Newport man wins restaurant auction

Andrew Edwards

In less than an hour, a newcomer to the restaurant business won the

county-run auction to buy El Matador, a Costa Mesa restaurant that

had been owned by one family for 39 years.

Newport Beach engineer Xavier Bengoechea bid $535,000 for El

Matador. The auction was held at the Orange County Public

Administrator/Public Guardian’s office in Santa Ana. About 60 people

packed into a room to bid for the restaurant.

Bengoechea, 33, said he is confident he will be able to handle two

major hurdles he will have to face soon. El Matador’s lease expires

May 31, and the restaurant’s liquor license is set to run out on June

4.

He wants to keep the restaurant’s name, staff and cuisine.

“The food, the drinks -- they’ve got a good thing going on,”

Bengoechea said.

The Newport Boulevard restaurant could have a new look in its

future.

“It’s probably going to take a while to get my footing in this,

but I definitely see renovations,” said Bengoechea, who bought El

Matador with money he had been saving to buy a home. And although he

is new to the restaurant business, Bengoechea said he’s ready for it.

“It’s kind of a baptism by fire,” he said.

El Matador was founded in 1966 by Marcial Gallardo Sr., who

launched his family’s business after immigrating from Zacatecas,

Mexico. The founder died in July 2003, and his estate was placed

under the auspices of the county after the executor of the Gallardo’s

estate was removed.

A county document identified the executor as Cesar Gallardo, one

of Marcial Gallardo’s sons.

The Gallardo family tried to keep the restaurant, but the bids

went too high. Marcial Gallardo Jr. said the family stopped bidding

after the price reached $335,000.

“We’re not there anymore, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to

be in the restaurant business,” Marcial Gallardo Jr. said. He owns

another Costa Mesa eatery, California Wraps and Grill and said he’s

planning to open another restaurant. His brother, George Gallardo,

owns a restaurant in Yorba Linda.

Marcial Gallardo Jr. hopes Bengoechea succeeds at El Matador.

“Good luck to him, and I hope he does well,” he said.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.