Was Gavin Newsom in SLO County this week? Yep, and here’s what he was doing

Cambria had a celebrity visitor Thursday night.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was part of a group of 35 people who dined at Robin’s restaurant on Burton Drive and dropped by Hearst Castle during their stay.

““The governor was in the Cambria area,” Izzy Garden, communications director for the governor, told The Tribune in an email Friday night. “He was meeting with members of his cabinet. They visited Hearst San Simeon State Park.”

A few more details also came to light earlier in the evening.

“He had an event organizer plan the dinner,” Shanny Covey, Robin’s owner, confirmed in an email to The Tribune on Friday evening. “There were 35 in the group, and they had a full dinner from apps to dessert. They were happy with their experience.”

Why were they here?

“They made the reservation as a company retreat, but who knows the real reason they were in town,” Covey said. “We were not told he was coming. I didn’t know till he was already seated. I glanced over to see but was too busy to even say hello.”

She said she believed they stayed at a hotel on Moonstone Beach Drive.

“I was told there were several black cars there,” she said.

The celebrity and his entourage didn’t stay on the down low for long.

The surrounding hubbub prompted such social-media inquiries as, “Who is visiting our beautiful little town that requires this level of security and police presence? Curiosity’s driving me nuts.”

That posting on Nextdoor, which got an answer of “Gov. Newsom,” has been removed.