A Restaurant marks 100 years in Newport Beach

What’s in a name?

That’s the question an advertisement in the Balboa Times asked back in 1926. The ad was for a community contest, asking for name suggestions for the new roadside diner and service station opening in Newport Beach. A 10 year-old boy named Victor Chatten won the contest, the story goes, and the new building with its distinctive Mediterranean arches and red tile roof was christened The Arches.

While the name, ownership and menu have changed since then, the eatery, now known as A Restaurant, celebrates its centennial this year.

River Jetty Restaurant Group partners filmmaker Joseph “McG” Nichol and restaurateur Jordan Otterbein are the current operators of the storied property and the group is excited to honor a century of hospitality in Orange County.

“Reaching 100 years is an incredible milestone, not just for the location, but for the Newport Beach community that has supported it for generations,” Otterbein said in a statement.

The Arches circa 1926.

(Courtesy of the city of Newport Beach)

The restaurant opened at a significant time in local history, as 1926 is the year Coast Highway connected Huntington Beach to Newport Beach. John Vilelle and business partner James Sturgeon built the structure and, according to OC Historyland, they ran the gas station while their wives, Fern Vilelle and Anna Sturgeon were in charge of the restaurant.

Although it started out as a classic diner, the culinary direction evolved through the years. Newport Beach enjoyed a boom during the Prohibition era, as documented in local filmmaker Ed Olen’s movie, “Sin City: Newport Beach,” but cocktails weren’t served at the Arches until Prohibition ended. In 1933, John Vilelle secured a liquor license, reportedly the first restaurant in Newport Beach to do so.

By the 1950s, The Arches was advertising steak dinners and cocktails. During its heyday, the restaurant was said to have served the likes of Shirley Temple, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper and Bob Hope. Vilelle owned the restaurant until 1955, when it was sold to Bob Batchelor, who remodeled the space and brought in a French chef at time when many American diners believed the best restaurants were French. Dan Marcheano purchased The Arches restaurant in 1982, upholding the restaurant’s high standard of hospitality for decades.

River Jetty Restaurant Group took over the restaurant in 2008, renaming the space A Restaurant and developing it into the modern steakhouse it is now.

The Arches, circa 1960 in Newport Beach.

(Courtesy of Orange County Archives)

Today, the kitchen at A Restaurant is helmed by executive chef Robert Gomez, who prepares a menu of new American classic dishes such as Chilean sea bass served over creamy risotto with baby arugula and sage butter, a bone-in pork chop in green peppercorn sauce with sweet potato puree and haricot verts and of course, prime cut steaks like filet mignon and a 28-ounce bone-in rib eye.

Regular dinners are familiar with the “Daily Features” menu that highlights a different classic dinner dish each night of the week. Chicken pot pie is served on Mondays and Sundays while smoked baby back ribs are reserved for Wednesdays and Akaushi skirt steak with chimichurri on Thursdays. Tuesday nights are among the most popular, since it’s the only night diners can order chicken piccata, made with Mary’s organic chicken smothered in a lemony caper butter.

Chicken piccata at A Crystal Cove.

(Courtesy of A Crystal Cove)

River Jetty Restaurant Group has also expanded the A concept in Orange County, opening A Crystal Cove in 2022, while also operating A Market and CdM Restaurant and the landmark Lido Theater. Beyond O.C., the restaurant group operates A PCH in Long Beach with plans to open A Sunset on Sunset Boulevard soon, according to the River Jetty Restaurant website.

The official anniversary for A Restaurant is in August, but there are plans to commemorate the centennial throughout the year with “exciting announcements” in the coming months and a continued legacy of philanthropy.

Through the years, River Jetty Restaurant Group has contributed to the Hoag Hospital Foundation, Newport Beach schools and the John Wayne Cancer Foundation (The Duke was said to be a regular at the Arches). This year, the group will sponsor the Hoag Classic golf tournament at Newport Beach Country Club, March 22-29 and the Hoag Summer Fest at Newport Dunes in June.

Although the name may have changed over the years, A Restaurant is still a classic that keeps locals coming back and Otterbein hopes that will continue for 100 more years.

“McG and I are honored to carry forward the spirit of this iconic landmark in the community that we grew up in and ensure it remains a welcoming gathering place for generations to come,” Otterbein said.