Is a New Wave of Restaurant Gentrification About to Hit Santa Ana?

Photo by El Santanero

RIP...

As January came to an end, so did the remarkable run of Lucky Guy's Burgers just south of downtown SanTana. The always excellent Santanero 'zine has the full story; I just regret never writing about it, as it was one of the better Greek-run teriyaki/pastrami/Mexican food/hamburger delis in the county, and served a brilliant wet breakfast burrito (you read that right).

The owner of Lucky Guy's said that the property owner wanted to do improvements to the building, which to me is code for getting fancier tenants in. And as someone who has seen the influx of new restaurants to downtown SanTana, I'm surprised the expansion of this restaurant gentrification down South Main Street hasn't happened sooner.

This stretch is chockablock with old buildings and muchos vacancies, and has been like this even before the Great Recession. The hipsters don't dare travel down this corridor because actual Mexicans live, shop, and eat on either side of Main--but one can sense the changes creep down. There's now a Zumba/yoga class offered south of Edinger Street and a new taqueria that I haven't tried. If the space that was Lucky Guy's does turn into a newer, hipper, spot, expect more restaurants to follow.

In the meanwhile, RIP Lucky Guy's: your hamburgers and gyros fueled many a dizzy hangovers for me over the years...

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