The oldest restaurant in Los Angeles County has closed

The line at the counter of the Original Saugus Cafe stretched down the block Sunday morning as dozens of diners showed up to try the restaurant one last time.

Open for 139 years, it was the oldest operating cafe in Los Angeles County before closing its doors for good night on Sunday. Located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles in Santa Clarita, it was a place you may have never heard of before it closed. But for area residents, it was a piece of history they plan to treasure.

Charlane Glover brought her granddaughter Kylie for one last meal. For decades, Glover visited him once or twice a month. The Original Saugus Cafe was the place she went when she lost her husband, nostalgic for the Sunday morning breakfasts they shared at the restaurant before his passing.

“I can't imagine it going away,” 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.”

Originally called Saugus Eating House, the restaurant opened as part of a train station in 1886. In 1916, it moved to its current location, a long, narrow building that included a bar and dining room. Over the years, Hollywood movie stars such as Frank Sinatra and John Wayne, along with American presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt, dined at the cafe. The restaurant has appeared in numerous movies and television shows, including “Leprechaun,” “Boys on the Side” and “Drive.”

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

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

Yecenia Ponce, whose father, Alfred, owns and cooks the cafe, did not offer a specific reason for the closure, but said the decision to close was difficult.

“We don't want to close,” he said. Ponce was general manager of the restaurant for more than 15 years. “It's really sad that this has to come to an end. But that's the situation. I just want to thank the community for showing up and supporting.”

General Manager Yecenia Ponce serves customers at Original Saugus Café during its last day of operations.

Future plans for the building are unknown, but Saugus resident and coffee shop regular Jack Getskow hopes the building will be preserved. The 82-year-old first came to the area in 1967 and spent decades as a school teacher and frequented the restaurant with other educators.

“I personally believe that this building should not be torn down and at the very least it should also be on the register of national monuments and that it should be saved and preserved and turned into a museum,” he said. “I hope something good happens. Every time I come to eat here, it's always been very good.”

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

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

On Sunday the dining room was packed. Diners were disappointed to learn that the restaurant had run out of pie before noon.

When a business announces its closure, people pay attention. They swarm the business in its last days. Notes of praise and mourning flood their social media pages. But where was everyone before the closure announcement?

Jackson Hahn dresses his food with hot sauces while at the Original Saugus Cafe during its last day of business. Hahn drove from San Pedro to have one last meal at the restaurant.

San Pedro resident Jackson Hahn fell in love with Saugus Café 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 this busy all the time, we would never 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 only a few spots here and there are filled. It's nice to see the community support and remind the Saugus Cafe family of the bigger family they've grown over the years.”

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

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

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

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

Michelle McCall's Chicken Fried Steak at the Original Saugus Cafe. Thirty years after her first visit, McCall learned of the closing and visited the restaurant with her husband.

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

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

This time, she brought her husband, Ron, who was visiting the cafe for the first time. The two feasted on chicken fried steak, eggs with ground beef, and biscuits and gravy.

“I couldn't not come this last day,” he said.

The restaurant may be closed, but Ponce said his family plans to continue selling Original Saugus Café products online.

Juliana Yamada contributed to this article.