After the longest-operating cafe in L.A. County announced in late December that it would shut down after 139 years, customers of the Original Saugus Cafe began buying up its branded hats, T-shirts, mugs and other merchandise.
When the merch sold out, some took to filching from the tables: glassware, salt and pepper shakers, and even utensils.
To Jessie Mercado, 31, and her father, Alfredo — who has owned the beloved cafe in Santa Clarita for 30 years — it was amusing and sweet that many held the establishment so close to their hearts that they wanted to take pieces of it home with them.
But a property manager who took over handling their lease in recent months saw it differently. He left an angry voicemail for her 59-year-old father, reviewed by The Times, telling him to “get the Godd— s— back,” or he would sue.
Customers of the Original Saugus Cafe didn’t have long to mourn the loss of the landmark. The restaurant, which closed on Jan. 4, has already reopened under new management. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, a dispute over the cafe’s ownership has boiled over into a lawsuit as the Mercados insist that they were pushed out.
