Polly's Pies Latest Victim of Rising Rents

By Alex Henriquez
Special to The Lookout

Feb. 19 -- Polly’s Pies, which for a quarter century has been a favorite dining spot for Santa Monicans, many of them seniors, will shut down next month, the latest victim of rising rents in an increasingly upscale city.

Slated to close its doors March 22, the diner on Wilshire Boulevard -- which is within walking distance of some of the City’s largest senior housing projects -- will be replaced by Panera Bread, one of the nation’s fastest-growing bakery-café chains.

For many Santa Monica residents the closing of Polly's Pies marks the end of a beloved and popular institution and follows a trend that has seen the demise of other neighborhood staples, including The Boathouse on the pier and Dee’s Diner and Bob Burns downtown.

"People have been coming here for years,” said Eduardo Barrija, who has worked at Polly’s for 17 years. “People who move away still come back to Polly's when they're back in town."

Polly’s “has been a neighborhood gathering place for many, many years and it will be dearly missed," said Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown.

Many residents, including the restaurant's general manager, Fernando Salvador, feel that the city's senior citizens will be the hardest hit when the restaurant, which opened its doors in 1978, shuts down.

In a section of town where prices continue to rise and cuisine changes with each year, Polly's offered Santa Monica's elderly an affordable, traditional place to dine, Salvador said.

"As soon as you walk in the door you know what you want," he said. Polly's, Salvador said, gave Santa Monica senior citizens, many of whom survive on limited budgets, "homemade food" for "reasonable, realistic prices."

On Tuesday, Polly's always busy lunch hour, which features a clientele as
diverse as the city itself, was abuzz with talk of the restaurant's
inevitable departure.

Many of the lunchtime regulars, a group who address waiters and waitresses like old friends, shared their anger and frustration.

"It's sad," one customer commented to her waitress. Another Polly's
restaurant regular simply declared that the new business and the
current landlord “are going to eat crow."

"I don't want some stupid, high-priced Italian restaurant moving in," said
Connie Cole, who has been eating at Polly's Pies since she moved to Santa
Monica in 1982.

When it closes next month, Polly's Pies will be added to the list of local businesses that have succumbed to escalating rents in the downtown area.

After the building that houses Polly’s Pies sold for a reported $2.2 million, the new owner upped the rent to $22,000 a month, nearly triple the current rent, said Eddie Sheldereck, the restaurant’s owner.

Efforts to negotiate failed after the owner rejected an offer of between $17,000 and $18,000 a month, Sheldereck said.

"Santa Monica is getting tougher and tougher to do business in," Sheldereck said, adding that it is becoming harder and more expensive to navigate the City Hall bureaucracy.

Panera Bread -- a Missouri-based chain that currently operates 558 bakery-cafes in 35 states -- could open its Santa Monica outlet by May, according to City officials.

The average turnover from one business to another takes between four and
eight weeks and often includes little government intervention, according Bruce Leach, a planner for the City.

Panera Bread applied for "restaurant tenant improvement," which generally means the business plans to renovate the kitchen and the interior, Leach said.

Such mechanical, structural and electrical alterations require permits, which are granted only after both the City Building Department and the Los Angeles County Health Department approve the renovation plans, according to Leach.