Nick’s Cove

KOJICH, NICK: Nick's Cove is a small settlement composed of buildings mainly in the 1930s, some on land and five on pilings over the beach of Tomales Bay, California It is located on Highway 1, on the east shore in the northern part of Tomales Bay, south of the Walker Creek estuary. Nick's Cove is one of the last remaining of many settlements on the bay which catered to tourists after the advent of automobiles and good roads, and served as a depot for local fishermen and agricultural operations through its restaurant. After almost 70 years in business, Nick's Cove has recently been vacated. Fishing on Tomales Bay grew into an established industry early in the 20th century thanks to a group of Croatian immigrants from Europe who found Tomales Bay to resemble their homeland, a place where they could use their native skills. Modern shipping and processing techniques spawned a demand for fresh, cured and canned fish for both domestic use and imports. Oyster growing also became a local industry beginning in 1907 as the traditional oyster beds in San Francisco Bay became polluted and filled. Among the earliest commercial fishermen as a group on Tomales Bay were immigrants from Dalmatia, Croatia. Nicola Vilicich, Nicola Cosmitich, Nick Beritich, Tony Nola and Anton Smirich arrived in the first decade of the century, to be joined by Gregory Matkovich in 1911 and Nick Kojich in 1920. Historian Jack Mason claimed that these men pioneered commercial fishing industry on Tomales Bay, and industry which grew through the 1970s but has recently experienced a decline. Mason wrote that Tomales Bay was a region much like their Adriatic: mild winters, fine weather March to October, coves and sheltered beaches. Here the women made do in the shantics pitifully inferior to the stone, tile-roofed homes of Iz and Hvar. Within decades theseCroatian immigrants had saved their profits and made local friends and most purchased property on the east side of the bay, establishing a variety of businesses including restaurants, lodging, boat repair and commercial fishing. In 1931 Nick and Frances Kojich bought a parcel of the old Blake Ranch, in the northwest corner adjacent to the Millers' parcel. Kojich moved his buildings, including the house, "joker shed" and other structures of value, from the Pierce Ranch cove to his new property, using a barge. The house and shed were placed on pilings on the beach adjacent to the recently-abandoned railroad grade, in a similar fashion to those at Hamlet nearby. Kojich built a pier with a dock house from materials salvaged from the old pier across the bay. Three other cabins were built or moved to the site on the beach north of the ones that had been imported on the barge. No doubt inspired by the development of a new state through their land and fueled by previous experience in Oakland, the Kojich's decided to open a small seafood restaurant on their property, using the old herring plant. While not a full-sized restaurant operation, the Kojich's sold shrimp and crab cocktails and the like. The end of Prohibition in 1933 spurred Kojich to build a bar that year and start serving alcohol (Kojich was rumored to be a bootlegger during Prohibition). The highway, now Highway One, was widened and paved that year as well, which brought tourists in automobiles in great numbers for the first time on the east side of the bay. Tomales Bay was especially popular with the residents of the Sacramento Valley where the heat became oppressive during the summer. The Kojich's rented the bay front cabins on a long-term basis, attracting people from the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento Valley and beyond. Tomales Bay was a favorite spot for weekend fishermen and hunters, and the Kojich's catered to those seasonal attractions. One cabin, closest to the restaurant, was occupied by Frances Kojich's bachelor brothers Andy and Mike until 1953. The small cabin was later joined to the adjacent one with a wood frame addition placed between the two, in order to provide space for one of the restaurant's cooks who had a large family.

Nick and Frances Kojich remained at Nick's Cove until they died, but in 1950 brought Frances's nephew Andrew and his wife Dorothy to be partners in the business. Andrew Matkovich was a son of bay pioneer Gregory Matkovich and had been born in one of the cabins now used as a rental cottage. That year the restaurant had been burned down and Andrew Matkovich helped build a new one on the same site. They developed the restaurant with a full menu, still specializing in seafood (featuring local oysters from Hamlet) but offering traditional road food as well. Within a decade as Nick went into a slow retirement, the Matkovich's took over the business fully; they raised a family at Nick's Cove. As when the Kojich's managed the business, the Nick's Cove cabins during the 1950s and 1960s were occupied by families and the Matkovich's' hunting friends on a long-term rental basis. The Matkovich's hosted an annual Stingray Derby and a Shark Derby, and held traditional events such as clam digs and crab feeds. They rented small boats with oars and motors, keeping them tied up to the south side of the pier; neighboring fishermen also ported their boats at Nick's Cove. Visitors on boats could tie up at the pier for a meal at the restaurant, and in the early days fishing boats called at Nick's Cove with their catches which ended up on the menu (this practice was later discounted due to state regulations). Andrew Matkovich, and the aging Nick Kojich, fished the bay and ocean commercially for smelt, salmon and other fishes as their predecessors had done for a half a century. Nick Kojich died around 1960, Frances having died previously. (Clark, P. 2000) (Livingston 2000)