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The iconic diner Watson's Soda Fountain and Cafe that is located in Orange will be closing its doors after more than a century. Watson's first opened in 1899 as a drugstore where it later becoming a soda fountain that was featured in movies such as "That Thing You Do!" and "The Benchwarmers." Starting next month, new ownership will begin and turn Watson's into a Mexican restaurant. Operations manager Abel Rullier said,
"There's going to be a lot of sadness and resentment because this place has been a part of people's lives as far back as we can remember. Depending on your age, you, your parents, your grandparents, maybe even your great-grandparents, always knew of the Watson's here. It was our hope to elevate this into something more modern, keeping the old school, classic soda shop feel, updating the menu. We gave them a bar, we wanted to elevate this place, but also staying true to the tradition to what this place is and what it's founded on and that's what we tried to do. We understand that the community hadn't always liked the changes we did to Watson's, and they spoke out by not supporting us at times. We completely understand that and unfortunately, we made some mistakes along the way too, but it was always our intention to do this place justice. We felt the effects just like everybody else did. But unfortunately, we don't have the deep pockets. We're not a corporation and don't have 10, 15, 20, 30 other restaurants that we can lean back on for financial support.. So, in the end it really crippled us."
Watson's will become Hector's on the Circle next month.
Photo Credit: Getty Images