The oldest operating restaurant in Los Angeles County once served President Benjamin Harrison on a reelection campaign stop in 1891. Teddy Roosevelt later dug into a New York steak at the diner in 1903. And over its legendary 139-year run, it even became a destination for Old Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Now, the Original Saugus Cafe in Newhall, the oldest community in the Santa Clarita Valley north of Los Angeles, is set to close its doors for good on Sunday, Jan. 4.

The exterior of the Original Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Dec. 4, 2024. 

An interior view of the Original Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita, Calif. 

Chicken-fried steak with eggs and potatoes at the Original Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita, Calif.

The restaurant, located near the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park and not far from the start of Interstate 5’s famous Grapevine route that connects Southern California to Bakersfield and beyond, announced its closure in a Facebook post on Dec. 29. “On behalf of the Saugus Cafe staff and ownership, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to our community for the incredible support you have shown us throughout the years,” the post states. “For 139 years, Saugus Cafe has been more than just a restaurant,” the post continued, adding that “it has been a place where memories were made, stories were shared, and generations came together.”

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The post noted that plans for the building that houses the restaurant “are........

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