Counter Proposal Succeeds at Cafe

It’s the county’s oldest restaurant, a place born of the railroad, where presidents have dined. Now the historic Saugus Cafe has been purchased by two veteran employees, adding a new twist to the venerable diner’s 112-year history.

In June, longtime waitress Gaye Libby and longer-time bartender Alfredo Mercado bought the 24-hour San Fernando Road eatery after years of working behind its counters--Libby for 11 years and Mercado for 15.

Their partnership, forged over time through shared Lotto tickets, dirty dishes and endless cups of coffee, delighted employees and longtime patrons who cringe at the thought of drastic change coming to their beloved diner and bar.

“I’m thrilled that we won’t have any strangers coming in and trying to yuppie the place up,” said waitress Marilyn Sluka.

“We get people who tell us about coming here in the ‘30s and ‘40s and ‘50s. They’ve been coming here all their lives and they like the consistency.”

“Gaye and I have been friends since she started working here, and it’s nice to see Alfredo go from busboy to bartender to owner,” said Gail Johnson, who began waitressing at the Saugus Cafe as a teenager more than 20 years ago. “It’s like a family here. We have fun.”

Libby and Mercado, neither of whom has previously owned a business, say they used to kid about pooling their resources and opening a place of their own. The kidding recently gave way to serious discussion, and they began to scout the neighborhood for potential locations.

To their surprise, in June they learned the opportunity they sought was right under their noses.

“One night,” Libby said, “the landlord called me and said ‘The place is for sale. Are you guys serious? OK, meet me at 7 a.m. tomorrow.’ ”

“We didn’t even think twice. We just said yes,” added Mercado. “My wife still can’t believe it. She thinks I still just work here.”

Mercado, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, said his debut as a business owner occurred the same month he became an American citizen. Married, with two young children, Mercado said the encouragement offered by customers since he and Libby bought the cafe has been touching.

“This is all the work I’ve ever known. I am comfortable here,” Mercado said. “Everyone has been so nice. They are really happy for us and that is a good feeling.”

Libby, who is also married and has four grown children, said she enjoys the cafe’s role in local history. Much of that history is steeped in the lore of Hollywood film stars whose black-and-white photos adorn the walls.

Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, John Wayne and John Ford all ate here, according to the late local historian Jerry Reynolds. The cafe also served as a backdrop for numerous films and television shows, including “The Grifters,” “Boys on the Side,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Melrose Place.”

Marlene Dietrich filmed “Seven Sinners” on the restaurant site in 1938.

Although some patrons ask about rumors that James Dean ate his final meal at the cafe, before the traffic accident that killed him near Cholame, it was not here but at Tip’s, a restaurant, now closed, off old Route 99 at Castaic Junction.

“You’d be amazed by how many people ask about that,” Libby said. “We’ve had a lot of movie stars, but James Dean is the first thing people want to talk about.”

The Saugus Eating House was little more than an annex at the northern end of the depot when it was established in 1886 with the opening of the Saugus train station.

Four years later, while on a whistle-stop campaign, President Benjamin Harrison ate there. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt stopped at the cafe and consumed a New York steak, which he deemed “splendid,” according to Reynolds.

In 1905, the diner was moved across the Southern Pacific tracks to roughly the spot where it stands today. In the next decade, as the area became popular with Hollywood film crews making the earliest silent westerns, it was enlarged.

In the decades since, the cafe has been renamed and remodeled and has seen its share of owners. Lest there be any confusion, Libby and Mercado have changed the name again to the Original Saugus Cafe.

Much more than a Hollywood hangout in the Santa Clarita Valley, the Saugus Cafe is a place locals like Rey Cantu say they can depend on for a good, reasonably priced meal, served by someone with a friendly face. With suburbia quickly encroaching, loyal Saugus Cafe customers say those characteristics are an increasingly rare combination in Santa Clarita.

“Here, I know all the people and we joke around,” Cantu said. “They make you feel welcome.”

And although the new owners are eager to spruce up the place in small ways--new carpet and booths and a more modern kitchen--they say they plan to keep the atmosphere much as it is. Meanwhile, despite their new titles, Libby continues to wait tables and Mercado can still be found in his familiar position behind the bar.

“I think it’s pretty cool seeing them move up a bit,” said Chuck Neuwerth of Saugus. “They’ve been here long enough, they might as well get a piece of the pie.”