The historic Rod’s Grill along Route 66 in Arcadia, California, is closing its doors Sunday before it undergoes a change in ownership, though plans for the restaurant remain unclear.
The Romero family announced the closing and changes in a social media post on Wednesday:
The Pasadena Star-News also reported on the restaurant’s closing:
According to longtime waitress Wendy Monroy, who said she has been working at the restaurant for 18 years, employees were told that it was closing a few days ago, but weren’t given much more information on the reason it’s closing or if it would be reopening under new ownership or a new name.
“We have no details about that,” she said during a phone call to the restaurant.
“It’s upsetting, it’s sad. It’s like a shock, we don’t know what we’re going to do,” Monroy added.
The newspaper reported the longtime patriarch of the family-owned eatery, Manny Romero, died at age 67 in 2021.
In 2011, Rod’s Grill successfully fought off an expansion of a car dealership that would have forced the restaurant to move.
Rod’s Grill was part of a small regional chain that started in 1946. According to Retro Road Map, the Rod’s at 41 W. Huntington Drive (aka Route 66) opened in 1957 and was the fourth restaurant in the chain. The Route 66 location is the only survivor of the chain.
It still has the turquoise-colored booths and Sputnik-style lighting from that era, and it was the first with a dining room. Its retro appearance was so faithful, it stood in as an original Howard Johnson’s restaurant in an episode of the “Mad Men” television drama.
(Image of Rod’s Grill in Arcadia, California, via its Facebook page)