[Last updated 1/20/26 10:52 PM PT—After being closed for just two weeks, The Original Saugus Cafe reopened as Saugus Restaurant under new management. A report on the reopening has been added to the bottom of this post.]
[Updated 1/10/26 12:54 PM PT to add clarification of some details revealed in an LAist article and The Santa Clarita Valley Signal.]
"While the future plans for the building are currently unknown, we want to share that Saugus Cafe will officially close its doors on January 4, 2026."
That was the message posted on the front door and at the cash register at the oldest restaurant in Los Angeles County when I went for (perhaps) a final meal on the second day of 2026.
And that was the news at the time, too—which I'd been devastated by just a couple of days before, which was just enough notice for me to drive 30 miles north to say goodbye.
Then today, a KHTS headline read, "Saugus Cafe Will Reopen Despite Earlier Claims About Closing Permanently"—on an article that included an anonymous tip from a supposed new managing owner.
So I don't really know what's what, other than the fact that the cafe's property's 97-year-old owner, Hank Arklin, passed away in August 2025 and there were no descendants/heirs to take it over. Understanding that Saugus Cafe as I've known it would close for some period of time—if not forever—last Friday I ate like it was going to be my last meal ever there.
[Update 1/10/26] According to LAist, Arklin had leased the business to Alfred Mercado in 1998—and upon his death, his family's company (North Valley Construction) tried to renegotiate what had been essentially a handshake deal into a proper lease, raising the rent and adding additional charges. In the midst of the back-and-forth, a company representative, Larry Goodman, said he "got someone to take it over."
The Saugus Cafe story goes back nearly 140 years, when it was founded by James Herbert Tolfree as the Saugus Eating House in a train depot across the street. The owner back then moved the business to its current position in 1916 and built a new building, and then replaced that one. The cafe was bought and sold many times over, including by an owner who built an even newer structure in 1952—the one that stands there today.
It's not the work of a master architect, and it's not postcard-perfect. In fact, it's pretty rough around the edges. But it's always felt like home to me.
I first had brunch there on April 19, 2014 when I was on my way to the Antelope Valley to see the poppies. I sat in the back room, eating silver dollar pancakes, and they were so good I vowed to return whenever I could.
My favorite seats became the ones at the counter, stitched with the names of bygone regulars. But when I came on March 15, 2021, after getting my first COVID-19 vaccine at Six Flags, the only place anyone was allowed to sit was outdoors. I got a tuna melt on sourdough with onion rings that day.
I returned again on June 18, 2021, after picking up the rental Jeep that we would drive to Cerro Gordo ghost town in the Eastern Sierra. The last time I'd been there was on February 23, 2023, after a coworker and I finished filming some footage at the St. Francis Dam Disaster Site. I had a club sandwich with a side of fruit.
There was a long line waiting outside when I got there—but fortunately the counter is first-come first-served and I was flying solo, so I could squeeze in.
I nabbed the seat marked in loving memory of "Paul," with a plaque dated 11/29/2017. 
I never went to Saugus Cafe often enough to develop a taste for a particular dish. I didn't have the luxury of becoming a regular at a place that it could take 45 to 90 minutes of driving time to get to.
So instead, I ordered my "usual" when I go to pretty much any diner: a Denver omelette (of ham, cheese, peppers, and onions). I daresay it's the best Denver omelette I've ever had.
And despite having gone gluten-free because of a celiac diagnosis a year and a half ago, I indulged in my favorite "secret menu" delicacy of the Saugus Cafe—a grilled English muffin.
Legends tell of the famous and infamous also dining at Saugus Cafe—Teddy Roosevelt while he was U.S. president, William Mulholland on his way to secure water from the Owens Valley, Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin, and local celebrity cowboys like William S. Hart and Harry Carey.
There's a myth that James Dean ate his last meal at Saugus Cafe before dying in a car crash—but the conjecture that he stopped in Saugus at all (even at a different restaurant, like Tip's) has been debunked.
Now, the Saugus Cafe is the subject of a whole new set of rumors—and a David-and-Goliath style battle between a major real estate developer in the region and a small business owner, who reportedly worked his way up from the position of bartender.
[If and] when the (prospective) new owners take over and do a deep clean as they say they will, I hope they don't scrub away too much of its history and leave it a roadhouse befitting the Old West character of the Santa Clarita Valley. They say they plan to keep the name the same as its been since 1899—but if they change too much, it won't be the same Saugus Cafe.
[Update 1/10/26] And it might not even be called by the name name, as Mercado has previously filed for an LLC registered under "The Original Saugus Cafe," according to The Signal. The attorney representing the Mercado family's interest in the business has sent a letter to the Arklin family representative demanding that he stop claiming the business is reopening.
[Update 1/20/26] Well, the restaurant reopened on January 19—sooner than I expected—with the word "Original" on the Saugus Cafe neon sign having been painted over.
At noontime lunchtime on the day of the soft reopening under the new management of Eduardo Reyna, there was no line outside and hardly anybody at the counter...
...to check out the newly rebranded "Saugus Restaurant."
A fresh coat of paint may have signaled a fresh start, even as some of the former Saugus Cafe employees resumed their former positions...
...but the removal of the framed historic photos above the picture rail left the walls above the booths looking bare.
And the corner where the display cases of merch were—now the only way to get to the restrooms—is looking downright depressing.
The bar is sealed off behind a locked door, as the new management hasn't yet secured its liquor license (according to the server who cashed me out, and as reported by KHTS Radio).
NBC Los Angeles reports that former business owner Mercado is now suing the property owner, North Valley Construction, for breach of contract and trademark infringement—even with these tweaks of the name.
In the meantime, I was glad to get another Denver omelette and a grilled English muffin during my visit. So far, nothing has changed about the menu except the name on the front cover (and the lack of a Specials board). Even the prices—which many outlets including Los Angeles Magazine reported would be lowered—are the same.
Related Posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment