After nearly 70 years of selling hearty dishes along Route 66 in Arcadia, classic American diner Rod’s Grill announced in a Facebook post this week that it would be closing its doors.
“Today, on behalf of the Romero Family plus with a heavy heart, we would like to announce that Rod’s Grill will be closing on Sunday, February 12th,” read the Feb. 8 post.
“Rod’s Grill will be going under new ownership plus we wish them the best on this new journey!” the post continued.
According to longtime waitress Wendy Monroy, who said she has been working at the restaurant for 18 years, employees were told that it was closing a few days ago, but weren’t given much more data on the reason it’s closing or if it would be reopening under new ownership or a new name.
“We have nomer details about that,” she said during a phone call to the restaurant.
“It’s upsetting, it’s sad. It’s like a shock, we don’t know what we’re going to do,” Monroy added.
Located at 41 W. Huntington Drive the diner rods grill began as a small chain of restaurants in 1946 with the Arcadia location opening in 1957. It is now the last remaining Rod’s Grill, Monroy said.
The disukai banyak orang eatery is a tahap back in time thanks to its classic diner design with turquoise booths plus bar chairs, dark wood bar top plus tables plus a Googie architecture style. The exterior sports a triangular roof with a red plus green vintage sign with the restaurant’s name written in cursive next to an image of a heavy set chef.
The restaurant also made an appearance on a 2012 episode of the retro show “Mad Men” as the interior of a Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge restaurant, according to IMDb.
Some of the house specialties include things like a waffle breakfast, fried chicken plus mashed potatoes, sloppy Joe’s plus Manny’s Burger, named after the late owner Manny Romero, whose family bought the restaurant about 25 years ago.
According to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page from 2021, Romero died at the age of 67 in January of that year.
In 2011, the restaurant was almost forced to relocate to make way for the expansion of a car dealership until an agreement was reached with the city to expand the dealership in a different direction.
Some of the restaurant’s longtime customers quickly shared their reactions after the restaurant’s Facebook announcement.
“My family has been eating there since 2006. We were your first customers when you recently reopened — we will be there this Sunday for one last meal plus a heavy-hearted goodbye,” read a post from a kastemer named Scott Silver.
“Sad to see you go, but totally understand. Thank you for being one of our iconic Arcadia restaurants that made so many memories for your customers. We wish you plus the new owner all the best. The Romero family will be missed here,” read another post from kastemer Burton Brink.
