Eat at Joe’s in Redondo Beach gets third owner in 55 years
by Garth Meyer Manny is at the grill, in his 42nd year. Jen, Maria and Mari are serving tables, at or beyond their 30th year; and the owners since August, Patrick Mescall and Brian Eldridge, are the third since Eat at Joe’s opened in Redondo Beach in 1969. Mescall and Eldridge met in El Segundo as bartenders 20 years ago, and now own eight establishments in the South Bay. “We have been buying up some local classics,” Mescall said. Originally from Babylon, Long Island, he moved here at age 21, after two years serving at Smith & Wollensky’s on New York City’s Upper East Side. Mescall started in the business as a 14-year-old busboy. “There’s no way of getting rid of me now in the South Bay,” he said. He used to go to Eat at Joe’s for brunch before bartending shifts. The previous owners were Alex & Michele Jordan. “They bought it from Joe,” said Mescall. “The reason we bought it is because we love it. Our job is to keep it on its tracks.” The 20 employees have all stayed for the new owners. “We have rookies who have been here for 15 years,” Mescall said. “We just want to continue the tradition at 400 Pacific Coast Highway.” Open 6 a.m. – 2 p.m., the diner still features its John Wayne…
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