The previous operator of The Original Saugus Café has filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging he was wrongfully locked out of the historic restaurant, illegally evicted without court process, and targeted in an effort to take control of the café’s name, business and goodwill without compensation.
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 14 by Alfredo Mercado, individually and doing business as The Original Saugus Café and The Original Saugus Café LLC, names North Valley Construction Co. LLC, Larry Goodman, and Louise Arklin, individually and as trustee of the Henry Arklin Family Trust, as defendants.
Mercado alleges he purchased and began operating the restaurant business in 1998 and ran it for nearly three decades under a long-standing, month-to-month oral lease agreement with the Arklin family, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges the restaurant, which traces its roots back to the late 1800s, was “never run nor operated or sold to the landlord during its entire tenancy,” and that Mercado allegedly owned and maintained all equipment, furnishings, décor and business assets.
Saugus Cafe, 1957 or 1958. The new 1952 building the only remaining structure in modern times) is seen at left (SCV History)…