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Dining Resumes Its Place on the Pier

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Richard and Peggy Blatter were so eager for Thursday’s opening of Ruby’s Surf City Diner at the Huntington Beach Pier that they arrived at 7 a.m.

“We watched it being built from the ground up,” said Peggy Blatter, 59, who takes daily walks on the pier with her husband.

They were among 40 people on hand for the grand opening of the diner, which resembles a 1940s malt shop with red vinyl booths, chrome-trimmed tables and an extra touch: surfing memorabilia.

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Doug Cavanaugh, president of the Ruby Restaurant Group, said of the opening, “It’s been a long time coming.”

The pier has not had a restaurant since the late 1980s, when winter storms damaged the pier and wiped out the End Cafe. The city has been negotiating since 1991 to replace it.

Construction began in September for Ruby’s, a two-story octagon that seats 190 diners, offers views of the coastline and employs 150 workers.

Cavanaugh said the restaurant, the 27th in the Ruby’s chain, is projecting about $2.5 million in annual sales.

City officials say they are hoping that local residents and tourists in large numbers will agree. The $250,000 a year that the diner is projected to generate in lease revenue and sales taxes, they say, would pay for a new lifeguard tower, bait shop and restrooms on the pier.

Among the day’s satisfied customers were Huntington Beach residents David and Lois Simons. When the pier reopened in 1992 without a restaurant, “something important was missing,” said David Simons, 74.

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“I think Ruby’s is a positive addition. [People] will leave here with an upbeat feeling and take that home with them.”

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