Saugus Cafe

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The following contribution is taken directly from information in an article written by Jerry Reynolds.

Within the meandering boundaries of the City of Santa Clarita, only one business can claim to have been around longer than the Saugus Café — The Newhall Land & Farming Company.

[edit] History & Tales of Celebrity Sightings

The story of the restaurant began on September 1, 1887 with the dedication of the Saugus Train Station. Joseph Herbert Tolfree originally named it the Saugus Eating House and it was located in the north end of the depot. In 1898, a Southern Pacific Railroad employee, Richard R. Wood, arrived in Saugus. He took an option on the eating-house along with a chunk of land west of the railroad tracks. On January 18, 1899, his brother, Martin, came up to Saugus and co-signed the deed from Tolfree. They altered the name a bit to its present name, Saugus Café. Martin took active management and Richard joined him seven years later.

The only buildings in Saugus at the time were the train depot and a blacksmith shop. Helen Wood Cone later recalled local cowboys taking "pot-shots" at the station and using northbound trains for target practice. In May of 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt stopped by, dining on a special New York steak, which he declared was "splendid," according to local legend. Martin Wood became a full time resident of Saugus in 1905, and he moved the café out of the station and across the tracks to, roughly, where it stands today. Richard Wood took a greater interest in the blacksmith shop, which would later become a garage and gas station. The brothers built residences for their families, a small rooming house and a general store. In 1916, the café was remodeled and enlarged, as the region was becoming a flourishing film making location. Fabled directors such as John Ford and D.W. Griffith visited the Saugus Café for a good meal. Believe it or not, Doug Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin stopped by in 1919.

In 1926 Helen Wood married Bryon Cone and the couple ran the eatery for the following decade. On November 10, 1929, "Buffalo" Tom Vernon derailed and robbed a train. He then escaped in a car he "borrowed" from Richard Wood's Garage. During the 1930's Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, John Wayne and Tom Mix were served at the spacious booths. In 1938, Marlene Dietrich filmed "Seven Sinners" behind the restaurant.

The Woods family sold out to Bill Rolls in 1952, ending a 54-year tradition of the café being in the hands of the same family. Rolls tore the establishment down and erected a new Saugus Café a few feet southward. No less a personality than Frank Sinatra arrived in town in 1953 to make the feature film "Suddenly" with Sterling Hayden. Although it was not a memorable movie, it provides a documentary style look at Newhall and Saugus in the early '50's.

A member of the Wood family, Frank Cone, returned in 1964 and once again took over control of the café. The Wood family continued the heritage of find food and service. Aside from the coming and going of celebrities, the café has always been a gathering place for locals discussing the affairs of the day. Ownership flip-flopped in 1974 when Fred Kane took over, selling out to Steve Hwang a mere 5 years later. Hwang ran into financial problems, shutting the place down in November of 1983. For a brief period Hand Arklin and Coast Thrift & Loan hassled over ownership with the place finally winding up back in the hands of Fred Kane. He liquidated the outstanding debts and put the Saugus Café back on fairly firm financial foundation. On February 1, 1994 Karen and David Nardiello acquired the property. They started a renovation that modernized the restaurant, while preserving its colorful past at the same time.

While hard riding cowpokes are no longer expected to shoot-up the eatery and train robbery seems to be a thing of the past, the Saugus Café will continue serving bountiful meals at reasonable prices in a "down home" atmosphere. As far as the stars are concerned, they still come. On March 18,1994, Whoopi Goldberg and Drew Barrymore shot part of the film “Boys on the Side” in its halls. Nowhere else in the valley can one dine with old friends and run across film legends, all within the walls that reek with history.

[edit] Location

25861 San Fernando Rd. Saugus, CA 91350-2560

[edit] References

Reynolds, Jerry (circa 2000). Tales of the Saugus Café. Santa Clarita Valley History In Pictures. Santa Clarita Valley, CA.