“‘Tis true,” reads a statement posted to the Rutabegorz Facebook page, “if you’ve heard the rumors, we’re here to set them straight.”
Indeed, Rutabegorz, the restaurant that has called Tustin home for 47 years, will close its doors for good on Oct. 30.
“The customers, their families and their families, city personnel and a multitude of long term employees have all been a mainstay to Rutabegorz rich history,” the announcement continued. “Oh the stories we could tell!”
While the official announcement cites retirement as one cause for shuttering the Tustin location, The Orange County Business Journal suggests that an increase in rent, a growing concern among owner-operators as of late, might also be to blame. According to the report, “Owner Paul Berkman, who co-founded the first Rutabegorz in Fullerton in 1970, told the Business Journal that this is the only location where he doesn’t own the building. Berkman said his new landlords are proposing to double his $6,000 a month rent, forcing him to make the tough decision to shutter the landmark Main Street location in Old Town Tustin in late October.”
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Following the announcement, posted on Monday, Sept. 2, fans of the eatery chimed in with memories and well wishes for the Main Street location. Daniel Keating commented, “Fond memories of late 1970s dining experience as someone just finishing high school. It was definitely not chain restaurant offerings. My first taste of espresso/cappuccino coffees. Mushroom Crepes. The Dala Salad was 95 cents and with tax, it was a “Dala” (dollar) and not your run of the mill salad dressings. Tahini sesame and honey mustard that you didn’t see anywhere else. While Jennifer Anastasi noted, “Paul is a one of a kind entrepreneur with an amazing heart, all the Rutas locations are incredible, I’m glad Fullerton and Orange will continue longer.”
Menu fare includes wraps, burritos, sandwiches, soups and salads, as well as a selection of cheesecakes.
Rutabegorz, a riff off of the turnip-like vegetable rutabaga, first opened in Fullerton in 1970, followed by locations in Tustin in 1978 and Orange. The eatery started out as a coffee and dessert shop — in a 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Berkman said, “It used to be that you could come in with a guitar and play folk songs and command a room” — Rutabegorz found its niche in vegetarian dishes and health food.
Both the Fullerton and Orange location will remain open.