Image by andy castro via FlickrPHOTOS ARE THE "BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE FILMING AT OFF STREET CAFE!"
THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE FROM THE LOS CERRITOS COMMUNITY NEWS!
THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE FROM THE LOS CERRITOS COMMUNITY NEWS!
By Randy Economy
LCCN Reporter
The “Off Street Café” located on Artesia Boulevard near the 91 and 605 Freeway interchange is considered by locals to be a “culinary” institution. The popular dining establishment has been in business for more than a generation and has a cadre of devoted diners.
But all that is about to change, and “Off Street” is about to get raked over the coals by one of America’s toughest food critics in Chef Robert Irvine. Food Network’s wildly popular “Restaurant Impossible” is taking on “Off Street” and, well, let the chips fall where they may this eatery is about to get a “make over.”
For patrons of “Off Street,” not much has changed at the “throwback eatery” since it first opened nearly 25 years ago. It has a 1980’s country “motif” on the inside, and the same patio service and furniture, umbrellas, heat lamps, news racks, and such for as long as anyone can remember.
Off Street patrons have gobbled up everything from 16 ounce pan fried steak sandwiches, Belgian waffles with blueberry topping, unique pasta dishes, spicy buffalo chicken wraps, homemade orange muffins, slabs of bacon, eggs and five varieties of potatoes – grilled, hashed, baked, fried and “those potatoes” with onions and green bell pepper.All of that is about to change, and a worldwide television audience is about to get a real “taste of Cerritos.”
World famous Chef Irvine along with a cadre of Food Network TV’s show personnel will be converging on “Off Street” on July 6 and 7 and will be “made over” from top to bottom, with budget of $10,000.
Off Street will reemerge to the public after a 36 hour closure, and Irvine and show producers say the local establishment will “never be the same again.”
Robin Vandenberg and Rose Viscio have owned and operated Off Street for the past nine years and they are “thrilled beyond” words about this “once in a life time dream come true.”
Vandenberg, a native of Michigan has been a fan of the program since it began airing. “I thought, we can’t we be on this program, we are a perfect match.” Vandenberg and Viscio quickly wrote to the show’s producers and within days received a call back. Within a couple of weeks the restaurant gave them “the call” that they were informed that Off Street was selected. “We started to cry, then we realized that our lives were about to change,” exclaimed Vandenberg.
“Off Street Café has been through ups and downs ever since we opened. Just knowing that Chef Robert Irvine and Restaurant Impossible is coming here to help us is remarkable,” she said.
In his new prime-time Food Network series, Restaurant: Impossible, Robert uses creativity and resourcefulness along with a lot of muscle in his fight to rescue these restaurants and give hope to the owners and their employees. Day one of the extreme mission begins with a thorough business assessment as Robert launches the restaurant into full service, closely observes the staff and kitchen, and determines their weakest spots. Then, he springs into action by updating the menu, retraining the staff and implementing aesthetic changes with the help of his design team.
“We don’t expect to get much sleep, and I am sure that our nerves are going to be frayed by the time we reopen for dinner on Friday,” Vandenberg said.
The staff at Off Street will be put under a ruthless schedule during the day and a half “make over,” but the community is urged to make their reservations for the grand re-opening at the end of day two, Friday, July 8, to experience the “new and improved” Off Street Café.
Please call (562) 402-9665 for reservations.
7 comments:
TWO WORDS.
THANK GAWD!
Off Street Cafe needs a "lifeline" and this is going to be a HUGE help for ALL of us who have called this place our "hometown" cafe for a long long time....
ROBERT IRVINE COMING TO CERRITOS? SHHHUUUUTTTTUP! omg. I AM GOING TO STOP BY AND SEE THIS FOR MYSELF...
WOW. GREAT SCOOP, RANDY!
This is probably the BEST news I have heard here in Cerritos in months. I love Off Street Cafe, but the time has come for a complete "fresh start!" Looking forward to see how it turns out.
I just got my Los Cerritos Community News and saw this article on the front page.
Chef Robert Irvine is going to LOVE off street cafe
I hope the home made muffins stay the same.... they are melt in your mouth good
I wonder what they are going to do with the patio? The counter area also needs to "go away."
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