Mi Casa founder dies at 85

Lolita Harper

He was the kind of man who wanted things done a certain way.

He didn’t like it when his pant legs stuck to his socks. He didn’t

like it when his hair was messed up. And he didn’t like his employees

telling the customers, “Thank you and have a nice day.”

Barrie Moore, the popular owner of Mi Casa restaurant in Costa

Mesa, died Saturday in Newport Beach of heart complications. He was

85.

He was mourned Tuesday at the popular Eastside restaurant, which

opened in 1972, and longtime customers and employees smiled as they

recalled memories.

“He is cantankerous but fair,” said longtime employee San Dee

Herriot, with tears brimming.

Crotchety. Stubborn. Set in his ways, were some of the words used

to describe Moore. They were immediately followed by adjectives such

as loving, generous and kind.

“If you asked him how his day was, he would say, ‘Lousy,’”

employee Melva Lemus said. “That’s just how he was, but deep inside,

he was very lovable.”

Moore loved to greet his customers at the door and make them feel

welcome, but he hated it when his employees would dismiss them with a

canned response. “Thank you and have a good day,” was one of Moore’s

pet peeves. It was cliche. Worn out. Unoriginal. Things Mi Casa did

not promote.

Bartender Starlette Clark said Moore made her very nervous when

she first started working at Mi Casa seven years ago. She said he was

“a little gruff.”

“But if you do your job right, he’ll like you,” Clark said. “He

had a great sense of humor. His bark was worse than his bite. We

became very good friends. I love him.”

Moore battled poor health in recent years and was in and out of

the hospital with heart problems. When he was out, he was on the race

tracks, Lemus said. Horses were his passion, she said.

A recent trip to Hoag Hospital caused quite an uproar when Moore

tried to have filet mignon and shrimp cocktail delivered to his

hospital room. He had just gotten the tubes taken out and was finally

off the breathing machines, when he called The Arches and demanded

some mouth-watering, artery-clogging food. He was found out when the

delivery guys were stopped in the lobby, employees said.

Moore could not hide that big heart of his from his closest

friends. Bernadette Schneider, who was very close with his wife

Joann, who died in 1996, said Moore was very gracious. Schneider is a

28-year customer and brought her children to the restaurant and now

her children bring their children. The whole family was involved with

the restaurant, and still is, creating a legacy that will outlive all

of them.

“I am very grateful he established this place,” Lemus said.

So are his customers.

“Mi Casa is an institution in this area,” said Costa Mesa resident

Sallie Kuykendall, who was enjoying a red enchilada and drink for

lunch Tuesday. “You say Mi Casa and anyone will come here with you.”

“Mi Casa” is the first half of a popular Spanish saying, “Mi casa

es su casa,” which means “my house is your house” -- or “make

yourself at home.”

The restaurant’s name was not just catchy, it was true, Kuyendall

said.

“The saying goes -- everybody is welcome here,” she said. “Not

like some of the shee-shee places around here. You can come here as

you are.”

Moore is survived by two sons Dennis and Rick; and grandsons Ryan

and Andy.

A graveside service was held Tuesday at Pacific View Memorial

Park.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.