By Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer
After 59 years of being one of Long Beach’s favorite restaurants, Arnold’s Family Restaurant closed its doors forever at the end of the day Sunday— Mother’s Day. Ironically, the 800 people who enjoyed the establishment’s famous “home-cooked meals” on May 10 did not have a clue that it was the eatery’s last day.
“The economic recession has been very hard on us,” said Arnold’s owner Mike Johnson. “We were still making a profit, mostly through our catering business, and we were willing to ride this out, but our current lease was ending, and we could not come to terms on a new one.”
Johnson, who asked the Signal Tribune to not publish the landlord’s name, explained that lease negotiations had dragged on for months but an agreement could not be reached.
Outlining the restaurant’s rich history, Johnson explained that his uncle, Miles Arnold, and his wife opened it in 1951. “In 1956, they invited my dad, who lived in Iowa, to help run this restaurant and a second restaurant they owned in Buena Park,” Johnson said. “When my dad came out, they made a good team. My uncle was a great chef, and my dad was very good at managing the business.”
In the 1950s and ’60s, the family opened several other restaurants in Long Beach and Orange County. Johnson’s father, Ray Johnson, bought Arnold’s Cafeteria from Miles Arnold in 1969. Soon afterwards, Ray upgraded and expanded the restaurant, and it soon became well known as a place for great food at a reasonable price. “By the late ’70s, we were serving about 1,100 people a day, six days a week,” Johnson said. “This area (Bixby Knolls) was vibrant, and we were very much a part of the community.”
With a grin, Johnson noted that, as a young man, he did not want to go into the restaurant business. “My dad had six kids— we all got a taste of it, and when I was 21 years old, I said I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole,” he said. “I bumped around a lot in those days and got into carpentry.”
Johnson spent about 10 years as a successful carpenter, but in 1979 something happened that changed the course of his life. His father hired him to remodel a restaurant called the Plantation that he was planning to open in Anaheim. “Shortly after I remodeled it, my dad asked me to run it,” Johnson said. “I told him I would give him two years.” Johnson noted that while he was remodeling the Plantation, he met a young woman named Cindy. “We were married six months later,” he said. “During the two years of managing the restaurant, we had two boys and because I had to pay the bills, the restaurant business became a career for me.”
Johnson managed the Plantation for several years, during which time his father acquired another restaurant in Long Beach, which he renamed The Queen. Johnson bought the Plantation from his father in 1984.
In 1987, Ray Johnson, under contract with the Edison Company, opened yet another restaurant called the Williamsburg Restaurant in downtown Long Beach. Years later The Queen went out of business. In 1997, preparing to retire, Ray sold the Williamsburg to another restaurateur. In 1998, he sold Arnold’s Cafeteria to Mike Johnson and his sister Nancy, and Mike sold the Plantation. “A few years later, I bought Nancy out,” he said, adding that in the past 12 years the restaurant has always been successful. “During our 50th year in business, we changed and simplified our style of service,” he noted. “We took a giant gamble and told our customers, ‘you pick the entrée and dictate to us what the sides are.'”
He explained that the gamble worked. Customers were happy with the change. Johnson also explained that the cafeteria has traditionally done well during economic recessions because many people who could no longer afford the prices at high-end restaurants would go to Arnold’s for good, less expensive food.
A year ago, however, Johnson began negotiating with the landlord for the terms of the lease, which was scheduled for renewal. These negotiations proved unsuccessful, he said, explaining that a recession-driven decline in profits was also a factor.
During the past year, Johnson considered asking for help from city officials, but he decided that there was nothing that could change the outcome. It was just a business decision. He explained that he came to the very painful decision to close the restaurant about two weeks ago. He broke the news to his employees on Monday, May 11.
“They all took it very well,” he added. ‘They all told me not to worry because they would be able to find other employment. We are heartbroken. We’ve had employees that have been here many years.”
Brent Dunn, BKBIA president, said he was sorry to see Arnold’s close. “The association does not have authority to do much,” he said. “But if the owners had asked us for help, we would have tried to see if the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency could have helped them somehow.”
Johnson said that one reason he did not want to go that route is that he has never liked the idea of getting money from the government. “I do not like the trend that I am seeing,” he said. “I believe there has to be more people pulling the wagon than riding in the wagon.”
Mark Hawkins, a BKBIA board member, also expressed dismay at the closure. “It’s sad that another Bixby Knolls icon is gone,” he said. “It had been there for a long time, and I think all of us that live in the area are going to share the sadness for a long time.”
Johnson, whose two sons own Porky’s Pizza restaurants, said he and his wife are planning to help their sons open another Porky’s Pizza in Long Beach across the street from Wilson High School.
“Running Arnold’s for these past 12 years has been a good experience, but it’s time to move on,” he said. “There is a season for everything, and this has been a pretty long season. We love Long Beach and are excited about embarking on the new venture with Porky’s.”
