RSS Feed
Print Story
E-mail Story
Ask TBC: A new restaurant and a foreign driver's license
| Sunday, Oct 12 2008 11:38 AM
Last Updated: Monday, Oct 13 2008 7:21 AM
Q. Hello, do you know what is going on with the restaurant at the end of Highway 178 by the Chevron station? It looks like they started working on it a few weeks ago. They added some arches. Then it went back to looking like a ghost town. I would really like to know. We are all anxious for a restaurant to open there as we have nowhere close to go and get a family dinner. Thank you, and keep up the great work that you do.
BAKERSFIELD.COM HOT TOPICS:
Loading Stories
Advertisement
— Adolfo Martinez
A. Good news. It appears there will, indeed, be a restaurant at 10701 Highway 178, just west of Masterson Street on the east end of the highway.
The developer declined to speak with us, but we did some sleuthing.
Ignore the Canyon Steakhouse sign. It won’t be there long.
We found out that Felipe A. Chavarin and Jose De Jesus Sotelo have applied for a liquor license for an enterprise to open there called Maria Bonita Mexican Restaurant. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control says the application is very close to being approved.
We also know that a company called Rio Bravo Vistas II LLC of Morgan Hill, Calif., was issued a building permit for that location on Oct. 2.
The city says the company isn’t fiddling with the inside much, but exterior work is to include a new roof, new windows, decorative arches and stucco.
Wish we could tell you when Maria Bonita will open. We can can only speculate, but there were construction workers on the property when we drove by last week so it looks like they’re plugging along.
Check back and let us know if the margaritas are any good.
Q: I am a Filipino tourist on vacation here in Bakersfield. Can I drive a car here? I possess a Philippine driver’s license.
— Manuel Olis
A: According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles Web site, California does recognize a valid driver license that is issued by a foreign jurisdiction (country, state, territory) of which the license holder is a resident.