Every restaurateur will tell you that they love what they do, but theirs is a risky business. Eateries typically die quickly when a concept doesn’t work. Still, some stalwarts endure for decades then sink swiftly when management shifts, fashions change or rent hikes force owners to throw in the towel.
This year’s list of notable closures is no exception. Foodies saw the death of the last store in the old school Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour chain as well as the quick demise of Tower 48, a hip little sandwich joint by two prominent restaurateurs who simply had bigger fish to fry — probably literally — and decided to move on.
Here’s the recap of what went down in 2019.
Ruby’s Diner: The Yorba Linda restaurant closed in late January after 26 years with a note on the door saying it would become a Shake Shop and move to downtown Brea, but that’s not confirmed. As of the last time the Register spoke to Ruby’s, plans were still up in the air. We do know that another diner, Woody’s, will be moving into that location, 21450 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour: On Dec. 30, 2018, Farrell’s in Buena Park closed even after Marcus Lemonis of “The Profit” tried to revive it in 2016. Six months later the last Farrell’s in Brea shut down. “Everybody loved Farrell’s but nobody wanted to go back there,” Lemonis said in a 2018 phone interview with the Register. He still owns the old-fashioned scoop-heavy brand that at one time had 130 locations nationwide, but he’s got it on the shelf for now. Maybe diners will love Ruby’s better when it moves into that location at 215 S. Brea Blvd., but we’re still not sure in what form. (See Ruby’s above.)
The Melting Pot: A lease expiration combined with a rate increase forced the chain’s Irvine location to close “indefinitely” in March. Fans will have to drive to the next nearest locations in La Jolla, San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and in Thousand Oaks to get their fondue fix.
Pie-Not: After 3 years the Aussie style pie shop closed in June in Huntington Beach and then the 6-year-old Costa Mesa location closed too. But San Diego’s Pop Pie Co., which was looking to expand, snapped up the location: 260 E. 17th St., #17, Costa Mesa.
Dirty Cookie: This wasn’t so much a close as a pivot. Dirty Cookie shuttered its storefront at Union Market Tustin at the District because it was doing lots of business in LA with its cookies molded into shot glass-size containers for flavored milks and other goodies.
“I needed to get started and it was the first thing available,” said its founder, Egyptian-American entrepreneur Shahira Marei, of Irvine, who gave us an update in a recent telephone interview. “But after three years I realized it wasn’t the right demographic. Our customer base is in Los Angeles. We do business-to-business with studios and celebrities,” she said. She’s still taking orders online and has plans to open a storefront in LA.
Johnny Rebs’: This restaurant with its down-home Southern style cooking, serving biscuits, barbecue, fried chicken and catfish, almost made it to 20 years in Orange, but closed in June. It’s still operating in Long Beach, 4663 Long Beach Blvd., and Bellflower, 16639 Bellflower Blvd.
Claim Jumper: Brea’s Claim Jumper location had a solid run of 25 years before it closed in June “due to a natural lease expiration and a significant increase in rent demands” according to the chain’s parent company, Kelly Restaurant Group. Fans take note: The closest Claim Jumpers to Brea are Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo and Monrovia. The Dylan, a different restaurant under entirely new ownership, took over the space immediately.
Yang Ming Garden: This local favorite for 25 years in Orange was a bit of a throw back with a tiki bar and crowd-pleasing, old-fashioned items such as Moo Goo Gai Pan, Kung Pao Chicken, Mu Shu Pork, Sweet and Sour Pork and Beef Chow Feng Noodles. The Peking Duck was only $16. Owner Daniel Teng posted a note on the restaurant’s website dated Aug. 1 that he and his new landlord could not “come to an agreement.” Don’t lose heart fans, Teng says he’s looking for a new location.
Square One Pizza Cafe: “We are not moving and have no plans to reopen anywhere in the future,” said Liz Gillies, co-owner of the restaurant with her husband, Kyle Gillies, in an email to the Register on Friday, Aug. 16. For four years, the restaurant on Alton Parkway in Irvine was beloved by locals who voted it No. 1 for Best Pizza in The Orange County Register’s Best of Orange County awards for 2017, it also placed in the top three in 2018.
Gratitude Café: Sure it closed for a while at the beginning of September but really the parent company just changed it into another of its concepts after receiving feedback from loyal customers. “We have a couple different concepts and as far as the cuisine, what they’re asking for is more Mexican,” said co-owner Ryland Engelhart.
Café Gratitude was founded by Ryland’s parents, Matthew and Terces Engelhart, who started a small chain in the Bay Area serving plant-based and organic foods. But the No. 1-selling food item in Newport Beach was nachos and number one beverage was the margarita. So the place lives on as Gracias Madre in a newly designed space at 1617 Westcliff Drive, #112, Newport Beach, with an agave spirits only bar.
Coco’s Bakery and Restaurant: On social media in August, regulars were lamenting the loss of a restaurant they’d been frequenting almost their entire lives at the Tustin Courtyard Shopping Center. “I’ve been going there for 45 years,” said one resident of North Tustin. “Really going to miss it.” No new restaurant in sight, the spot is slated to become a health care center.
Irenia: It was sad to see this restaurant, a critics’ darling, unable to make it in hip, happening downtown Santa Ana. It changed hours and added brunch in July as a last ditch effort, but by October it was switching back to serving pop-up dinners.Chef Ryan Garlitos, a veteran of Slapfish and Taco Maria, and his life and work partner Sarah Mosqueda, who worked the front of the house, were lauded by local writers for their contemporary Filipino fare. They’ll continue on as Irenia Supper Club and Mosqueda recommends that fans visit the website to join the mailing list and watch Facebook and Instagram for announcements of the pop-ups.
Barley Forge Brewing Co.: Sadly the first brewery in Costa Mesa had to close after 5 years and file for bankruptcy. But Green Cheek Beer Co. has bought the name and will be taking over the space at 2957 Randolph Ave., Costa Mesa in early January. “We were unique in that we had a restaurant. It’s fairly uncommon for a craft brewery to have a restaurant,” said Mary Ann Frericks in October when Barley Forge decided not to renew its lease. She opened the brewery with her husband Greg Nylen, and Kevin Buckley, director of brewing operations, in 2014. “That was kind of not in our initial vision at all but the city said no food trucks and no outside food so we had to have a kitchen. It turned out great in many ways.”
Tower 48: It was too cool to be true. The hip menu at this deli that opened in April in Newport Beach consisted of elevated beach grub and since it was brought to you by the owners of Social Costa Mesa it also promised to deliver its fine dining fare as takeout. Well, Social took off like a rocket, leaving its baby brother behind. “We decided to sell it as we wanted to use our time to grow the Social brand as we focus on location number three to open in spring 2020 at Peters Landing,” said Andrew Dorsey, who owns Social with his wife Raquel Dorsey and business partner Daniel Biello. They opened Social Huntington Beach in September, see SeaSalt below. So, here comes Social in Sunset Beach with a waterfront view. Woo hoo!
SeaSalt Woodfire Grill and SeaLegs Wine Bar: Alicia Whitney seemed a victim of her own success. She founded SeaLegs Wine Bar nearly ten years ago then expanded with a Santa Maria style barbecue joint in the same shopping center in Huntington Beach. But she had much more on the go with her LAX location and four concessions at Bolsa Chica State Beach. In April, she sold SeaSalt to the owners of Social Costa Mesa so they could expand and then she announced she was selling SeaLegs in November so she could focus on her beach concessions and her budding live events that showcase music and food. Check out her latest, SeaLegs Greetings, a Christmas tree lot on Pacific Coast Highway at Warner Avenue with entertainment, rides, a full bar and food, running through Sunday, Jan. 5.
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December 24, 2019 at 02:01AM
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From the last Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour to a hip Newport deli, here’s a recap of notable O.C. restaurants that closed in 2019 - OCRegister
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