Looking back

Young Chang

When Bill Hamilton announced the closure of the Cannery Restaurant in

Newport Beach in 1999, customers reminisced about good times over steaks

and seafood and mourned the loss of a piece of harbor history.

Emotions were high. Many protested plans to demolish the restaurant

and replace it with condominiums. But others welcomed the idea of peace

and quiet.

A month after the Cannery’s closure, Newport Beach resident Jack Croul

bought the property from developers, with plans to reopen it as a

restaurant. But things have been fairly quiet since then.

Hamilton’s son, Bill Jr., now says the restaurant is set to reopen in

May, and that it is undergoing renovation to continue its role in local

history.

The Cannery’s history dates back more than 70 years. In the 1930s, the

building was a real cannery operated by Western Canners Co., which

employed about 110 people. The women were paid about five cents per can.

At the time, legions of fishing boats plied the harbor and the

factory’s steam whistle was a familiar, shrill sound.

Boats would drag in their day’s catch -- tuna, swordfish, mackerel,

sardines and anchovies -- but business boomed or went bust depending on

the World War II economy.

Over the years, Newport Harbor industrialized along with the rest of

the world. More machinery replaced human labor and eventually resulted in

so much pollution that fish could not safely inhabit the coastal waters.

In 1966, the cannery was closed and torn down. Five World War II

veterans, including Bill Hamilton, bought the property and built a

restaurant, modeling it after the original structure.

They remained true to the cannery style, even decorating the place

with original factory machinery.

From 1973 to 1999, the restaurant attracted customers who, more often

than not, became regulars. It was an eatery frequented by city officials,

some of whom were sorry to see it go, and a place where people brought

out-of-town guests.

Mike Kranzley, a Newport Beach planning commissioner and director of

Speak Up Newport, remembers meetings held at the restaurant.

“We certainly appreciated the ability to have these meetings at the

Cannery; we always had a good time,” he said.

Police Chief Bob McDonell remembers dining at the Cannery on special

occasions, including one Mother’s Day when he and the family took a

harbor cruise offered by the restaurant.

In 1999, in a move said to be spurred partly by the City Council’s

rejection of Hamilton’s request for a permit for live entertainment, the

owner closed the restaurant.

Today, people still hold onto the restaurant’s local heritage.

McDonell said it’s a place that sweeps you back “to the old cannery

days,” a part of the city that holds its place in people’s hearts.

“I think that, for the most part, people will be glad to see it come

back. It’s got some nostalgia attached to it,” he said.

* Do you know of a person, place or event that deserves a historical

Look Back? Let us know. Contact Young Chang by e-mail at o7

[email protected] ; by fax at (949) 646-4170; or by mail at the

Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.