Five Oldest Continually Operating OC Restaurants (With Request for More)

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By Gustavo Arellano, Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 4:13AM

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Didn't make the list, since it's a 54-year-old whippersnapper...

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Sarinana's Tamale Factory, an old-school dive in an industrial area of SanTana. How do I know its age? Birth year painted on the outside of its wall. If only Orange County restaurant chronology were this easy, though. I know, for instance, that the first place in the county to sell pho was Pho Hien Vuong in SanTana, and that Dad's Donuts and Sugar 'n' Spice wil forever claim to be the Balboa Bar's birthplace. But what was the first restaurant in Little Arabia? Little Seoul? The oldest pizzeria still in existence? In the hopes of spurring some of ustedes to do research, we present Orange County's five oldest continually operating restaurants. If I'm wrong, do correct me!

The Arches: The iconic Newport Beach restaurant moved a couple of years ago from its longtime spot on PCH to the Balboa Peninsula, but the same stuffiness that has characterized it since 1922 remains. Great place for the Iowans to be in awe of eating at roughly the same environment where Gary Cooper ate! 508 29th St., Newport Beach, (949) 675-3206; www.thearchesrestaurant.com.

Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner: Unlike Disneyland or the OC GOP, this is a relic that never gets old. It started in 1934 in Old Ma Knott's dining room, and the current dining room doesn't seem a year past 1957, but that fried chicken and rhubarb...8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, (714) 220-5080; www.knotts.com.

Sarinana's Tamale Factory: Most famous for their tamales, but also bakers of viciously unctuous chicharrones. As said earlier, open since 1939. A former house--that's how old-school this place is. 2218 W. Fifth St., Santa Ana, (714) 558-8650.

El Adobe de Capistrano: Around since 1948, but famously became a Mexican restaurant after Richard Nixon raved about its Mexican food even though it wasn't offered to the public. What I want to know: to what publication did Nixon rave about El Adobe's Mexican food?
31891 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, (949) 493-1163; www.eladobedecapistrano.com.

La Chiquita: The pride of SanTana's Logan barrio since 1950, this spot is actually starting to enter the modern age. It has a Facebook page, and is starting to incorporate new desserts like a margarita cake and a dulce de leche cheesecake. Come here before Mayor Don Papi Pulido's gentrification plans bulldoze this treasure into overpriced lofts! 906 E. Washington Ave., Santa Ana, (714) 543-8787.

*Note: What's now Ruby's Crystal Cove Shake Shack has been around since the 1940s, but we won't include it on this list because it closed for a bit while becoming part of Ruby's corporate empire, and because we're still too brokenhearted about the development of what was once truly Paradise. Fuck you, Irvine Co.!

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Comments (20)

mike says:

La Cave Steakhouse has been around since 1962 .

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 8:56AM

OCBites says:

Villa Nova... Crab Cooker

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 10:33AM

JB says:

If this ends up to be a real comprehensive list
(at least through the Nixon inauguration and those "Wonder Years" space-age era days):

Katella Deli - 1965
[it moved to the current edifice in the '80s]

Five Crowns, Corona del Mar - 1965

Benjie's Deli, Santa Ana - 1967

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 2:06PM

Baron says:

Enjoyed your article. I remembered them all.
Is Jerry's Barbeque still in Buena Park?

Your closing statement was most appropriate.
Thank you. That has been my sentiment for years.

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 4:15PM

Cole says:

Nixon and the El Adobe:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943845-9,00.html

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 7:51PM

El Gringo says:

Baron:
Jerry's in Buena Park was bulldozed some time ago. I miss it, even though I only ate there after working the night shift at the old Orange County Evening News (RIP).
Another longtime eatery would be the drug store on Orange's "circle"...don't know its age off-hand.

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 10:27PM

Christian Ziebarth says:

El Gringo, That would be Watson's and it is over 100 years old.

I believe Nixon would have the Mexican chef of El Adobe cook him up some Mexican food and that Nixon finally suggested to the owners that they turn it into an actual Mexican restaurant. That's what the ghost of the headless monk who wanders around the Los Rios district told me.

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 30 2009 @ 10:45PM

jonathan says:

On El Adobe -- local lore is that the Secret Service let El Adobe folks know the president would be coming over for their Mexican food, and the restaurant had to bring in a worker's mother to cook...

Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 1 2009 @ 10:10AM

Matt Coker says:

Mmmm, I was just thinking of La Palma Chicken Pie Shop the other day and how I have to get out there. Thanks for the extra motivation.

My memory may be a bit fuzzy, but I want to say Villa Nova started in Hollywood in the early 1920s before moving to NB around the time Bogey and Bacall were frolicking around here. It's explained on their walls, along with an original menu with ridiculously low prices. Low prices now? Not so much.

Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 1 2009 @ 10:35AM

Wm Blackstone says:

It was a good try, but no cigarillo. How could you leave out The White House in Laguna Beach...operating since 1918!
URL: http://www.whitehouserestaurant.com/

Lest we not forget - Cook's Corner in Trabuco Canyon started serving food in 1926 and haven't stopped yet.

Oh, yeah, and Dick Church's in Costa Mesa, since 1947. URL: http://dickchurchrestaurant.com/default.aspx

Sloppy research, lazy checking, or just "don't get around much anymore"?

Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 1 2009 @ 2:53PM

Gustavo Arellano says:

Blackstone: Slag off. I admitted from the beginning, with no ego whatsoever, that my list would probably be wrong. Thank you for your additions—now, go to Javier's and keep wasting cash!

Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 1 2009 @ 3:22PM

Claudia F says:

Love Sarinana's!!! Everyone "HAS" to try their hard-shell tacos... Amazing!!!

Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 1 2009 @ 4:26PM

J-Dizzy says:

I doubt you have been to the new Arches location based on your description...the new location blows and doesn't have a tenth of the charm and character the place on PCH used to have. Maybe Alice would set foot in this place but not Gary.

Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 1 2009 @ 4:26PM

JB says:

Seriously, did Trabuco Canyon exist in 1926?
Or even 1986?

I thought it was one of those manufactured communities where platinum blondes with synthetic breasts sleep after a long day of coordinating gala fundraisers.

Foothill Ranch, Ladera Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita, Trabuco Canyon...
...someone help a NY transplant tell the difference.

Posted On: Wednesday, Dec. 2 2009 @ 12:28PM

frank says:

JB, if you take a drive to the end of El Toro Rd you will hit Cooks Corner (major biker hangout) -a right-turn takes you into the canyon, which hasn't changed much since it was settled...it's still a good place to drop off the face of the earth and is a far cry from the new burbs (I live in Dove Canyon, which is a fine example of one)...also check out Trabuco Oaks Steakhouse (been there since the 60s)...

Posted On: Wednesday, Dec. 2 2009 @ 9:02PM

frank says:

howabout the original Marie Callenders in Anaheim (still open I believe?)

Posted On: Wednesday, Dec. 2 2009 @ 9:03PM

Colony Rabble says:

'Stavo, you dissapoint me. Linbrook Bowl in all its glory, serving bar food for 50 years baby.

Posted On: Friday, Dec. 4 2009 @ 9:42PM

Mike Tardif says:

Watson's, just east of the circle (plaza) in the City of Orange, is the oldest same-location business in Orange County. Their lunch counter has been a local favorite since 1899. Their menu is full of good, honest, simple American fare at reasonable prices.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/beyond/ds071700.htm

Posted On: Saturday, Dec. 5 2009 @ 6:00PM

Mike Tardif says:

Pop's Cafe - since 1946
Santa Ana
112 E. 9th St.
Awesome breakfast!

http://books.google.com/books?id=Af4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=%22pop's+cafe%22+santa+ana+established&source=bl&ots=bSJdEOYbyC&sig=Zi_amIldEMA4PY9G8yyt1I1OWhA&hl=en&ei=_hIbS-qpHZLIsQO1gOmHBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCIQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Posted On: Saturday, Dec. 5 2009 @ 6:19PM

kim schlutz says:

Guter Blog - Habe "a little Question". Meiner einer ist auch unmittelbar dabei meinen kleinen Weblog zu coden und ich finde dein Style klasse. Wo kann man das ziehen?

Posted On: Wednesday, Dec. 9 2009 @ 5:17PM