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In a region where nearly every man-made structure is designed to incorporate a tropical vista of the sparkling Pacific Ocean, the Arches Restaurant is an exception.
Newport Beach’s landmark restaurant, a staple here since 1922, doesn’t have a view of the water, never mind sunlight or even an open window. The atmosphere inside is dark - and that’s the way the customers like itFor owner Dan Marcheano, it’s also precisely the point - it’s not a view restaurant but that doesn’t matter; here, it’s all about the food and the atmosphere. Besides, “cause there ain’t nothing to freakin’ look at,” Marcheano said, referring to the restaurant’s location on an asphalt lot on busy East Coast Highway. “That’s another reason we have to be really good, because we don’t have a view,” Marcheano said. It’s the old-style menu, stacked with an always-available arsenal of seafood and fine cuts of meat, that keeps the regulars coming back, Marcheano said. What other restaurant has Abalone and Stone Crab everyday? Marcheano asked. No one, he said. The restaurant and accompanying gas station were built in 1922 and, contrary to logic, the restaurant wasn’t named after the bridge that connects Balboa Peninsula to the mainland; it was the other way around, Marcheano said. The architecture of the buildings and the bridge has changed over the course of its 85 years. Though Marcheano can’t confirm the date, he suspects there was a fire sometime in the 1940s, leaving the restaurant to be rebuilt. The original design featured a series of tall archways, the muse for the restaurant’s namesake and for the bridge. The bridge originally was built by James and Robert McFadden in 1888. As railroad tracks and a paved road got added to handle growing supply lines, the corner grew into a small business center. It underwent a major face-lift in the late 1990s. Traffic lanes got switched and ramps were closed for months on end as the city worked to redo one of the county’s busiest interchanges, where more than 120,000 cars pass daily. The $18.5-million project was the biggest project ever for the city. It involved lengthening the interchange by 57 feet, widening it by 93 feet and adding a pedestrian walkway. When Marcheano took over the restaurant in 1982, he wanted to create a restaurant reminiscent of the places he ate growing up in Hudson County, N.J. Marcheano is the sole owner of the Arches and when he’s in town, he’s here. Every time the front door opens, a ray of sunlight blinds the diners and Marcheano rushes forward to greet each guest with a friendly “hey folks” and a hearty handshake, whether he knows them or not. The restaurant has hosted a string of famous customers over the years, including the Rat Pack, John Wayne, Joe Torre and Bob Hope - but at the Arches the regular customers are just as important as celebrities. Richard Marvin and Patricia Reilly, friends for 35 years, shared a drink at the restaurant’s bar on a recent afternoon. “We love Danny,” Reilly said. “I love that he’s so patriotic and into the Marines and all that stuff; I think it’s fabulous. “I used to bring my kids in here, they have great hamburgers for lunch,” Reilly said. The customers aren’t the only ones who return to the Arches. Marcheano keeps a loyal staff; 39 of his 50 employees have worked with Marcheano for 20 years or more, he said. Santiago Islas has worked with Marcheano for 25 years. “Danny is a good boss,” Islas said. Islas said he’s never even thought of working anywhere else. “He’s a great boss, so where else would I want to go?” Islas said. But the lease on Newport’s most famed restaurant is up in 2007, and Marcheano says the restaurant is definitely moving. The restaurant will change locations - but nothing else will change, Marcheano said. “I’ll be in Newport Beach, I’m not a Viejo guy, I don’t even know how to get there,” Marcheano said. If everything goes as planned, the new spot will have a larger dining room, a U-shaped bar, a fancy oyster bar and a covered patio. “It’ll be bigger and better,” Marcheano said. As for the new location, Marcheano’s keeping quiet for now. |
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