“On behalf of my family I thank you, it’s an honor,” said Dan Diaz. “I also want to thank Wally (Bobkiewicz, the city manager) who initiated the whole thing and got the ball rolling.”Dan Diaz noted that the late Jose and Josepha met 90 years ago.“Mostly we are pleased to be in the community we are, and the customer base is not just customers but guests who become friends. We share a moment in time with them,” celebrations ranging from birthdays to anniversaries to graduations, and “we enjoy hearing their life stories. We appreciate this” and the multi-generations of customers who have become family friends.Vice Mayor Ray Luna had his own memory to share: “You’ve probably fed a lot of council members, but I remember one council member that was employed by you... I remember one particular time after a basketball practice I went to work. Tony asked if I ate,” and learning that Luna had not, “you fed me.”“My dad was from Oklahoma and he loved” the chili verde, said Mayor Rick Cook. “...And the old store, I remember that,” before the original cantina was replaced with the much larger restaurant building.The Diaz family has launched a yearlong celebration to recognize the anniversary of the Santa Paula’s - and perhaps Ventura County’s - oldest restaurant.
Familia Diaz: SP’s oldest restaurant lauded by City Council
July 28, 2006
Santa Paula City Council
One of the Santa Paula’s oldest - and beloved - businesses was lauded by the City Council at the July 17 meeting when they presented Familia Diaz Restaurant a proclamation for 70 years of doing business, and fostering friendships, at the corner of 10th Street and East Harvard Boulevard.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesOne of the Santa Paula’s oldest - and beloved - businesses was lauded by the City Council at the July 17 meeting when they presented Familia Diaz Restaurant a proclamation for 70 years of doing business, and fostering friendships, at the corner of 10th Street and East Harvard Boulevard.“I remember being in school in Los Angeles and hearing about this one restaurant,” said Councilman Gabino Aguirre, who presented the proclamation to Tony Diaz and his son Dan Diaz as family members looked on. “I always wondered why” it was then named Las Quince Letras. “...If you count the letters of the restaurant, it actually adds up to Las Quince Letras. From its early days to the present, Familia Diaz Restaurant has served this community well as a thriving part of the business community.”Established in 1936 by Jose and Josepha Diaz - who met at a Limoneira Co. packinghouse - the restaurant stemmed from their dream to have their own business and make a new start following the Great Depression. The couple built a small cantina, living quarters, and storage building on the corner of 10th Street and East Harvard Boulevard, making meals for their patrons using only a “molcajete” and a frying pan.The business was a success, and in the early 1950s Jose and Josepha Diaz’s son Tony joined the enterprise. “Through his years of dedication and hard work the restaurant prospered,” noted Aguirre, and the tradition of Familia Diaz was reinforced in the 1980s when Tony and Cecilia’s daughter Sandra and son Dan joined the business.“Jose and Josepha’s dream has lived 70 years and has reached its fifth generation,” said Aguirre. “It is fitting that we join in the expression of our pride and appreciation for the many civic and economic benefits that our community has enjoyed over the years because of the growth and prosperity of Family Diaz Restaurant.”