After a 35-year business odyssey that began in Point Richmond, Tony and Carla Beckerley are returning to California where Tony will be managing the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls for Aramark, the new Yosemite concessionaire that beat out Delaware North. Or it might be Yosemite Valley Lodge, depending on how a dispute with the former concessionaire plays out.

Tony was a founder of Little Louie’s Delicatessen, now Little Louie’s Café and Delicatessen, the first location of which was in what is now the Interactive Resources conference room in Point Richmond. The shop featured ice cream and sandwiches. While tending store, Tony met Carla Garza who was baby-sitting our kids while Shirley and I were on our first trip to Europe together. Carla took our kids to Little Louie’s for ice cream, and the rest is history.

Tony and Carla married in 1986

Business boomed, and Tony soon moved Little Louie’s down the street to a much larger location across the street from the Hotel Mac where Little Louie’s is still located. Love also bloomed, and Tony and Carla were married in 1986.

Little Louie’s, a Point Richmond fixture for over 30 years

A few years later, Tony sold Little Louie’s and took over management of the Granville Inn in Granville Ohio, a historic hotel that is the social center of the college town where Denison University is located, and Tony and Carla also eventually became the owners. While in Granville, Tony was elected to the local school board and served as president of the Rotary Club and president of the Licking County Convention and Visitors’ bureau. In 2013, the Granville Inn was purchased by Denison University and underwent a major rehabilitation.

The Granville Inn

While still in living in Granville, Tony became Director of Operations, Northpointe Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus, OH. In 2013, he was elected 2014 President of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association Board of Trustees for 2014.

Northpointe Hotel and Conference Center

In 2014, Tony moved east to Bar Harbor, Maine, to manage the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel and Event Center.

Atlantic Oceanside Hotel and Event Center

When Aramark became the successful bidder to replace as the concessionaire for Yosemite, Tony Beckerley was hired to manage the largest lodging in the valley, the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls. The Lodge has 245 rooms, conference facilities, two restaurants, a swimming pool and shops. Tony officially takes over tomorrow, March 1. Next time you go to Yosemite, drop by to say hi to Tony and Carla and congratulate them. They will be living in a home adjacent to Yosemite Meadows.