In addition to keeping the menu the same, Mercado has also tried to keep the staff the same, making his business a family-run operation, with close to 20 members of his family currently working or having worked in the restaurant. He’s never wanted to change anything… except for the Alfredo Bloody Mary, which we named after him.” “He’s kept the menu the same, the recipes the same. “I think he still does it because he wants the plate to come out like he’s always seen it and wants it to stay consistent,” Yecenia said. And he should know, he’s been involved in operations for about a quarter-century, including his time as an employee. “He never had plans to own a restaurant of his own… but he had been working here since he was a teenager,” said Yecenia Mercado, Alfredo’s daughter.Īnd since taking over, Mercado says he takes pride in rarely ever changing the menu, staff or atmosphere of the building. But after working his way up from cleaning tables to running the entire kitchen, he decided in 1996 to buy the place from the previous owners with the help of another coworker, in order to keep history alive. Longtime owner Alfredo Mercado said that the name on his menus was famous before he had even started working there as a busboy. Dan Watson/The Signalįirst opened in 1898, the Saugus Cafe has been a favorite spot for generations of Santa Clarita residents. ![]() Saugus Cafe Breakfast at The Original Saugus Cafe. The Saugus Cafe is open year-round except for Christmas Day. “We’ve watched the community grow and we’ve always been a restaurant for everybody.” “I’m proud of what we’ve done over the years… and we’ve not only see the grandkids (of our customers) grow up, we’re now seeing the great grandkids grow up,” said Leeser. “And we’ve always tried to keep our prices for it, and the whole menu, the same.” “It’s named after a waitress that worked here a while back named Kris who came up with the idea,” said Leeser. However, according to both general manager and cook, what draws many people in over the years has been the Kris’ Special: two eggs, two strips of bacon and hashbrowns all served on a muffin and covered in either chicken or sausage gravy. And during the Christmas season, he says he’s cooked up to half-a-ton of shredded potatoes in a single seven day span. Gonzalez manages all the food that comes through the restaurant and says that he can go through hundreds of pounds of hash browns in a single week. “Something really special just happens here everyday,” Gonzalez said. Known locally for his unbroken presence behind the Way Station grill, Gonzalez is seen everyday with either a mountain of hash browns cooking in front of him, pouring gravy over biscuits or plating up the restaurant’s popular ham and eggs meal. “Victor Gonzalez has been our short order cook for close to 40 years, and three of his kids have worked here.” “It’s been the same staff for 15 years, and we’ve even had (the staff’s) kids come and work here,” said Leeser. Leeser took over the business in 1990, and has made a conscious decision to keep not only the same atmosphere and menu over the years, but much of the staff, as well. SCV Signal News Podcast with Aron Bender.Each of those on duty had gone through Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, or HAZWOPER, training. ![]() Volunteers wearing necessary Tyvek clean suits, white garments protecting them from any chemicals, split up electronics and hazardous materials. We also accept sharps, which are basically diabetic syringes, medical syringes, EpiPens (and) lancets.”īy 11 a.m., close to 600 people dropped off materials, some loaded in specific boxes while others were placed in bins, including specific red container to hold syringes and other medical items. “So pretty much all kinds of electronics, we take used motor oil, we take old paint, we take expired medication. “At these events, we take e-waste, so pretty much all kinds of electronics,” said Luis Llerena, event supervisor at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and Sanitation Districts. SCV Signal News Podcast with Aron BenderĪ line of cars could be seen down Rockwell Canyon Road outside College of the Canyons as residents dropped off unwanted, hazardous household and electronic waste on Saturday.
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