Photography by Brenda Cash | Vintage Photography courtesy of Jeff Earle
From the small community of Arisaka, AZ in the early 1900s when Catalina Castillo, Original Red Onion owner Jeff Earl’s great-grandmother, operated a small diner and served the townspeople and local mine operators many of the recipes that serve as the basis of the Original Red Onion Restaurant’s menu, to now, Jeff Earle tells his popular restaurant’s story.
“My grandfather Harry (Enrique) Spiva was born in Arisaka, AZ territory in 1904. Grandfather Harry’s father, Guillermo Spiva, died when he and his two brothers were very young, therefore, Grandmother Castillo fended for her family through the diner,” Jeff shares. “Grandmother Castillo subsequently married Arizona ranger William Earle, who adopted Harry and his brothers, giving them his surname.”
Harry used many of Jeff’s Grandmother Castillo’s recipes to open a series of hard-luck restaurants and small diners before opening the first Red Onion in Inglewood in 1949.
In 1926, Robert F. Earle (“Bart”), Jeff’s father, was born. He went to the 11th grade at Washington High in L.A. before dropping out to join the Navy during WWII, where he served as a landing craft operator and saw action in the Philippines and at Iwo Jima.
“Bart” and his brother Don worked for father Harry in the first Red Onion, before leaving to open their own individual restaurant chains.
In 1973, “Bart” sold his chain of nine Red Onion Restaurants to Host International Corporation, keeping only his favorite location in Palos Verdes. Shortly after the sale, Host changed the name of their Red Onions to Casa Maria and took the concept nationwide as their signature Mexican chain.
Original Red Onion Restaurant Owner Jeff concludes:
I grew up in Palos Verdes, attending La Cresta Elementary School and Chadwick High. I worked as an advance press aide for Ronald Reagan during the 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns, turning down a White House job offer. Later, I earned my Master’s in history and international relations at the University of Southern California. In 1994, I ran for the California State Assembly, narrowly being defeated. Off and on throughout my adult life, I worked at the Red Onion, first as a dishwasher in 1972, eventually becoming general manager. In 1995, I purchased Red Onion and the property from my dad “Bart” Earle and added a second kitchen, a larger banquet room, and an upstairs office.
