The oldest restaurant in Los Angeles County has closed

The line at the Original Saugus Cafe counter stretched a block on Sunday morning as dozens of diners came for the restaurant’s last taste.

Open for 139 years, it was the longest-running coffee shop in Los Angeles County before closing its doors Sunday evening. Located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles in Santa Clarita, it was a place you might not have heard of before it closed. But for the residents of this area, it was a history they plan to honor.

Charlane Glover brought her granddaughter Kylie one last meal. For decades, Glover visited once or twice a month. The Original Saugus Cafe is the place she turned to when she lost her husband, rejoicing over the Sunday morning breakfast they shared at the cafe before his death.

“I don’t think it’s gone,” said Charlane, who waited more than an hour to get a table. “We are losing all our history. We are losing everything that was here.”

Originally called the Saugus Eating House, this restaurant opened as part of a railroad station in 1886. In 1916, it moved to its current location, one long, narrow building that included a bar and dining room. Over the years, Hollywood movie stars such as Frank Sinatra and John Wayne, as well as US presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt, all ate at the restaurant. The restaurant has been featured in many movies and TV shows, including “Leprechaun,” “Boys on the Side” and “Drive.”

The closing was announced in a Facebook post in late December, along with a sign posted on the doors.

“On behalf of the Saugus Cafe staff and ownership, we want to express our deepest gratitude to our community for the incredible support you have shown us over the years,” the statement read.

Yecenia Ponce, whose father, Alfred, is the owner and cook of this restaurant, did not reveal the exact reason for the closure of the restaurant, but said that the decision to close was difficult.

“We don’t want to close,” he said. Ponce has been the restaurant’s general manager for more than 15 years. “It’s sad that it has to end, but the situation is what it is. I would like to thank the community for showing their support.”

General manager Yecenia Ponce waits on customers at the Original Saugus Cafe during its last day of business.

Future plans for the building are unknown, but Saugus resident and general store owner Jack Getskow hopes the building can be saved. The 82-year-old first came to the area in 1967 and spent decades as a school teacher who frequented the restaurant with other teachers.

“I personally feel that this building should not be demolished, and if nothing else, it should also be in the national monument and it should be preserved and preserved and made into a museum,” he said. “I hope something good will happen. Every time I came to eat here, it was always really good.”

Stephen K. Peeples, left, and Nadine Martini-Peeples eat breakfast together at the Original Saugus Cafe during its last day of business.

I visited the Saugus Cafe in the spring of 2025 for a feature of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles County. When I arrived mid-morning, the restaurant was empty. It was a place that seemed to be enveloped in the air of longing. The main decoration consisted of historical pictures and restaurant items. Worn blue leather booths line the main dining room opposite the counter. Plates overflowed with fried eggs, hash browns and bacon. The chefs start making the order as soon as they see a familiar face walk in the door.

On Sunday, the dining room was bustling. Diners were disappointed to learn that the restaurant ran out of pie before noon.

When a business announces its closure, people pay attention. They are full of business in its last days. Notes of praise and mourning filled its social media pages. But where was everyone before the closure was announced?

Jackson Hahn coats his food in hot sauces while at the Original Saugus Cafe on its last day of business. Hahn drove from San Pedro for one last meal at the restaurant.

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

“If it was busy all the time, we wouldn’t have this problem,” he said. Hahn remembers visiting the restaurant at least once or twice a week for a Philly cheesesteak omelette or a King Saugus Burger when he worked in the area.

“It’s good to see the restaurant full,” he said. “Usually it’s just a few full booths here and there. It’s great to see the community support and remind the Saugus Cafe family of the great family that has been farming all these years.”

Michaela Vuong, a server for more than 25 years, serves food at the Original Saugus Cafe on its last day of business.

The restaurant joins a growing list of notable closures that shocked the city in 2025. No one was immune to the ongoing effects of ICE raids, the Palisades and Altadena fires, and the struggle to dig out of the hole left by the pandemic and the Hollywood strikes. We said goodbye to Here’s Looking at You in Koreatown, Gucci Osteria in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica flagship Cassia and countless others.

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

Saugus resident Michelle McCall remembers the first meal she had at the store more than 30 years ago. She had just moved to the area and was excited about her plate of cookies.

Michelle McCall’s fried chicken at the Original Saugus Cafe. Thirty years after her first visit, McCall heard about the closing and visited the restaurant with her husband.

“The pancake was the size of a whole plate!” He said. “The food was really good.”

But despite the memorable experience, it took 30 years, and closure was imminent to return.

This time, she brought her husband, Ron, who was visiting the store for the first time. The two feasted on fried chicken, horse eggs, corned beef, and biscuits and gravy.

“I couldn’t come on this last day,” he said.

The restaurant may be closing, but Ponce said his family plans to continue selling Original Saugus Cafe merchandise online.

Juliana Yamada contributed to the reporting of this article.