Development May Soon Overrun This Gateway to the Back Country, to the Sorrow of Patrons and the Unabashed Delight of Its Owner

COOK'S CORNER —  On a recent Sunday, motorcyclists gathered by the dozen at this legendary crossroads, where Harley-Davidson “hogs” filled the parking lot and the scent of mustard, nachos, beer and cigars mingled with the smoke of exhaust and the tingle of perfume.

Outside, a bluegrass band picked away at “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” as bikers on bales of hay swilled beer and swapped stories about how many miles and close calls they had weathered on the back roads of Southern California.

Inside, on the sawdust-littered floor, couples danced to a second live band playing Del Shannon’s “Runaway.”

But the talk, even at a place like this, usually came around to one subject: how things just aren’t the same in Cook’s Corner, which some call the gateway to Orange County’s “outback.”

“Haven’t we got enough strip malls and housing developments?” asked Dave Colwell, 40, an Anaheim Hills resident who works as an engineer at Rockwell International in Long Beach. “Orange County needs these areas.”

Maybe so, but the world looks a lot different to Frank de Luna, owner of the Cook’s Corner bar who is bullish on development.

De Luna favors construction of a 24-unit commercial center directly across Live Oak Canyon Road from Cook’s Corner. Just a few hundred yards behind the proposed mall, he supports the plans of another builder to put up a 222-acre subdivision called Saddleback Meadows--the very proposals his clientele speaks of with contempt.

De Luna, who bought the 60-year-old Cook’s Corner bar in 1988 and restored much of its country-western biker-heaven flavor, has a few projects of his own in mind.

“As long as people are making babies, you’re going to need development,” said de Luna, 58, who came here from Maryland. “I’m all for development, as long as it’s cooperative and done wisely, of course. Hell, I am a developer.”

De Luna petitioned Orange County authorities to build a 75,000-square-foot retail mall right behind Cook’s Corner bar (separate to the one that may go up across the street). After three years of trying, he won approval for a 19,000-square-foot project and intends to follow through “ASAP.”

He hopes to put in a restaurant similar to those in the Outback Steak House or Claim Jumper chains. He desires to convert a 1904-era home into a farmer’s market complete with a petting zoo for children. And, he said, a Santa Fe-style bed and breakfast inn would add the perfect touch.

The surrounding area’s fear and loathing of development is way overblown, de Luna said, taking particular aim at “a radical few” in Trabuco Canyon.

“The canyon [Trabuco] has more than its share of activists who don’t want anything within a 70-mile radius of them that isn’t a park,” he said. “But I got news for them--this is a free country. I don’t like fanatics on either side.”

But some of those same passionate souls are drinking beer on Sundays at de Luna’s very own watering hole.

“It would take away all the beauty,” said Ralph Rodriguez, 37, who runs a Harley dealership in Huntington Beach. “This corner has been here for years and years. And for my money, it should always be here, unsullied and untouched.”

“It’s like getting rid of Victorian homes,” said Gene Palmer, 55, who runs an air conditioning company in Yorba Linda. “Once they’re gone, they’re never coming back. Do people ever learn their lessons? Why don’t they just concrete the whole planet!”

Palmer, Rodriguez and most of their friends appear unaware of de Luna’s plans. Most like the man and credit him with bringing back a legendary bar-restaurant that had grown dormant over the years. Cook’s Corner actually began in 1926 when Earl “Jack” Jackson Cook and his wife, Irene, opened a bar with six stools in a converted beekeeper’s cabin on the opposite side of the creek from where de Luna’s place now sits.

In its early years, Cook’s Corner was a haven for ranchers, U. S. Marines and workers from a local clay mine. In 1947, the present ramshackle building was moved in three sections and assembled on the property. In its former life, the Cook’s building was an Army mess hall from the old Santa Ana Army Air Base.

Cook died in 1960, and three years later, his widow began leasing the bar to outside business interests. In 1976, Volker Stricek and partner Victor Villa took over. Stricek owned a motorcycle accessory business in Santa Ana, hence today’s infatuation with the biker crowd.

De Luna took over 12 years later, and although Cook’s remains a magnet for the “hog” flotilla--and the “VROOOOM, VROOOOOOOM, VROOOOOOOOOM!” that blasts the parking lot every Sunday--customers now use adjectives such as “safe” and even “kid-friendly” to describe the renaissance and change in demographics.

Tattooed biker Joe “Pizza Joe” Cusumano, 41, from Laguna Niguel via New York City, is one of those who calls the current Cook’s “yuppie city,” but a place he loves nonetheless. He also doesn’t think development is going to squash the place and that a lot of his friends are overreacting.

Colleen Reilly, 35, who owns the Firehouse Pub & Grill in Silverado, is among those who harbor mixed feelings about development.

“As I resident, I hate it,” Reilly said. “As a businesswoman, I say, ‘The more, the merrier. Bring ‘em on down!’ ”

But at Cook’s, you never have to look too far to find the former viewpoint outweighing the latter. Anne Gray, 45, a corporate executive from Lake Forest, addressed Cook’s future in terms of tolerance and personal liberty.

“I’m sick and tired of developers and the religious right dictating what happens around here,” she said. “Those people have ruined Orange County, and we let them.”

Some among the Cook’s clientele so savor coming here on Sunday that when they hear talk about a 222-acre subdivision, in particular, they fear they won’t be welcome for long.

“They’ll start complaining about the noise right away,” said Jason Arnhold, 24, a sales representative from Anaheim Hills and a motorcycle enthusiast.

But in the case of Cook’s, Arnhold said, developers may have to encounter the figurative “line in the sand.”

“In the case of Cook’s,” he said, eyeing his “hog” through mirrored sunglasses, “they’ll have to come take it from us. Nothing else will do.”

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Cook’s Corner

Points of Interest: Cook’s Corner is known primarily for its bar-restaurant, which began in 1926 as a converted beekeeper’s cabin across the street from its current location. In recent years, the bar has drawn a wider clientele. They come to hear country music or mingle with motorcycle enthusiasts who dominate the corner, particularly on Sundays. The corner is known as the gateway to Orange County’s rural outback.

History: In 1947, the building, once a mess hall from the Santa Ana Army Air Base, was moved in three sections and assembled on its present site. Contrary to popular belief, the Cook’s Corner bar-restaurant has not been designated a historical site. It’s named after the original owner of the bar-restaurant, Earl “Jack” Jackson Cook and his wife, Irene.

Key Issues: Residential developments have cropped up near the corner, and more are coming. The proposed 222-acre Saddleback Meadows would come within a stone’s throw of the corner, which may soon be joined by a 42,000-square-foot retail development across the street and a 19,000-square-foot retail mall directly behind the bar-restaurant. The latter project is spearheaded by Frank de Luna, who owns the bar-restaurant, and who enthusiastically endorses the other proposed developments, saying this is good for the county and Cook’s Corner.