Oldest Restaurants in the San Fernando Valley

An article in 2015 by Offbeat L.A. suggested the oldest Restaurant in Los Angeles County was "The Saugus Cafe" in Santa Clarita, established in 1905. 

However,  "The Lodge" or more accurately "Saddle Peak Lodge" in Calabasas could be considered older if the building or location is the focus or determination.  The building is over 100 years old, it is suggested it was built in 1880.    Saddle Peak Lodge was previously known as "Crater Camp Roadhouse" . until 1985 when it was renamed "Saddle Peak Lodge"  Place Setting: Saddle Peak Lodge | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)

While one might think "The Old Place" in Cornell (outside Agoura) was older, but the restaurant was established in 1970. Once again, it is the building which is older; built around 1915 it was a general store and post office.

Carrillo's Tortilleria in San Fernando is the oldest restaurant in the San Fernando Valley. It was established in 1935.

BURBANK:

•  Chili John's   opened in 1946.  
• The Original Martino’s Bakery  boasts they have been serving Burbank since 1926!
•  While next door in Toluca Lake Bob's Big Boy opened in 1949.
• Martino's Bakery 
  

VAN NUYS:

• Corky's in Van Nuys originated in the 1980's but prior to that it was Stanley Burke’s Coffee Shop which opened in 1958. However, Corky's closed in December 15, 2019. One has to wonder if it would have survived the massive shut down in 2020 due to a rise in Covid19 cases.

GRANADA HILLS

• Casa Di Pizza in Granada Hills originally opened in 1970. It closed in 2019 but reopened this year.

MISSION HILLS

• Bear Pit Barbeque on Sepulveda details its origins as beginning in the late 1940’s, when original owner Ben Baier moved from Missouri and started a small barbecue shack in Newhall, California. After several years the popularity of his food spread, so he decided to move to northern San Fernando Valley town of Dennis Park (later Mission Hills ) and start a small take-out restaurant. He partnered with Don Carrow (of Carrow’s Restaurant fame) and had country singer Tennessee Ernie Ford as an early endorser of the restaurant."

SHERMAN OAKS

• Nat's Early Bite Coffee Shop 1990
• Valley Inn Restaurant & Bar opened in 1949

CHATSWORTH

The Munch Box location is a historical site (#50) while students at nearby Chatsworth High School have eaten there for generations.  It opened in 1957. 

Further east in Pasadena is Russell's which boasts of serving breakfast for over 100 years, it was opened in 1930 by Frank Gale.

CANOGA PARK

Follow Your Heart is located in a building much older than the vegan establishment which originated in 1970.  

If you are thinking about a place you used to eat but it no longer exists; check out the Valley Museum where many LARGE pieces of recognizable signage are displayed. The Museum of the San Fernando Valley (museumsanfernandovalley.blogspot.com)

If you don't know how to split a restaurant bill when a group orders unevenly (drinks, appetizers and desserts). Apps like Splitwise and Venmo—and, more recently, QR code ordering allows each diner to pay for only what they received.

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