After 139 years, the oldest restaurant in LA has closed – for now

The line at the counter at the Original Saugus Café stretched down the block Sunday morning as dozens of patrons arrived to get one last glimpse of the restaurant.

Open for 139 years, it was the longest-operating cafe in Los Angeles County. The restaurant announced its planned closure in late December with a notice on its door and a statement on its Facebook page.

But on Monday, a sign was posted on the adjacent Saugus Superette announcing a future reopening of the restaurant. It reads: “We thank you for your patience during this short transition period as we complete our preparations. Please come soon to our grand reopening and see what we have been working on!”

A representative for the restaurant could not be reached for comment. Yecenia Ponce, general manager for more than 15 years, spoke to The Times about the closure on Sunday.

“We’re going to close,” she said. “We don't want to close. It's really sad that it has to come to an end. But that's the situation. I just want to thank the community for coming out and supporting us.”

As of Monday, Alfredo Mercado, Ponce's father, is listed as the sole member of the Original Saugus Cafe, LLC. During her interview with The Times, Ponce made no mention of plans to reopen the restaurant.

Located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles in Santa Clarita, the Original Saugus Café was a place you might never have heard of before its planned closure. But for area residents, it was a piece of history they wanted to cherish.

Charlane Glover brought her granddaughter Kylie for one last meal. For decades, Glover visited once or twice a month. The Original Saugus Café was where she turned when she lost her husband, full of nostalgia for the Sunday morning breakfast they shared at the restaurant before his death.

“I can’t imagine it’s gone,” said Charlane, who waited more than an hour for a table. “We're losing all of our history. We're just losing everything that was here.”

The restaurant was originally called the Saugus Eating House and opened in 1886 as part of a train station. In 1916 it moved to its current location, a long, narrow building that included a bar and dining room. Over the years, Hollywood film stars such as Frank Sinatra and John Wayne, as well as US presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt, dined at the café. The restaurant has been featured in numerous films and television shows, including “Leprechaun,” “Boys on the Side” and “Drive.”

Saugus resident and cafe regular Jack Getskow said he hopes the building can be preserved. The 82-year-old first came to the area in 1967 and spent decades as a school teacher who frequented the restaurant with other educators.

“I personally believe that this building should not be demolished and if nothing else, it should also be added to the national heritage list and that it should be saved and preserved and turned into a museum,” he said. “I hope something good happens. Every time I've come here to eat, it's always been really good.”

I visited Saugus Café in the spring of 2025 for a post about the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles County. When I arrived mid-morning, the restaurant was more than half empty. It was a place that seemed wrapped in a cocoon of nostalgia. The main decoration consisted of historical photos and restaurant paraphernalia. Worn green leather booths lined the main dining room opposite the counter. The plates were overflowing with fried eggs, hash browns and bacon. The chefs started ordering as soon as they saw a familiar face walk through the door.

On Sunday the dining room was bustling with activity. Diners were disappointed to learn the restaurant ran out of cake before noon.

When a company announces its closure, people pay attention. They flood the store in its final days. Sounds of praise and mourning flood his social media pages. But where was everyone before the closure announcement?

San Pedro resident Jackson Hahn fell in love with Saugus Café while working at nearby Santa Clarita Studios. On the restaurant's last day, he drove an hour and 20 minutes to “pay his respects.”

“If it was so busy all the time, we would never have this problem,” he said. Hahn remembers visiting the restaurant at least once or twice a week to enjoy a Philly cheesesteak omelet or a King Saugus burger when he worked in the area.

“It’s nice to see the restaurant is full,” he said. “Usually just a few booths here and there are filled. It's nice to see the community support and remind the Saugus Cafe family of the larger family they've built over the years.”

For now, the restaurant joins a growing list of notable closures that stunned the city in 2025. No one has been immune to the lingering impact of the ICE raids, the Palisades and Altadena fires, and the struggle to climb out of the hole left by the pandemic and strikes in Hollywood. We said goodbye to Here's Looking at You in Koreatown, Gucci Osteria in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica regular Cassia and dozens of others.

The Original Pantry Café in downtown Los Angeles has closed after more than a century. Papa Cristo's survived on Pico Boulevard for 77 years before closing last year.

Michelle McCall of Saugus remembers the first meal she had at the cafe more than 30 years ago. She had just moved to the area and was pleased with her plate of pancakes.

“The pancake was the size of the entire plate!” She said. “The food was really, really good.”

But despite the memorable experience, it took 30 years and the threat of closure for it to return. This time she brought her husband Ron, who was visiting the cafe for the first time. The two ate chicken fried steak, eggs with corn beef hash, and biscuits and gravy.

“I couldn’t come that last day,” she said.

Although Ponce didn't mention reopening the restaurant, she said her family plans to continue selling Original Saugus Cafe merchandise online.

This story has been updated to reflect new information about a possible reopening. Juliana Yamada contributed reporting from Santa Clarita.