New to the Hood: Marcus & Katie Avila Open El Ranchito

At this point, most of you know that the Avila’s have come to OTO with their family-owned restaurant El Ranchito. I happened to be getting back from a Hawaiian vacation the day before they opened, so the next morning, with no food in the house, the family and I decided to pay them a visit for lunch. Of course, the universe played a little game on all of us that day and half the power was out in downtown Orange, including at El Ranchito. They were making it work though and still serving up their traditional recipes and margaritas! While this is pretty terrible for opening day, it made for a good memory and we had a great experience that day as well as the chance to meet owner Marcus Avila. We have been back many times since and it seems that each time, they’ve made another small change to what used to be PJs Abbey.

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A Slice of Old Towne Character, Don Kelly of Hoffman Radiator

I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Don Kelly, Custom Radiator Specialist, the other day to learn a little bit about him and well, I just loved him! He is the proud owner of Hoffman Radiator which has been a part of Old Towne Orange since 1946, definitely one of the oldest businesses in towne. Don himself took over the business in 1976, about 35 years ago and has been excelling at what he does since then.

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Pediatric Dentist Eduardo Correa, D.D.S. in Old Towne Orange

You may be aware that a Pediatric Dentist by the name of Eduardo Correa moved his practice into Old Towne Orange just about a year ago (he actually opened during Street Fair last year). You may have even seen his signs just down the street from The Filling Station as you’re heading to Chapman U and perhaps you’ve thought to yourself….’hmmm, good to know’, right? Of course, when it comes to our kids, we mothers can be pretty skeptical, especially as it relates to the dentist and the traumatic potential that lies within…it’s very important to get them to a kind, children-focused practice so that they have a really good experience when they’re young (I say this all because ‘dentists and me’…not a good mix).

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