Most of the patrons knew that Sunday, Jan. 6, was the last day Ruby’s Diner would be open on the Seal Beach Pier.
However, at least one family did not know—the family of a girl who came to celebrate her birthday.
Michael Hawkins of Fullerton came with his camera to take picture of a place that was filled with precious memories of precious moments. He said the last “moment” was when his wife Roz became a citizen. “It has always been a compass point,” he said.
It was so crowded by lunch time that one man shook his head sadly and said he couldn’t wait 90 minutes to be seated. He shook his head sadly and left with two small children.
Brooke Wenger, 10, came with her mother Elizabeth Wenger and her aunt Marianne Zamierowski to celebrate Brooke’s birthday. It has been a Wenger family tradition for the last two or three years to mark Brooke’s birthday with a visit to the Seal Beach Ruby’s.
They didn’t know that this was Ruby’s last day until Elizabeth overheard other customers talking about this being Ruby’s last day.
The owners of the Ruby’s chain notified the city of Seal Beach on Dec. 10 that they were canceling their month-to-month rental agreement with the city. The city and the restaurant chain agreed to the monthly rental while they negotiated the terms of a new lease.
