RUTABEGORZ

Back in 1969, four college students at Cal State Fullerton dreamed of opening a coffeehouse in Fullerton. In 1971, after two years of planning, they opened Rutabegorz, named after the rutabaga--a turnip-like vegetable. They wanted to bring to Orange County the Bohemian atmosphere found in the coffeehouses of New York and San Francisco.

The current owner and member of the original group that started the restaurant, Paul Berkman, says, “We wanted to create a place where people could come and be themselves, where they could sit down and have a lively conversation, read poetry, play music, hang their paintings or play chess while drinking espresso. We introduced espresso and cappuccino to many Orange County residents almost two decades before the recent resurgence of coffeehouses in Los Angeles.”

In the early days, the restaurant survived with the help of friends and customers who pitched in to make repairs to the 57-year-old Mediterranean-style building that is today a local landmark. “We put together this restaurant with what money we had. When it was time to replace the espresso maker, I had to sell my Volkswagen van to finance a new one.”

No 1960s subculture gathering place’s history would be complete without a clash with the Establishment, and Rutabegorz was no exception. “Many people were against us. They did not want a restaurant like this in Orange County--a place where young people would sit and talk for hours about war and other topics.”

In 1974, the telephone company wanted to tear down Rutabegorz to accommodate the expansion of its service center. The local community rallied, protests were held, and after a court battle, the utility acquiesced and the property was sold to the restaurant.

Over the years, Berkman has seen changes in the attitudes of his customers. “It used to be that you could come in with a guitar and play folk songs and command a room. Now you’ll have four or five people complain (if that happens).”

The days of poetry readings are over. But live music can still be heard at Rutabegorz on Wednesday nights, when a guitarist and classical musicians perform. There is still room for modern art, and chessboards continue to be available upon request.

And to his credit, Berkman refuses to bend to trendy changes. “Everything that you see today that is changing into Southwestern, or something like that, is not lasting,” he said. “If you go back to a restaurant that you once identified with, today it has totally changed. We have kept the same atmosphere.”

Managing a restaurant has been a learning experience for Berkman. “It has been a lot of hard work. Many of the people who helped start the restaurant tired quickly when the fun turned to work,” he said.

Berkman remembers that in the early years, most of the restaurant pricing decisions were made on an emotional basis, without consideration of the business’s needs. “We would ask ourselves, how much would someone want to pay for a cup of coffee; we did this without considering its cost. I have really had to develop my business sense in order to keep the restaurant open.”

Berkman has not only kept Rutabegorz open, but has opened a second location in Tustin.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Friday-Saturday; closed Sundays. Address: 211 N. Pomona Ave., Fullerton, and 158 N. Main St., Tustin. Telephone: (714) 871-1632 and (714) 731-9807 Miscellaneous Information: Rutabegorz is moderately priced, serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals and has smoking and nonsmoking sections.