THE ASSEMBLY’S NEW SPEAKER : Hometown Happy for ‘What’s Her Name’ : Reaction: Some of the folks in Cypress have trouble placing Doris Allen, but they appreciate her success in becoming California Assembly’s first female Speaker.

The folks sampling the Monday night specials at the Gourmet Pie & Cafe were pretty sure they’d heard of Doris Allen.

But they couldn’t be absolutely certain.

“She’s the mayor, right?” asked Cypress resident Carolyn Richards, 26, as she sat at the wooden counter where many a town official comes for a home-style meal or a cup of coffee and pie. “I just saw something about that on the news. I thought, ‘Whoa--someone from Cypress?’ ”

Inside the quiet restaurant, in Allen’s hometown and the heart of her 67th Assembly district, Richards was not alone in her failure to recognize the name of the most powerful woman in the Legislature.

“Who is that?” asked Cypress resident Cathrin Conrad, 23, a recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton. “I only really follow major worldwide events.”

When informed of Allen’s ascension to one of the state’s highest offices, Conrad added: “Oh, I should have known that.”

There were those who knew of Allen by virtue of her seven terms representing the small community. They recalled hearing her speak once, or seeing her at community events.

“Well, good for her,” said Cypress resident Tom Lewis, 59, a county fire captain, who called Allen’s office on business three years ago. “She’s lucky she got it. I guess she was in the right place at the right time.”

Lewis never got through to Allen by phone, but said her staff promptly handled his question.

Restaurant co-owner Anthony Richards learned of Allen’s new post from a Cypress Chamber of Commerce official over breakfast Monday. Richards heard Allen speak at a chamber meeting about a year ago.

“I wouldn’t say she’s obscure, but she’s not as well known as [U.S. Sen. Dianne] Feinstein,” said Anthony Richards, 65, whose main dishes are old family recipes he has served his six children. “But I voted for her.”

Waitress Jennifer Tolle, 23, recognized Allen’s name because her parents displayed a campaign sign in their front yard. But Tolle, also a student at Cal State Fullerton, didn’t know much else about the new Speaker of the California Assembly.

“How are we supposed to know about her?” she asked. “I’ve got school all day, work at night, I don’t know who is running the state. I won’t care until it directly affects me.”

But the news that the reign of longtime Speaker Willie Brown had ended, and that a Republican had replaced him, was universally applauded in the 12-year-old restaurant.

“I know who she is,” said Cypress resident Kitty Matthews, 71, a retired nurse, who was eating a fish and chips dinner. “I’m glad, because we need a change. I’ve seen the changes in the state in the past years and I’m scared, I tell you. I’m scared.”