The Witness Tree is a landmark. There were actually two big trees in this location. One sycamore marked the actual corner, and the other was used as the “witness stake”, a safeguard used by surveyors in the case the main marker was destroyed. That second tree is the one that still stands today, visible popping through the roof of the building. The marker tree was cut down when Hollister Avenue was realigned.
In 1966 the owners of the property were the Bottiani family, and Vic and Carlo Bottiani decided they wanted to build a restaurant at this location. They assembled a team of investors, including Sam Battistone and Newell Bohnett, the founders of the Sambos chain. They hired Louis Mazeti, a well know architect, to design the building around the tree, preserving it for future generations.
