Landmark Mexican Restaurant Will Say Adios After 33 Years : Ventura: Johnny Lopez, 83, is ill and his family does not want to keep the eatery open. Two employees hope to continue the tradition.

For 33 years, the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Ventura Avenue has folded burritos for everyone from businessmen to bikers, City Council members to cops, surfers to jurists.

But after Dec. 30, Johnny’s Mexican Food will be no mas. Manager Tina Kraft said that her father and founder of the business, Johnny Lopez, 83, is seriously ill and that no one in the family wants to continue the profitable business.

“Johnny has been sick over a year with pulmonary fibrosis,” she said. “His health is failing. The building does not belong to us, a lot of things need to be done and we didn’t know if we wanted to do it at this point, so we decided as a family to close.”

Kraft, who has managed Johnny’s for more than 14 years, left a county job to run the business and wants to return to government work. She also wants to spend more time with her two sons and less time on her feet. And a sister who worked at Johnny’s in the past isn’t interested in taking over either.

So it’s adios to Johnny’s, although employees Adrian and Leticia Ochoa want to figure out how to keep the restaurant going with the same recipes.

Leticia Ochoa said Wednesday that she and her husband hope to reopen the business Jan. 2 under a new name; however, the holidays have delayed negotiations with the out-of-town landlord.

Meanwhile, the restaurant’s future is uncertain and Johnny’s regulars found that unsettling.

George Christy, president of the Hells Angels of Ventura, which has an office just down the street, said Johnny’s appeal reaches beyond Ventura. He said he is constantly getting calls from Hells Angels in San Francisco and Oakland asking what time Johnny’s closes so they can plan their trips to Ventura accordingly.

“We say, ‘You guys aren’t coming down to see us--you’re coming to eat at Johnny’s,’ ” he said. “They’ve rolled a lot of burritos for the Hells Angels.”

Ventura Mayor Tom Buford said he has been eating at Johnny’s since high school--at least 28 years.

“My office is about--I think I’ve counted it--347 steps away. So I head down there regularly,” he said. “It’s been amazingly consistent quality over the years.

“They’ve been challenged by Corrales (a rival takeout) in the department of carne asada , but never have been touched in terms of hard-shell tacos.”

Johnny’s posted a sign about the closing Saturday, but most customers interviewed at lunchtime Wednesday weren’t aware that the establishment was closing.

“What a bummer, man!” Ventura resident Dennis Lopez, no relation to the owner, said as he stripped off a black leather jacket emblazoned with the name of the Carnales motorcycle club.

“It’s good food, and it tastes even better when he’s paying,” he said, pointing to his brother, Dino.

Another patron, John Marquez, said he had been coming to Johnny’s “forever,” or at least 22 years. “I’m bummed.”

“It’s a shame. Too bad. Excellent food,” said his pal, John Villegas. “It’s authentic Mexican food. No one tastes like their recipe here.”

Leticia Ochoa said Johnny’s will stay pretty much the same if the Ochoas take over, although they may add a few items to the menu.

The Ochoas are debating what to rename the place. Leticia Ochoa wants to call it Melissa’s after their daughter. But Mexico Lindo seems to be winning.

In either case, Johnny’s will not be Johnny’s anymore, after 33 years in business at its present location and 14 years before that in Santa Paula.

Starting in just the tiny room where the employees now take and assemble orders, the takeout restaurant expanded over the years. It now occupies the original room plus the space once used by a beauty salon in the back and a barbershop next door.

Preparing for the noon rush Wednesday, Sarafina Ruvalcaba dropped chile rellenos into the fryer in the kitchen as chicarrones , frijoles , pork and chicken simmered on the stove. In an adjoining room, Kraft poured Johnny’s famed hot sauce into plastic containers and told stories about the takeout’s most loyal customers.

One local judge, she said, used to recess court so that his bailiff could bring him enchiladas from Johnny’s. A Ventura veterinarian routinely hands out Johnny’s menus to pet owners who come into his office.

Although she does not want to take over the business, she lamented that Johnny’s closure will leave an empty place in the hearts and stomachs of its faithful customers.

Steven Kaskus is already feeling the loss.

“They know me,” he said. “When I saw the sign that they were closing, I said, ‘What am I going to do?’ I’m depressed.”