HUNTINGTON BEACH : Personal Touch Keeps Alice’s Patrons Loyal

For 15 years, the same customers have been coming back to Alice’s Breakfast in the Park to enjoy the funky atmosphere and especially the friendliness of proprietress Alice Gustafson and her employees.

“We’re loyal here,” said Mary Kay McCauley, 62, who takes daily morning walks in the park and always stops at the restaurant.

The restaurant business has been Gustafson’s livelihood and life. In 1976, she and her late husband, John, opened The End Cafe on the pier, which was wiped out in a 1988 winter storm and wasn’t rebuilt. In 1980, they opened Alice’s.

Gustafson, 64, recently renewed her lease with the city for another five years, with three five-year options to renew.

Community Services Director Ron Hagan said the city has 11 sites it leases to private restaurant operators. But Alice’s is “a one-of-a-kind operation.”

McCauley said employees call customers by their first name.

“It kind of makes you feel special,” she said. “It’s a super place. I always tell everybody about it. [Alice’s] has a good reputation, and once people find out about it, they come back.”

Manager Dyan Drohner said generations of local families come to the restaurant: “We’ve watched kids grow. . . . It’s people who live locally. They bring their friends, and then their friends discover us. It’s word of mouth that keeps us going.”

Another frequent customer is Sally Siegrist, 80, who also lives in the neighborhood.

“It’s so homey and you feel like they welcome you,” said Siegrist.

Part of the restaurant’s uniqueness is its eclectic decor.

The restaurant is filled with the same ingredients as Gustafson’s own home: displays of memorabilia, collectibles and knickknacks.

Gustafson has admittedly overdecorated the restaurant. There are antiques, such as the turn-of-the-century potbellied stove, country crafts and framed puzzles that Gustafson and her mother-in-law put together.

Another way Gustafson makes customers feel comfortable is by sitting and chatting with them over coffee.

“I think it makes them feel important and they are important to me. Without the customers, what have you got?”

For years, Gustafson, a 35-year resident, worked long hours at the park restaurant. She cooked, waited and bused tables and washed dishes. Nowadays, she has cut her hours and duties and has employees--up to 10 on weekends--to help her out.

And, making money isn’t why she stays in business.

“I’m not here for that reason. I’m here just to be with the people,” she said.