The Vault – a place to have fun in downtown Auburn – set to open in former Wells Fargo building

The name – The Vault – that came easy. Dallas and Brianna Drake's new business at the corner of Lincoln Way and High Street formerly housed Wells Fargo Bank. However, "Revitalizing vacant real estate in town is a tough thing," Dallas Drake said Monday afternoon as work continued on the new business that is scheduled to open Friday, a place where everyone from kids to grandmas can have fun. "Finding creative ways to do so is kind of what we pride ourselves on, so this is the byproduct of that. We've created a building that was a dead zone and made it an active contributing thing to just the feel of the town as a whole. We're proud we get to be a new staple in downtown Auburn." Drake is sitting at the bar, underneath attractive lighting and close to roll-up doors that will open the side of the building. Nearby, numerous beer taps wait to be connected, and to his left, a row of lanes for duckpin bowling wait to be played. Lined against another wall is a row of pinball machines, and upstairs, still more pinball and video games – including Guitar Hero and Terminator Salvation – surrounding two pool tables. Their plans for the building have changed since closing escrow in the summer of 2024. Dallas Drake told the Auburn Journal then he planned three or four retail locations on the main floor with hopes for a bar/restaurant space and upstairs, a boutique hotel and perhaps rooftop dining. But then … "We found there's a lack of entertainment in town. (People) really wanted something to do," Drake said. "We also felt it was kind of weird to invite guests to town with nothing to do so here we are, we're going to make a place for people to come visit." And have fun. Duckpin bowling is big back east. The lanes are the same width as conventional bowling but considerably shorter, and the ball is much smaller and lighter. "Everything here, for the most part, everyone is able to participate in," Drake said. "We want the whole family to come down and have a good time. Fun fact, there's never been a perfect game in duckpin bowling." This is the Drakes' third business. They also own Yeti Tavern a short walk up the street (where you can order a beer float) and Das Flipperhaus pinball arcade in Rocklin. The Vault will offer "smaller samplings" for food," Drake said, and will open by serving beer and wine featuring local craft beers and working with Mussetter Distributing of Auburn. Hours will be 4-9 p.m. weekdays, 4-11 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays and "probably 11 to 7 or 8 on Sunday," according to Drake. There is additional space on the second floor, and approaching the building on the High Street side, one will see a tall medieval door with the words, "The Escape Room." But that is another story …