 1893—to the Mary Pickford, a white rum concoction gussied up with pineapple juice and grenadine named after the Prohibition-era film star.