Jan’s Health Bar to celebrate 45th anniversary at original Huntington Beach location

Poppy Holguin stands before a wall of photographs inside Jan’s Health Bar in downtown Huntington Beach on a Tuesday afternoon and points to a picture of a young girl.

“That’s me when I was 8 years old,” Holguin, 44, of Huntington Beach says. “I was always eating at Jan’s.”

The wife and mother of two — whose first job was working the counter at Jan’s Health Bar — has owned the eatery since 2010. She bought the longtime restaurant from its founder, her former boss, Jan Gaffney.

This year marks the casual breakfast and lunch spot’s 45th anniversary at its flagship location off Main Street in Huntington Beach. Holguin is inviting customers to join her and the staff for a special celebration of live music, free samples and giveaways from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 25.

“Chances are you’re going to run into friends,” Holguin says.

Holguin started working at her favorite lunchtime spot in 1989, the summer following her sophomore year at Huntington Beach High School.

She and a group of high school friends worked together until graduation. Holguin says Gaffney instilled a strong work ethic and lessons that she carries with her today.

“Jan was unapologetic and was incredibly driven — this was her baby,” Holguin says, adding that Gaffney, who’s retired and lives in Belmont Shore, was one of the first female surfers and businesswomen in a male-dominated sport and industry.

“She was not trendy. She was self-sufficient, independent and was always healthy, just eating and serving products the way they were meant to be,” Holguin says.

Holguin graduated from Cal State Long Beach and worked as a business development director at a Los Angeles law firm. She kept in touch with Gaffney and mentioned that someday she’d want to buy the restaurant.

She purchased the original Huntington Beach location nearly 10 years ago and has since opened three additional stores — Costa Mesa in 2012, Laguna Beach in 2016 and Corona del Mar in 2017.

Interiors and exteriors were renovated and given upgraded kitchen appliances. The original recipes remain untouched.

Jan’s Health Bar is known for a variety of sandwiches and salads, as well as its tuna avocado protein bowl, broccoli cheddar soup, crunchy kale wrap and Holguin’s favorite: a peanut butter and banana date smoothie.

Consumers increasingly want all-natural food options, and Jan’s continues to deliver locally sourced, fresh ingredients, Holguin says.

She also donates food to more than 30 local schools and community organizations a year.

Nicole Lumadue, 42, of Santa Cruz, spent her childhood in Huntington Beach, where her parents, Michael and Joni Trembley, sold their Ocean Magic jewelry at Wild Oats shoe and swimwear store across the street from the original Jan’s Health Bar, which was located in a surf shop.

“To this day, when I smell surf wax, I think of walking into Jan’s,” Lumadue says by phone from Santa Cruz. “It’s hard to find wholesome, healthy food that tastes good, and I always loved the classic salad with the sunflower seeds and [soy] turkey. They had the best smoothies ever, and it was a taste you couldn’t replicate. I could honestly talk about this all day long. Brings back some of the best memories of my life.”

Jan’s Health Bar 45th anniversary celebration is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 25 at 501 Main St., Ste. D, Huntington Beach. For more information, call (714) 536-4856 or visit janshealthbar.com.

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi