Owner of El Paso’s Haunted Motel Restaurant Shares Paranormal Experiences

There’s a new haunt you can take you Boo to at 512 San Marcial Street in Central El Paso.

It’s called Monteleone’s Haunted Motel Restaurant, although it’s not an actual motel. The dining concept from the owner of Monteleone’s Ristorant is that of an Italian steakhouse where diners can check in for the evening and have dinner in their own mini “motel room”.

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The dining experience will include a little bit of Hollywood in the form of The Bellhop Players; server/actors who put on a short, scripted murder/mystery-type play during dinner.

That’s the ‘motel’ part of the theme. The “haunted” twist is that the converted home the restaurant is in really does have ghostly residents.

Gary Monteleone's Spooky Experiences

I spoke with owner Gary Monteleone to find out more about the paranormal goings-on he’s experienced at his new eerie eatery.

If anyone knows first-hand about sharing space with the dead who don't want you there, it’s Gary. Especially after everything he, his wife, and the employees have gone through for years at his other restaurant, Monteleone's Ristorante, which you can read about in this Haunted El Paso article from a few years back.

The original plan, Monteleone told me, was to buy the property and use it as a parking lot for Monteleone’s Ristorante, which is located around the corner from the property. But Gary ended up really liking the 1920’s era home deciding it was “way too pretty to tear down,” and instead remodeled it and moved in.

“Boy, that was a mistake,” Gary quickly declared. “He just would not leave us alone.”

Eerie Engineer

‘He’ is the ghost of an engineer who worked for Union Pacific Railroad and originally owned the home. According to Monteleone, the psychic medium he consulted when the paranormal activity became too much told him the man lived and died in that home and did not want them there.

“He was terrible. You would hear noises and [then] see static electricity like what you see in the dark [when you rub] a balloon going back and forth in the bedroom.” recounts

He added that items would move on their own, constantly dropping and falling. “He just made it very miserable,” Gary concluded.

The Lady By the Staircase

After making the decision to move out of the house and convert it into a restaurant, Gary said another spirit made itself known.

“We were taking pictures for the city when we were going for commercial zoning, and when we were taking pictures of the different rooms, you could see, like I don’t know if it was his bride [but] we got a clear picture of [a lady] right by the staircase.”

According to Gary, the apparition appeared to be floating and you could make out enough of the ghostly specter to notice it didn't have feet.

If you are into the paranormal and you’re looking for a scary good steak you’ll certainly want to make dinner reservations at Monteleone’s Haunted Motel Themed Restaurant.

You just might get it served up with a side of scares.