Anaheim : City Allows 2 Angelo’s to Continue as Drive-Ins

The City Council Tuesday allowed two Angelo’s Hamburgers restaurants to continue operating as 1950s-style drive-ins with roller-skating carhops.

The owners had asked the city to approve an outdoor patio and sales of beer at the restaurant at 511 S. State College Blvd. They had also asked to continue a drive-in, drive-through service with car hops at the other restaurant at 221 N. Beach Blvd.

Angelo’s Hamburgers and the City of Anaheim had been at odds since the first restaurant on State College opened in 1981. Neighbors complained that Angelo’s “Cruise Night,” held on the first Friday of each month, created traffic congestion and noise, among other problems.

When the outlet on Beach Boulevard opened last year, the city told its owners that the restaurant did not have proper permits as a drive-in, drive-through restaurant. The previous owners argued that a restaurant had been operating that way at the Beach Boulevard site through several owners for more than 10 years without city interference.

After a series of complaints in civil and criminal courts, mostly over the cruise nights, tensions have settled. City Councilman Irv Pickler said tensions eased with the coming of new owners, Ted and Christy Ngoy, who took over from previous owners Anthony Strammiello and Dennis Williams.

The Ngoys have gone a step further to alleviate the “car clubs” problem, Pickler said.

The restaurant at State College now closes the first Friday of the month at 5 p.m. and at Beach Boulevard at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, according to restaurant managers.