Bart Earle 1926-2011
Robert “Bart” Earle passed away at the age of 84 on Tuesday, Jan. 11, in Vista, Calif.
Bart Earle, pictured on the left, shortly after opening the Palos Verde Red Onion in 1963.
Bart was born in Phoenix, Ariz., Sept. 26, 1926. His family moved shortly thereafter to Southern California, where his father, Harry, owned and operated several restaurants. Bart attended Horace Mann Junior High and Washington High Schools. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he dropped out of the 11th grade to join the Navy, where he eventually took part in the pivotal battles of Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima, operating a landing craft.
Upon returning from the war, Bart held several odd jobs, including driving a truck for the Master Linen Company, before deciding to go into the restaurant business with his father at the original Red Onion restaurant in Inglewood. In 1958, Bart opened his first Red Onion restaurant, this one in Hawthorne. The Palos Verdes Red Onion opened in 1963, followed by nine additional locations throughout Southern California. During the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, the Red Onion Restaurants set the standard for excellence in the Mexican food restaurant industry. Much of what has now become synonymous with that market – such as the blended margarita and blown flour tortilla shell for tostadas — was first developed at the Red Onion. Bart Earle, a virtually self-educated man, had a simple operating philosophy which guided him throughout his career. It was to give the public what they wanted, and then make the effort to do a little bit extra to exceed their expectations.
Bart sold his chain of restaurants in 1973 to Host International Company, keeping only the Palos Verdes location. The success of Bart’s operating philosophy is witnessed by the fact that the Palos Verdes Red Onion, owned by son Jeff Earle, remains one of the most successful independently operated restaurants in the country.
Bart Earle is survived by his son, Jeff Earle, and daughter, Jan Shepherd, both from his second wife Joanne, who passed away in 2004; daughter, Susan King, from his first marriage; grandchildren Shaun King and U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Eric Carr; great grandchildren Christopher, Kaden, Shaun King and Aubri Carr, and by wife Christie, who resides in San Marcos, Calif. PEN