Business & Tech
Iconic Rocky Cola to Close Sunday
Due to failed lease negotiations and tough economic times, owner Wally Curry will be closing the restaurant, he tells Patch.
Red catches your eye at the on Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach—it’s on the '50s-style booths, the counters, lights and even ceiling.
"Red gets people excited, gives them energy, and it makes people hungry," said restaurant owner Wally Curry.
Its décor and hometown feel has cemented the cafe as an irreplaceable eatery for Hermosa residents, but that will soon come to a big, red stop Sunday.
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The restaurant is scheduled to close after 20 years.
Curry said that he has nothing but respect for the property’s landlord Chris Bredesen, but has to close shop due to an increased rent and a decrease in customers.
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"He didn’t do anything wrong, we just couldn’t reach an agreement," Curry said.
The closure is unexpected for some.
"I noticed a change after 2008, but I didn’t think business was too bad. There were rumors that the store was closing, but I didn’t believe them until we were told about two weeks ago," said Moorea Pugliese, one of the 25 employees at Rocky Cola Café.
Pugliese, 24, has been working at Rocky Cola for five-and-a-half years. She said that many on staff have been with Rocky Cola for 10 or even 15 years.
For her, the restaurant is like a "second home," and her colleagues are like family. "We all hang out outside of work," she said.
The cafe opened Aug. 12, 1991, and started to become a . Around that same time, Pier Avenue and its accompanying bars and clubs were being built in the mid-1990s.
"We used to have a line at 1 a.m. when the bars closed," Curry said.
But due to the downturn in the economy, Curry saw a decline in business from residents who ate lunch at the diner and even some familiar customers who have had to reconsider their budgets in light of tough economic times.
"The economy killed me," he said.
Curry has already begun thinking of his next move. If possible, he’d like to open a new restaurant somewhere in Hermosa, but is also considering food trucks and other options.
"There’s a lot of opportunity out there, but very little capital," he said, adding, "I just want to thank the residents of Hermosa Beach, the customers, the staff—it’s been an adventure. It’s unfortunate, but it’s economics."
What's your favorite Rocky Cola memory?
