1879 Saloon and Steakhouse with a Resident Ghost
22563 S 7th St, Tracy, CA 95304
Age
All Ages in dining area; 21+ in bar
Cost
$$
Steakhouse and bar pricing; entrees roughly $15-30
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1879 · Frontier-Era Saloon · Continuously Operating Bar · California Historical Marker · California Roadhouse Heritage · Gallegos Family Legacy
The Banta Inn sits at a crossroads in the unincorporated San Joaquin County hamlet of Banta, a few miles east of Tracy. The original two-story structure was built in 1879 and operated for decades as a saloon and stagecoach stop, serving farmhands and travelers along the routes between Stockton and the Bay Area.
In September 1937, a fire tore through the building. The upper floor was lost. The structure was rebuilt as a single-story bar and restaurant, retaining a portion of the original timbers and the same general footprint. The Inn returned to service and has remained a working saloon and steakhouse since.
The Banta Inn's modern reputation is bound up with the Gukan family, who owned and operated the bar through much of the 20th century. Tony Gukan, the third husband of longtime owner Jenny Gukan, suffered a fatal heart attack behind the bar. Local newspaper coverage and a state historical marker note Tony's death and the family's long tenure. The Inn was eventually transferred to new ownership, and according to local press accounts the seller required the buyer to acknowledge in writing that the property was reputed to be haunted.
The building today retains its rural saloon character. A historical marker near the entrance documents the inn's role as one of the oldest continuously operating drinking establishments in San Joaquin County.
Sources
The Banta Inn's reputation centers on the figure of Tony Gukan, who died of a heart attack behind the bar. Staff over multiple ownerships have reported finding the cash register drawer pulled open in the morning, with coins arranged in tidy stacks they had not left behind. The detail recurs in local newspaper coverage, in interviews recorded by NBC Bay Area, and in accounts published by the Manteca Bulletin and Tracy Press.
Witnesses have described seeing a man in a corner booth, dealing cards or sipping a drink, who is no longer there when they look back. Bartenders have reported the sense of someone working alongside them at the bar after hours.
A second strand of folklore concerns a mother and daughter said to have died in the 1937 fire. The detail is repeated in regional ghost-tour write-ups but is not corroborated by contemporary news accounts of the fire that have surfaced in subsequent local-history research. Investigative blogger J'aime Rubio, in a long-form piece tracing the building's deeds and obituaries, separates verified Gukan-family history from the broader legend.
The Inn does not market itself as a paranormal attraction. The marker outside speaks to its 19th-century origins. The stories travel by word of mouth, by occasional television segments, and by patrons asking the bartender, who will sometimes oblige.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
A meal in the 1879 saloon-turned-steakhouse where staff have reported finding the cash register opened and coins stacked after closing. Sit at the bar for the strongest documented activity, attributed to former owner Tony Gukan, who collapsed and died behind it.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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