Richard O'Neill - Pioneering leader and Restaurateur

RICHARD JEROME O’NEILL

One of the great figures in Southern California history, Richard J. O’Neill was born into a pioneering family which owned two of the original Mexican Ranchos – the Santa Margarita Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo. Rancho Santa Margarita was acquired by the U.S. government and became camp Pendleton, but the O'Neill's’ stayed close to their roots in Mission Viejo and to this day have large holdings there.

Richard J. O’Neill was a long time head of the Orange County Democratic Party and had been involved in countless civic and public service activities – as evidenced by the parks and other concerns bearing his name. But of course of principal interest to readers of this website is his extensive history as a restaurateur in some of Los Angeles’ most cherished bars and restaurants.

Richard O’Neill was not always a wealthy man. As a young man, most of the assets he inherited from his pioneering family where held in trust (and California land did not have the insane value it now holds). He had to make his way on his own starting at the Harbor Inn in San Luis Obispo, learning the tricks of the trade in running a bar and restaurant.

He then returned to the Los Angeles area to use his knowledge to start the Bradley 5 & 10. Now this was not what one usually associates with a “5 & 10” because the 5 here refers to five cent beer. The Bradley 5 & 10 was not your elegant type of carpet place. Richard learned of this place from a bartender at the Coach and Horses. The rent was cheap enough for a newcomer. Richard had saved up some cash in the Navy (about $12000) and was able to get the place for $9500 (with a $200 a month lease). He bought furniture in junk yards to furnish the place.

Well, the place got off to a good start, but it was obvious the business potential would be much greater if it was spruced up a bit. The only problem was Richard’s savings were already gone. Well, in desperation he decided to capitalize on a rather famous name – that of his father’s – and signed a $25,000 loan with the Bank of American using his father’s name Richard O’Neill Jr. Little did anyone know that Richard’s father didn’t approve at all of bars and restaurants, at least as an investment.

Bradley’s 5 & 10 got a new carpet and a complete overhaul. The only problem was the liquor license was delayed a bit. For a while then, they gave the drinks away and curiously the liquor license arrived in time for a grand opening on nothing less than St. Patrick’s Day. The place was a smash hit, owing in part to very ample parking lots on both sides of the building. Mr. O’Neill almost recouped his investment the first day with sales of $17,000. The next quandary was a new name for the new place. This was solved when someone donated a large picture for the bar – the Blarney Castle.

The next hurdle was to find a good full time bartender, because Richard O’Neill’s knowledge of mixing drinks was somewhat limited. To the rescue came a bartender who himself would eventually be a famous restaurateur – Gordon Fields. Gordon Fields went to Occidental College and was a World War Two flight navigator. Other long term employees were added - a German Maitre D’, a cook who made some of the world’s greatest steaks tenderizing them with an ice pick and cactus juice!

Blarney Castle eventually also included the building next door that would be used for German and Irish dances (although it turned out to be a good idea to keep a little distance between both nationalities!). With the success of the Blarney Castle, it was obvious that it was time to expand.

Richard O’Neill and Gordon Fields then came up with a plan for what was to become perhaps the first “Sports Bar” in Los Angeles – the Bull ‘n Bush. This was a place where athletes were well “taken care of” with free drinks – and they came in droves. Early on it was the kind of place with the old fashion telephone booths where the occasional “bookie” was rumored to hang out. It didn’t seem to bother the police who hung out there as well. If you wanted to come to the Bull ‘n Bush on Derby day or St. Patrick’s Day – good luck – it was packed like sardines.

The Bull ‘n Bush had everything going for it. Located at Kenmore and 6th, it was within a block or two of the Ambassador Hotel (Coconut Grove), the Brown Derby Hat, the Mona Lisa (a Musso and Frank's progeny) and even the Haig Jazz Club (where the likes of Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan would stop by the Bull ‘n Bush – often with a strange sort of smoky aroma not derived from cigarettes!). Once again – ample parking was a big asset for the place in a Los Angeles already packed with cars in the 50s. Other lavish restaurants like Ben Dimsdale’s Windsor were within a few blocks.

Mr. O’Neill even went in competition with himself in that area opening the HMS Bounty (which was purchased from Ben Dimsdale) in 1962, along with his now partner Gordon Fields. The Bounty, a posh clubby sort of place, also drew from the Ambassador and the Brown Derby. The Bounty still operates today, owned by Juan “Ramon” Castaneda and still co-owned by Mr. O’Neill. A plaque from the Bull ‘n Bush is readily seen inside the Bounty. Richard O’Neill at one point invested in a score of Tiny Naylor restaurants. At one point he owned or co-owned twenty nine places.

Richard O’Neill knew that quality sells. He used nothing but the most expensive cuts of meat purchased from the Santa Monica Meat Company. Their Prime Rib was to die for. The Bull ‘n Bush was an outstanding success for years and probably still would be today, but tastes change and a developer gave Mr. O’Neill a mega-offer for that chunk of prime mid-Wilshire property that no one could possibly refuse.

Richard O’Neill still owns several restaurants. One of the most famous of his current holdings is the El Adobe in San Juan Capistrano. Stepping in the El Adobe, you feel like you have returned to the old Mexican Mission days of Spanish elegance. The restaurant which dates from the forties was a big favorite of Richard Nixon who bragged about how good the food was there to a Russian Ambassador. Nixon’s favorite dish – now called “El Presidente” is still served there. And President Nixon and Mr. O’Neill were sort of the “odd couple” when they met at the El Abode – given Mr. O'Neill's long-term leadership of the Orange County Democratic Party.

Even if one would ignore Richard O’Neill’s many years of public service and good works, California would still owe him a great debt for all the happy times and great camaraderie his bars and restaurants provided in Los Angeles’s Golden Era. Sadly, this great man passed away on April 4, 2009. His memory and great achievements will certainly live on.

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