O.C. Day Trip: Historic Main Street in Garden Grove

I first met Garden Grove Mayor Bao Nguyen last year at the opening night of the OC Fair.

He wasn’t mayor then, but I liked the newly appointed fair board member as soon he sat next to me at the board of directors dinner.

My husband, Stan Tkaczyk, is also a fair board member, which is why I was there.

At dinner, Nguyen figured out he knew me. Well, kind of.

Turns out as a kid he was a fan of the TV comedy cooking show I’d done with John Crean in the early 1990s, “At Home on the Range.”

Talk about feeling old!

When I told him the shows could now be seen on YouTube, he lit up.

After he became mayor this year, I called him and asked him to show me around his city.

It was a beautifully clear night, and with my little rescue dog, Stasha, in tow, Nguyen gave us a walking tour of downtown Garden Grove’s historic Main Street.

“Reimagine Garden Grove” is the city’s new catch phrase, he told me as we met local shop owners on our tour.

Historic Main Street has the same village feel as Old Towne Orange, Tustin and downtown Santa Ana. Unique shops, restaurants and bars line the district.

But unlike Orange, Tustin and Santa Ana, Garden Grove’s historic Main Street has yet to be fully discovered. As we walked, I was aware that more than a few empty storefronts were available to rent.

The mayor told me his downtown offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs, since rental rates there are less than in other established downtown areas in the county. There’s also plenty of parking on the street and behind the stores.

So what did I discover on my walking tour?

Elvis Presley’s spirit is alive and well, as I found meandering into the Azteca Mexican Restaurant, 12911 Main St.

The place is covered in Elvis memorabilia from floor to ceiling. TV screens around the restaurant play the King’s clips and movies, and impersonators appear regularly.

More than 2,000 items can be seen on the walls, in the display cases and on the ceiling. All the posters and autographs are original, according the restaurant’s website.

One thing that caught my eye is that Azteca offers Chasen’s famous chili on occasion. The famous West Hollywood restaurant closed 10 years ago, and its chili was a favorite of mine.

The first Azteca Mexican Restaurant opened in 1957 on Garden Grove Boulevard, and in 1980 it moved to Main Street.

Another restaurant that looked like fun is the Brickhouse, 12941 Main Street.

The restaurant and lounge offers a unique bill of fare, like sticky barbecue ribs ($10), which are Southern-styled ribs smothered in hoisin barbecue sauce and served on a bed of kimchi.

Also offered is mushroom toast ($10) — sauteed wild mushrooms and roasted pork belly, Mornay cheese sauce and a drizzle of parsley oil served with slices of toasted French baguette. Soups, salads, burgers and flatbreads are also on the menu.

Kaye’s Kitchen, 12939 Main St., is a ‘50s-style diner and the only restaurant along the boulevard with outdoor seating.

I suggested to the mayor that more eateries should do the same, thus making the street more pet-friendly.

So how does Nguyen plan on attracting businesses downtown?

One way is through events like the Sunday farmers market.

“It’s getting people out and about and meeting their neighbors,” he said.

And the newly formed Main Street Commission is key to business development for downtown.

Simply stated, businesses in the downtown area pay “a little extra tax on the property,” Nguyen said.

Those dollars can then be used by the commission to promote historic Main Street.

Garden Grove also holds the annual Strawberry Festival in the park at the end of Main Street, and the mayor says the tattoo parlor and art gallery Black Umbrella has recently started holding evening art walks similar to those in Santa Ana.

Every Friday at 4 p.m., the street hosts a classic car show.

Nguyen hopes events such as these will continue to draw folks countywide.

Just 34 years old, Nguyen is Garden Grove’s youngest mayor. He tweets and uses social media to keep residents up to date on his activities and thoughts.

As his efforts to reimagine Garden Grove take shape, he certainly has his work cut out for him, but historic Main Street appears to be emerging as an O.C. hot spot.

For more information, visit mainstreetgarden

grove.com.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.