After 43 Years, Conrad's is Closing its Doors

On a recent weekday afternoon, as sunlight spilled across rows of empty table tops at , the only noise near the kitchen was the rustling of Richard Satterlee’s newspaper.

Well, that and the coffee pot clanking against the 86-year-old’s cup. Waitress Cinthia Mercado needn’t ask the customer of 41 years if he’d like a refill; she knows to pour more.

But come May 22, the pouring–and everything else-at Conrad’s will stop.

After anchoring the since 1968, Conrad’s will close its doors, leaving a third vacancy in the Foothill Boulevard strip mall.

“Well, I hope someone comes in here,’’ Satterlee said Thursday, seated at the otherwise vacant counter, enjoying a bowl of melon and a scrambled egg sandwich.

The retired Air Force pilot, who also served in the Navy, conversed readily about everything from Harry Truman and the Berlin airlift to Osama bin Laden’s death and the quality of Conrad’s breakfast–which he touts.

A decades-long La Cañada resident, Satterlee eats at Conrad’s on days that end in “y,’’ he quipped, comparing Conrad's to his marriage of 61 years.

“You find the good one, and stick with it,’’ he said.

Conrad’s owner Peter Bissias didn’t return phone calls and was unavailable to speak with a reporter in person Thursday.

According to a spokesman for Vons, which owns the plaza, Conrad’s recently changed ownership and “We have mutually agreed that they would not continue in business at the shopping center,’’ Carlos Illingworth, Manager of Public Affairs and Government Relations, wrote in an email.

Illingworth would not comment about whether the company had another tenant in mind for the space.

Next door to Conrad’s at Paco’s Barber Shop, which has occupied a spot in the plaza nearly as long as Conrad’s, Gary Lane said he’s been cutting hair there for 40 years and is sorry to see Conrad’s close.

“It’s kind of selfish that I don’t want to see them go. I like eating lunch there, and now I’m going to have to move my car and go somewhere else,’’ he said, noting his heart does go out to the waitresses, busboys and cooks who are losing their jobs.

Mercado, who’s worked at Conrad’s for three and a half years, is one of the folks who’ll have to dust off her resume and look for another gig. She smiled when she talked about Saterlee and the other customers she sees on a regular basis, and said working at Conrad’s has been like working with family.

“It’s hard to believe it’s closing,’’ she said, noting she and fellow staff members have gotten attached to the repeat customers.

Another waitress, who asked to be identified only as Annie, said Conrad’s is as much of a routine in their customers’ lives, as the customers are in their lives.

Plus, she’s going to miss the food.

“We have the best fried chicken in town,’’ she said.

It’s a claim she’ll stick by, at least for the next 16 days.