Marble Room

Hours: 05:00 PM-10:00 PM  Exceptions: Fri. & Sat. till 12:00 a.m.

During the end of the nineteenth century, downtown San Diego (the Gaslamp Quarter) developed from a western frontier town in to a true urban center. Electric street cars were introduced, courthouses, schools, and the Chamber of Commerce were built, and beautiful commercial buildings began to characterize the city. This transformation was led by the ‘Commercial Pioneers’ of the time, such as Wyatt Earp and the well known Alonzo Horton (the namesake of Horton Plaza).

As is common in city development, along with the influx of business and people there grew a thriving Red Light district. Although prostitution was technically outlawed, the ordinances were rarely enforced. Not only were brothels a somewhat established part of western society at the time, but some of their most loyal customers were the very men in charge of enforcing the ordinances – the police, the mayor, and the city councilmen!

 
One of the famous Leading Ladies at the time was a fortune teller named Madam Cora. Madam Cora ran the Golden Poppy Hotel, a well known brothel in one of the beautiful historic buildings downtown. She had about twenty rooms in her ‘hotel’ and each one was wall-papered in a different pastel color. Her girls were each dressed in a color matching one of the rooms. When a customer arrived they requested a certain room (and therefore a certain girl) and were given a marble that matched the color of the room as their token of entry (the marbles may have also served as a ‘placeholder’ if there was a line for the rooms).

Madam Cora’s marbles caught the public’s attention again in the beginning of the 21st century.

The San Diego Padres announced plans to build a new ballpark in 1996 in an effort to revitalize the team.  In 1998, funding for the plan was finally approved by the city. Excavation of the ballpark began in 2000 (the work was soon halted due to lack of funding, until a sixty million dollar deal was announced with Petco) and opening day at the new ballpark was April 8, 2004.

While excavating the site for the new ballpark, hundreds of items were recovered from the turn of the century – including several marbles. Archeologists believe that some of these are the very colored tokens from Madam Cora’s famous brothel. The Padres have agreed to curate all of the items uncovered during the construction of the stadium and the San Diego Archeological Center will use them for exhibits, research, and education.

The Marble Room is located in the heart of this historic downtown area which continues to be a thriving commercial and cultural center. We believe that it is the diverse and colorful history of the Gaslamp Quarter that made it evolve into the flourishing city it is today, and here at the Marble Room we have tried to cultivate this character and flavor into our guests’ experience.
The Marble Room is pleased to introduce the new Executive Chef, Bill Sauer.
Bill was born in Tucson Arizona and has spent most of his professional life in the Southwest. Bill’s formal training and extensive and diverse culinary experience have led him to develop and refine his approach of simple, yet elegant cuisine. Bill uses the highest quality ingredients available to create food that is sophisticated yet uncomplicated. His dishes are both traditional and innovative, and encompass a wide range of flavors and techniques.

Bill’s passion and creativity has been influenced by his work at a number of small restaurants in Arizona, including Café Terra Cotta, a popular Southwestern Bistro in Tucson. Here Bill had the fortunate opportunity to work under Chef/Owner Donna Nordin, a James Beard Award winning Chef and successful cookbook author.

Bill was able to refine his culinary skills by working his way up from Banquet Chef to Corporate Sous Chef and ultimately Executive Chef, at some of San Diego’s finest restaurants, including Dakota Grill, Evans Hotels, The Great Oak Steak House at Pechanga Resort, and most recently as the Executive Chef at Delicias Restaurant in prestigious Rancho Santa Fe.

His expansive culinary portfolio includes formal training from the highly accredited Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Bill completed an intensive program which culminated in a week of daylong testing under very close scrutiny from C.I.A. instructors. He successfully graduated the program with the title of Certified Chef de Cuisine from the American Culinary Federation.

In June of 2008, Bill Sauer accepted a position as Executive Chef with the Moose Restaurant Group for the Marble Room. Here he uses his culinary knowledge and expertise to develop delicious California Style Tapas cuisine, characteristic of the Marble Room vision.