by Garth Meyer
It was a bankrupt restaurant in October 1995. It had been shut down by the health department but new owner Danny Williams, who bought it out of bankruptcy court, was unaware of that.
In early 1996, he did a major remodeling, changing everything. He and wife M.L. hired restaurant consultants for the menu, and the place re-opened as Riviera Mexican Grill.
“We did our work, we decided to make it a real surf hangout,” Danny said of the Redondo Beach spot. “Sales didn’t hit the roof or anything, it took awhile.”
“That spring, summer, I duped my wife to come in and be hands-on.”
Neither had ever worked in a restaurant before. The business’s 30th anniversary was Wednesday.
After it opened, Danny Williams first went back to teaching “for about two months,” he said – 6th through 8th-grade in Palos Verdes.
“Hey kids, hang on while I go make a couple of phone calls,” he described, for what he needed it to be like.
The Williams’ daughters were in college, or almost, and their son in eighth grade. Danny had a real estate office, which he shared with M.L. for the restaurant, the building in the same parking lot.
“(The restaurant) sponsored RUHS volleyball, P.V. volleyball, synagogues, Catholic churches, Surf Festival, R10 paddleboard race,” Danny said, naming a few. “We jumped in full throttle, and struggled for 25 years.”
He and M.L. still own nine percent of it.
They hired staff members Martin Ramirez, Cosme Martinez, Tori Thomas, Juan Hernandez, Felix Majorga, and Tony Rodriguez, who was 18 when they hired him. All of whom still work there.
“It seemed like we were making money, but didn’t know how to keep it,” Williams said.
Then the pandemic arrived, M.L. preferred not to go in, two of their kids were local – and candidates to take over the restaurant – but they had six kids between them, complicating the matter.
The Williams sold “The Riv” to Chris Bredesen and George Loren in 2020.
Leading up
Aside from being a teacher and working in commercial real estate, previously Danny was a Pony League baseball coach in Palos Verdes, a longshoreman and commercial fisherman in his youth. He went to LMU, where he played baseball. He taught at Lunada Bay Elementary, then special education at Ridgecrest Intermediate School, then went into commercial real estate at Charles Dunn.
The previous restaurant that was shut down before the Williams bought it was called Riviera Mexican Bar & Grill. The Williams took out “Bar” from the name.
“The day that I purchased it, the Dodgers were in the playoffs, I was at the game in the cheap seats, I leaned over to an attorney friend of mine and said, ‘I can’t believe I own a restaurant,” Williams said. “So much minutiae (followed), transferring this license and that.”
All told it was the Williams’ first and only restaurant venture, and it worked.
“That doesn’t happen,” said new co-owner Bredesen, whom Williams coached in Pony League baseball. “It’s due to them. They were in there every single day. Every piece of artwork, every local event, they were so involved in the community, which added up to their success…”
Bredesen also co-owns Captain Kidd’s, R10 and Riviera Mexican Cantina in Redondo Beach, three Rockefeller locations and Primo Italia in Torrance.
“You had to have good food, you had to have good service,” Williams said. ”It took us awhile for the service. The food too.”
The venture opened the week before St. Patrick’s Day, 1997.
When Bredesen and Loren took over, some change followed.
“We kept all of the recipes all the same, and added a couple items,” Bredesen said, naming birria tacos and quesadillas, and pizole soup.
They upgraded some ingredients too, signing a deal for carne asada Australian cut; that’s where it comes from.
“The Riv, as everyone calls it. We are here to keep the prices low, keep the food quality high, and keep people coming back,” Bredesen said. “We try to keep the vibe, the decor; obviously the food speaks for itself.”
“A lot of things have been replaced, things that people won’t see,” he said. “The Riv is the Riv and it’s going to be like this another 30 years.”
On Wednesday, they were set to hold a 30th anniversary party, with 30th hats given to all customers and live mariachi starting at 5:30.
“I truly believe we have the best staff in the South Bay,” Bredesen said. “Customers have helped staff members move, have been in each other’s weddings….”
“Danny bought it mainly for investment purposes,” said M.L. of the restaurant. “I went in and met some wonderful employees, some are still there from the 43 that started.”
Martin, Felix, Cosme, Juan and Tony Rodriguez. have been there for all 30 years. Jesus Morales has been there for 20 years and Tori for 16.
“The employees became family, and the customers became friends,” M.L. said.
They did a St. Baldrick’s hair-shaving for cancer research event in the parking lot for 17 years.
M.L. was originally a teacher, from Manhattan Beach. She and Danny got married a week after graduation from Loyola Marymount.
A volunteer at various things, she took on a certain role at the restaurant.
“Cleanliness was really important to me,” she said.
M.L. and original employee Felix Majorga met at the restaurant every morning at 6 a.m. to scrub the kitchen.
From there M.L. acted as hostess, and made sure cooks were washing hands, rags, etc. in the kitchen, then she worked for two or three hours each afternoon in the office, placing orders and fulfilling other business tasks.
“Every manager taught me tremendous things,” she said.
Current Manager Martin Ramirez was hired as a busboy by the Williams.
“When you have a good job, good people, good owners, why leave?” Ramirez said.
What’s the biggest surprise about owning a restaurant?
“Making so many friends,” M.L. said. “It was so worth it all. It really was. We went to all the weddings and quinceaneras, and helped Martin become a (U.S.) citizen.”
All three of the Williams’ children worked at Riviera Mexican Grill, and daughter Colleen became an assistant manager for three years.
When it came time to sell the restaurant, two of the Williams kids/children-in–law expressed interest, but M.L. made the call not to sell it to family.
“It would’ve been nice to carry on the history, but I’ve always remembered the mantra not to go into business or property with family members. Families disagree on things, it’s not worth the gamble,” she said.
“I disagree,” Danny said. “They could have worked it all out. We were pressed against Covid, and the kids were raising their kids.”
What does M.L. miss the most?
“The employees. When I go in there, it’s really a tearjerker.” ER
