the orange plaza Archives - Page 6 of 9 - I Heart Old Towne Orange

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

IHOTO Staff15 years ago10 years ago18 mins

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.

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

IHOTO Staff15 years ago6 years ago26 mins

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.

Red, White, Blue and Orange: Supporting our Troops Since 1919

IHOTO Staff15 years ago6 years ago05 mins

In June, the City of Orange was host to the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall as part of its mission to serve the veterans and families of those who served in Vietnam, many of whom would not have the opportunity to come to the permanent memorial in Washington DC. Orange was the only stop scheduled in California as the wall makes its way around the country.

More Photos of Old Towne ‘Hallelujah’

IHOTO Staff15 years ago6 years ago01 mins

I went into town this morning to take some more photos of all the changes going on in OTO. It’s pretty fun, new signage and banners up all over the place…it’s Hallelujah everything. I believe today is the last day of filming, so if you have a chance to take a drive through the traffic circle and check it out, I would do it!