Recently in Around Ontario Category

Darn the luck, my vacation means that hot on the heels of missing Monday's Pomona council meeting, I missed last night's Ontario council meeting.

This one I kind of regret, given the events at the last meeting, but oh well. I look forward more than usual to hearing what I missed.

Driving west on Holt Boulevard in Ontario on Friday, I noted once more the welcome new construction between Vineyard and the Post Office. The buildings look pretty nice, the sidewalks are in place and so are the streetlights.

Unfortunately, this time I noticed something else: The streetlights are smack-dab in the middle of the sidewalks.

What's up with that? I can forgive that sort of thing in all the '70s and '80s sidewalks around the valley because it was so commonplace. We've learned a lot about planning since then. Really, though, who in 2008 is allowing light poles to be placed in the middle of fairly narrow sidewalks?

I counted six of them. They'll be a dandy obstacle course for moms with strollers and people in wheelchairs.

Two straight Saturday mornings I've hit the AMC 30 Ontario Mills for an early movie. Did you know they have multiple showings of the big movies before noon, for a mere $6? Saw "Iron Man" a week ago at 10:45 a.m. and "Indiana Jones and the Very Long Title" this past Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Not only is the price right, but at that hour you can get decent parking, there's no line for the movie and not much of one at the ticket booth, and the theaters are at least 3/4 empty, allowing you to see a blockbuster in relative peace.

Not that you asked, but "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Computer Generated Effects" was enjoyable for what it was, but I left the theater feeling full of empty calories. The first half was sharp and then came the descent into incoherence and spectacle. As a friend said later, the movie had Spielberg's first boring aliens.

As for Ontario Mills, it's been years since I spent much time there, which I did back when it was the only entertainment option, so seeing it again had sociological interest.

Also, horror. On Saturday, performing under gray skies out on the promenade near the AMC ticket booths, was a mime. Yes, a mime in the 909. Near him was a cardboard sign reading "Mime School." I gaped for a moment before heading into Market Broiler for lunch. When I exited, he was gone. Maybe he was there early for the parking too.

Charles Phoenix, "born in Ontario, California," made LA Weekly's People of 2008. He's the L.A. slide-show king and author of the "Cruising the Pomona Valley" guidebook. Congratulations, Charles!

A beer truck tipped over on South Haven Avenue in Ontario on Wednesday morning, tipster John Corder phoned to tell me. The back was open, revealing that the truck was full of Bud Light.

"It wasn't light enough," Corder noted, "or it would have made the turn."

Ba-da-ba-bump.

Guasti as we knew it, a rural enclave, is essentially gone, for good or bad.

Because of construction, the Post Office has moved, Saffron Cafe has closed, Filippi Winery closed its tasting room, the Guasti/Homestyle Cafe moved to Chino, the patio furniture places are gone and the school has been bulldozed.

Construction is under way on a mixed-use complex that seems intriguing, if very different than the hodgepodge that was there.

Months ago I spoke to Jim Maples, a former advertising rep at the Bulletin, about Evel Knievel's jump at Ontario Motor Speedway. He also lamented the changes then beginning to happen at Guasti:

"I got to California in 1957 and one of the first things I did was go to wine-tasting at Guasti. That's when all those little houses had inhabitants," Maples told me.

He said a wine festival was sponsored circa 1958-1962 by the Secondo Church. You could buy a bottle of wine, fill up a bota bag with it and walk around, sipping as you went.

So there's a topic. Anyone want to share memories of what Guasti used to be like and what you did there?

Just an alert for anyone who knows the Saffron Cafe at Guasti: Its last day is Friday.

Saffron will be the main topic of my Friday column, but let me get the word out here a day early. If you want one last meal, beat the rush and go today. Saffron is the lunch-only spot in the Guasti Villa (the Guasti Mansion to you oldtimers). The food's pretty good and you can't beat the ambience of the 1922 building, the former home of Secondo Guasti, the head of the onetime winemaking village.

I had lunch there Wednesday, from the $20 prix fixe menu. My meal -- field greens with pears and prosciutto, bread, soup and an entree of shrimp, mussels and scallops in a coconut curry -- was filling, and if it didn't knock my socks off (the soup was a little weak), I was satisfied.

Saffron plans restaurants throughout the region, with one already open in Riverside and one likely for Upland. But it will be gone from Guasti. In fact, with Guasti under demolition and reconstruction, you won't have a chance to return to the Villa until 2009 or 2010.

Call (909) 605-7677 for directions, reservations or questions.

For a recent column on Ontario's Yangtze Restaurant, I needed to know when the Ritz Theater, Yangtze's longtime neighbor, burned down. The indefatigable Joanne Boyajian of the Ontario City Library's Model Colony History Room found the date and more. Why not share the research here? It'll bring back memories or fill in some gaps in history.

The theater began as the California (in 1933, according to my own files), showed B movies compared to the classier fare at the Granada and became the Ritz on June 22, 1961.

Its last all-ages movie was "Dr. Zhivago," which ran for weeks. Then, circa 1967-68, the theater went X-rated, much to the consternation of the community. The Ritz burned on Friday, April 27, 1979. The Daily Report quoted the Rev. Clarence G. Eigenhuis, past of the First Foursquare Church in Ontario, as calling the fire an "answer to prayer." (I've been told people gathered to cheer.)

The fire was initially thought to be of suspicious origin, but arson was ruled out as no clues were found, the Progress Bulletin reported. Investigators concluded the fire was accidental and was due to an electrical short circuit in the balcony.

If you have memories of the California or Ritz theaters, post away below.

I wrote in Wednesday's column (read it here) that the Guasti Cafe -- home of big breakfasts and 25-cent coffee, and known until 2005 as Homestyle Cafe -- will close Oct. 31 and relocate to Chino. Reader Randy Volm writes:

"David, I don't know about you, but I have been a longtime fan of the Homestyle Cafe since it opened in 1985. I have always enjoyed their wonderful food (huge portions I might add) and the warm hospitality of home no matter how busy they were.

"Personally, I wouldn't care if they had to raise the price of coffee to $1. Even that would pale in comparison to what other establishments are charging. Why, even Denny's I believe is charging $2.25 for a cup of coffee.

"In closing, I don't care about the extra distance to get to the new Homestyle Cafe (I'm in Upland). To me, it will always be worth it."

The cafe's owners will be cheered by an Uplander's willingness to follow their restaurant to Chino. But Randy, did you have to say you'd pay four times as much for one of their cups of coffee? You might give them ideas.