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The Original Saugus Cafe reopens just two weeks after it shut its doors
The Original Saugus Cafe is open once again
(
Courtesy Mercado Family
)
Topline:
The Original Saugus Cafe, L.A. County's oldest restaurant, closed at the beginning of the year, causing unhappiness among its devoted customers. But this week, it's reopened under new management amid a legal battle over the business.
Why it matters: The 139-year-old business is a fixture in Santa Clarita, once visited by presidents and movie starts. But a dispute between previous management and the landlord forced the historic business to shutter its doors. Disappointed customers were able to eat once again at the restaurant Monday, albeit under a new operator, Eduardo Reyna, owner of nearby Dario’s Mexican Restaurant.
Why now: The reopening comes amid an ongoing legal dispute between the property's landlords, the Arklin family, and the family of Alfredo Mercado, who operated the cafe for almost 30 years. The two parties are fighting over rights to the name "Original Saugus Cafe," which Mercado established as an LLC in 1998. The Mercados filed a million-dollar lawsuit last week and are now adding Reyna to the suit for interfering with their business.
The backstory: Mercado and the original landlord, Hank Arklin, had a handshake deal with no written lease. After Arklin died last August, the relationship between the two families soured. According to the Mercado family’s attorney, Steffanie Stelnick, the landlords locked the family out and withheld their equipment and inventory. She says the liquor license remains in dispute and has not been transferred to the new operator.
What's next: The defendants were served Monday and have a set time to respond to the complaint before the case proceeds.
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