Downtown News
Garden Grove Downtown
Business Association
July 2022 Number Three • Published every other month by and for owners and business operators of the downtown area
From hitchin’ posts to wi-fi, Louie’s grew Fewer businesses in Garden Grove’s downtown area have as colorful a history as Louie’s on Main. And yet, it’s also been one of those most interested in keeping up with the times, marrying tradition to innovation. Located at 12942 Main St., it’s owned by Angelo and Mary Tavlarides and has evolved from a pool hall to a tavern into a cozy but modern eatery that’s a popular gathering place for members of the community, a spot where “everybody knows your name.” “We are a full-service restaurant,” said Angelo. “We offer Sunday breakfast, 30 beers on tap, full bar service and catering service with an American menu.” The building dates back perhaps a century as Thrope’s Pool Hall. “They had hitching posts out front for your horse,” said Angelo. In 1953, Angelo’s family
LOUIE’S ON MAIN OFFERS FINE AMERICAN FOOD AND DRINK It’s evolved over the decades from its origins as Thrope’s Pool Hall in the horse-drawn days.
bought the business and renamed it George and Louie’s Place and later, The Rainbow Room.” More recently, as food service was expanded it took its present name.
What’s doing down in the downtown GG
Angelo took over the business in 1987 and has helped lead it into the 21st century with expanded restaurant choices, free wi-fi and outdoor dining. As for the future, his goals are “to continue to serve our community, offer great food and drink service, to improve the menu with dif-
ferent entrees,” said Angelo. “We also want to expand our catering and open ‘Louie’s on 2nd,’ in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. Louie’s on Main is at 12942 Main St., Garden Grove. Phone number is: (714) 537-9946. The e-mail is ajtaveme.com and the website is louiesonmain.
There’s always something going on in Garden Grove’s increasingly vibrant downtown area. “The Spongebob Musical” is on stage at the Gem Theatre through July 31. Next up at the Gem is “Avenue Q” from Sept. 29-Oct. 23. The annual Elvis Festival is coming to Main Street on Oct. 9. Recently, the city’s free Summer Concert Series featured “Bruno and the Hooligans” on Main for a Please see next page
ANGELO TAVLARIDES, owner/operator of Louie’s on Main.
The fall and rise of downtown Garden Grove The second of two parts on the history of Garden Grove’s downtown. In the mid-1960s, a bigger blow came from state and county transportation planners. In an effort to normalize the crazy quilt of roads in the area, several major north-south thoroughfares were realigned in the mid-Sixties. Beach Boulevard was curved to wed up with Stanton Avenue, Magnolia Street married Cannery Road and Brookhurst Street wiggled to hook up with Wright Street. But the realignment of Euclid Street had the biggest impact. For years, Euclid coursed through Garden Grove’s downtown but ended at The Boulevard. To continue proceeding south, you either crossed the street and picked up Century Boulevard (an odd diagonal with a story of its own) to Verano Street, or turned left, then right into Verano. The “new” Euclid Street started to swing east just south of Lampson Avenue, finally straightening out at Garden Grove Boulevard, where it met Verano, and
obliterated its name, just as Brookhurst wiped out Wright Street. The new route made sense from a traffic standpoint, but it bypassed the city’s original central business district, which now was along a “new” Main Street. The decline in traffic and visibility (as well as of agricultural activity in the area) for the old downtown, and vacancies and marginal businesses began to pop up with alarming frequency. In the early Eighties, the City of Garden Grove tried its hand at reviving the area. It sought to create a unified, unique look with a brickstamped concrete roadway, eliminated angle parking and installed benches, trash cans, water fountains and shade trees. However, it also demolished about two-thirds of the district. One block of commercial south of Acacia Street (now Parkway) was torn down for senior citizen housing; most of the commercial buildings along The Boulevard were also gutted, along with those west and east of Main Street. The result was that,
What’s going down downtown? Continued from front page
audience of several hundred attendees. Garden Amphitheater offers a diverse array of popular music performers from tribute bands to original acts and more. Regular events happening in the downtown area include the Friday Night Car Show held Fridays on Main Street between Garden Grove Boulevard and Acacia Parkway from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. On Sunday mornings there’s the Farmers’ Market, offering fresh fruit, vegetables and more from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
DOWNTOWN GARDEN GROVE, 2014 And it’s changing all the time.
for years, the remaining businesses were in an island surrounded by vacant lots. Eventually, big box retailers (Costco, Home Depot, Office Depot) were lured to the area but they were cut off from the original downtown by vast parking areas. The isolation remained. Today, many cities are celebrating or desperately trying to create vibrant downtowns. Bustling urban spaces and walkable streets with restaurants, art galleries, boutiques and parks are in high demand, especially among younger people. Privately, some city officials admit that the previous attempt to revive downtown was not well handled, and now are placing much emphasis on a center of the community that can be a “living room” for Garden Grove residents. The city is focusing attention on the area with its “Open Streets” events and the development of
the SteelCraft and Cottage Industries projects which promise to not only increase the downtown area, but create more vitality and attract more visitors to the community’s original core. The role that the Downtown Business Association has played has also contributed to the revival by advocating for the interests now only of the property owners and business operators but also of the customers upon which any commercial distroct depends. A flourishing of dining and entertainment choices has helped lead to renewed vitality, more foot and vehicle traffic to Main Street and the adjacent area. They say that if you wait long enough, everything comes back into style. “Old town” Garden Grove is an example of how that is playing out in the countywide passion for new downtowns.