There were some familiar faces but a new name as the Saugus Restaurant opened up at 5 a.m. Monday for business, inside the home of the Original Saugus Cafe.
The Original Saugus Cafe closed Jan. 5, with signs posted shortly thereafter announcing that new management would be coming soon. Google now lists The Original Saugus Cafe as closed permanently.
On Monday, the new restaurant’s “soft opening” was underway. Saugus Restaurant did not yet have online listings, a website or a point-of-sale machine for credit card transactions, so everything was cash-only Monday.
Higgy Lopez, the restaurant’s accountant, said there had been a steady flow of customers since the doors opened, adding they were intentionally taking a low-key approach since there was not a lot of time to prepare.
Lopez said the restaurant was still working on getting its permits, including a beer and liquor license, and a few other items that management hoped to have in place prior to the location’s opening. There are plans to re-open the bar, too, once that happens.
Eduardo Reyna, who was identified as the owner of the Saugus Restaurant and also runs Dario’s in Canyon Country, referred comment Monday to Simon Aguilar, who identified himself as the restaurant’s general manager.
“This week has really, really stressed out everybody, because we had to get all the permits in one week,” Aguilar said, referring to the tight turnaround between the previous business and the new. “We’re working on it.”
Aguilar said the new name on the menus was due to a dispute between the landlord and the previous operators. However, many who arrived Monday noticed more than a few similarities, including the chairs, the oldies music playing in the background and some of the servers.
Michaela Vuong has been a waitress at 25861 Railroad Ave. for about 25 years, and she could be seen showing regulars to their seats, playfully referring to a regular as her “handsome friend” as she ushered him past the L.A. TV news cameras that had set up to catch the opening.
For Vuong and many of the regular customers, the uncertainty of things was a bit unsettling, and the last few weeks were described as hectic.
“I mean, after being here for so long and not knowing what’s gonna happen, and customers were aware of it, and what do you say to them?” she said of the change. “We didn’t know what to say to them, basically, because they were in negotiation for a while, so we weren’t sure if we closed for sure or not. And then when we knew, obviously, the last couple of weeks were just very intense.”
Vuong also mentioned that there had been so much theft from visitors to the restaurant in the final days — people took everything including coffee cups that didn’t even have the old logo, which she had a really hard time understanding, she said, and so many menus were taken that they were down to six of them on the last day.
The family that operated The Original Saugus Cafe sued the landlord with a lawsuit claiming the business was taken from them.
The lawsuit states the landlord asked them to sign a lease that claimed ownership of all the restaurant’s property while simultaneously filing for a trademark on the “Original Saugus Cafe” name, adding neither were done in good faith.
Steffanie Stelnick, the attorney for the family that owns the Original Saugus Cafe, said there’s been no response as of Monday afternoon, but the family’s legal action is ongoing.
Larry Goodman, the property manager who represents the land’s owner, Louise Arklin, did not respond to a voicemail Monday.
The restaurant is keeping the same menu items for now, Vuong said, but she has heard that there are plans to add some new dishes.
Ronn and Stacie Geitheim stopped by because they live down the street from Dario’s in Canyon Country, and they’re regular there to the point where the staff recognized them, Ronn Geitheim said.
“So it was great when the waiter came over, and he says, ‘Good to see you,’ and I’m looking and I’m thinking — and he says, ‘Dario’s’ — ohhh, ah now, I remember,” Geitheim said. “So listen, I have no doubt if it’s run like it’s run at Dario’s, it’ll be good.”
