Q & A -- Breathing life into The Cannery

It was the fall of 1999 when The Cannery restaurant closed its doors

to the public. The historical old fish cannery and then-popular

restaurant run by Bill Hamilton was a victim, it seemed, of a community

that was fast tiring of its quality of life being chipped away.

Hamilton, facing competition from other restaurants, wanted to offer

live entertainment in the evenings. But residents in Cannery Village and

along the harbor fought the move. Hamilton, a restaurant business icon,

lost the war and called it quits.

It was a sad day for Newport Beach indeed.

But today, things look brighter. With a new landlord and two sharp new

restaurant operators, The Cannery is soon to breathe new life.

The first is Newport Beach resident Ron Salisbury, whose family owns

the El Cholo restaurants in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, the El Cholo

Cafe in La Habra, El Cholo Cantina in Irvine , the Sonora Cafe in Los

Angeles and the Cat and the Custard Cup in La Habra. And he brings along

with him Steve Herbert, the former manager of Gladstones 4 Fish in

Pacific Palisades.

The pair sat down with Daily Pilot Editor Tony Dodero to talk about

their plans to make this beloved restaurant successful again.

What special memories of The Cannery do you have?

RS: It was the restaurant that represented what Newport Beach was like

when I was living here . . . . At this point in life I wouldn’t even

think of taking on something like this except for the historical part of

it and the charm. All my life I’ve been with El Cholo, and all I know is

old buildings and history and creating memories in restaurants.

SH: A lot of my background had to do with seafood. And this is a great

building and has great historical significance in that it was built in

the early 1900s. I’ve always been a part of historical restaurants to

some degree. Ron has. I know he fell in love with it. I know I did when I

saw it.

What made you both decide to reopen The Cannery?

RS: I wouldn’t even consider it if hadn’t been the great potential to

what you can do historically to this building. We can do a lot of

research and make this almost a museum of what the history of Newport

Beach was. I love Judge Gardner’s column (in the Pilot). The other

element of it was that we have such an unbelievably incredible landlord

(Jack Croul). If hadn’t been for those two things together, it wouldn’t

have been as enticing.

Will the lack of live music have any effect on your plans for the

restaurant?

SH: There are a lot of restaurants that don’t have live music that are

quite successful. It’s our job to make this a fun place that has great

food and a great atmosphere, and that’s what we are going to focus on . .

. . We’re food people. I’ve never had entertainment anywhere where I’ve

worked.

Are you worried about The Cannery’s history of complaints with the

neighbors?

RS: I hope for the people living here we can be not a negative but a

positive thing. This is going to be such a friendly warm place that they

can drop in for something to eat, and it’s convenient to them. Maybe it

will even enhance the value of their property.

What are both of your restaurant backgrounds or expertise?

SH: Mine is seafood. I’ve done a rib joint and a Santa Fe restaurant.

But my background is seafood and fun and making it more interesting than

just going into a restaurant, sitting down and being a great host. Making

people feel like they are in your home rather than in your business.

RS: My parents had El Cholo even before I was born, so it was a big

part of my life even growing up. I spent my afternoons working there and

weekends.

What will make new version of The Cannery standout from the crowd?

RS: Just like El Cholo, we try and provide a place that is very

comfortable. If you’ve been to the Cat and the Custard Cup or Sonora,

then you understand our seriousness about food and wine being as good as

it can be. Our chef was at the Ritz for a number of years . . . . He’s a

great guy. The other thing we have as far as I know is the largest boat

landing of any restaurant in Newport Beach. That’s a popular thing.

SH: Also we’re giving you four different areas in one restaurant.

We’re going to have a sushi bar upstairs, we’re going to have an outdoor

area upstairs, we’re going to have a bar and downstairs we’re going to

have an outdoor deck.

How to do you plan to get some of the old customers back?

RS: If they want a place where they can feel comfortable and run into

people they know, that’s the kind of place we want to be. A lot of the

old time people that have been around here a long time and worked for a

lot of great restaurants have been talking to us about coming to work

here.

SH: The buzz is already out there. If we can get them here once, we’ll

get them coming back. That’s our job.

Biographies

Name: Steve Herbert

Age: 41

Occupation: Operating partner

Education: Bachelor of science degree in industrial technology from

Eastern Illinois University

Family: Wife and 15-month old daughter

Misc: Sports fanatic, lives in Huntington Beach

Name: Ron Salisbury

Age: 68

Occupation: Restaurant owner

Education: Bachelor of arts in business from Brigham Young University

Family: Seven children, one still at home

Misc: Loves skiing and flying, longtime Newport Beach resident