OUR HISTORY

Mac’s Old House is a 100-year-old historic treasure in Contra Costa County.

In 1983, current owner Gary Noe purchased the restaurant—but that’s not where the story of Mac’s begins.

The original owner, Floyd “Mac” McKinney, built the house with his father around 1925. While still living there, Mac converted part of his home into a bar, officially opening it on St. Patrick’s Day in 1956. 17 years later, he sold the business and retired. Mac eventually built a small house behind the restaurant, where he lived until his passing in 1994.

Ten years—and a few owners—later, Gary purchased the property and reopened Mac’s Old House on August 5, 1983. Mac remained a loyal customer, visiting almost daily for a cocktail and dinner—always sitting at the same table. Today, his picture and obituary hang above that very spot.

Together, Gary and Manager/Head Chef Rick Cook transformed Mac’s into the beloved institution it is today. Rick began his restaurant career in 1969 at the age of 15, working at Bertola’s in Oakland. By the time he was 22, he was managing it. Opened in the 1930s by Louie Pasquinelli, Bertola’s was a popular family-style Italian restaurant known for its quality food and cocktails at fair prices, with multiple locations throughout the Bay Area until the 1990s.

Gary envisioned Mac’s Old House with the same welcoming atmosphere that Bertola’s had. Louie generously shared his family recipes—including the now-famous minestrone soup—and other secrets to Bertola’s success, including one of his former managers: Rick Cook.

Gary hired Rick before even opening and they both got to work to turn Mac’s Old House into the restaurant that we know today. Although they briefly considered renaming the restaurant “Bertola’s,” they decided to keep the name Mac’s Old House in honor of the iconic neon sign—and the man they had come to know and admire, Mac McKinney.

Mac’s Old House was an immediate success and Gary and Rick constinued to run it together for 42 years.