Family owners of Dick Church’s restaurant in Costa Mesa are calling it quits

Monday marks the quiet end for a corner of Eastside Costa Mesa and its culinary history.

Dick Church’s, a classic Americana diner known for its vintage decor and friendly service, is changing owners.

Since March 1981, Irvine residents George and Tracey King have run the place on the corner of Newport Boulevard and Mesa Drive and kept things classic. They say their little restaurant embodied their American dream, but now they’re handing over the keys.

“It’s time,” George, 71, said in an interview on a recent afternoon. He then joked that letting go will help him achieve better blood pressure.

For George in particular, it will be a tender moment. Dick Church’s, founded in 1947, has been not only his family-run business, but the centerpiece of his social life.

On a recent afternoon, the restaurant was sparsely populated. The Kings were conversing with some of their regulars. They are not planning a big goodbye party for the public, but are having a private event for their employees.

Before then, they’re passing out special Dick Church’s coffee mugs that note that the Kings have owned the restaurant since 1981.

Dick Church’s has a long history. It opened in 1947 as Baby’s Beef Burger, making it among the oldest continually-operating restaurants in Costa Mesa and Orange County.

It has had a few different names , including Bud’s Drive In and Art’s Coffee Shop. It was named Dick Church’s in 1972, reportedly after its owner, Dick Church.

The Kings immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 1978, partially because they wanted a better education for their oldest son, John, now 48. They also have two younger sons: Hsuan, now 45, and Adam, 37.

George, a veteran of the Taiwanese Navy, first got work as a mechanic at the Chino airport. He also worked a second job as a dishwasher and went up the restaurant ranks to busboy and cook.

The Kings soon realized they needed to own their own business to live the American dream they strived for.

In 1981, they achieved their goal by purchasing Dick Church’s restaurant and later the property itself. Under their ownership, they made more of their food in-house, like pies, muffins, soups and dressing. They also did some remodeling.

But even when running the restaurant and raising three children, the Kings never stopped having side jobs. One of them was selling ornaments at the Orange County Market Place. Tracey, 63, also worked as a real estate agent.

When a portion of the 55 Freeway opened through Costa Mesa in the early 1990s, the Kings saw their business decline dramatically, by as much as 30%. They used to get more drive-by traffic along Newport Boulevard. When the freeway went in, those cars were re-routed, bypassing the boulevard. It made Dick Church’s far more remote.

The Kings realized they needed to supplement their income. So George co-founded KTI Hydraulics, Inc. in Costa Mesa in 1996. The business is now in Santa Ana. He said he’s not retiring from it just yet.

When describing how the Kings have run Dick Church’s, Sandy Cotten, a waitress there for 34 years, repeatedly used the word “family.”

She noted how the Kings often hired siblings. Two of their own boys worked there. One company Christmas card from 1992 had three sisters in it, all Dick Church’s employees. George stood in the back of the pack wearing a Santa hat.

“They only hire sisters,” Cotten joked.

Dick Church’s new owner, Bodie Rasmussen, who owns the Lost Bean, a Tustin coffeehouse, plans to add more coffee concepts to the restaurant. He takes over Tuesday.

George said he wants to take the vintage cash register with him when he goes.

But he’ll have mixed emotions that last day. He’ll miss the people and employees, “but on the other hand, we are happy we finally can be retired. I’m happy to still see this place open and employees still working.”

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Twitter: @BradleyZint