A car turns into the parking lot of a mock Tudor building in Buellton. For a hundred years, this has been the home of Pea Soup Andersen’s. An unlikely star, perhaps, but their split pea soup became an institution, not least thanks to multiple marketing boards along the 101 Freeway steering drivers to exit and try the split pea soup at the Central Coast restaurant.
John Harris gets out of his car but is disappointed to see a sign saying the restaurant has closed.
"Tragic," said Harris. "Well, I hope they preserve the building. I hope they don't tear it down and turn it into, like, a mega McDonald's or something."
Like many of their customers, Harris is taking a break from a drive on the 101 Freeway.
"We're from Los Angeles—Culver City—and I'm taking my son up to look at colleges. And so we're on our way. I thought I'd get some pea soup. My son was like, 'I don't know if I want pea soup'. He's going to get something not as good," said Harris.
The original restaurant opened in 1924, the same year the first Winter Olympics were held (in Chamonix in France), MGM Pictures was founded, and J Edgar Hoover was appointed as head of the FBI. It was family owned by Anton and Juliette Andersen, but since 1999 has been owned by Milt Gugglia.
Lisa Silver is another disappointed customer – she came by to see if the rumors about the closure were true.
"I've been here before and I was staying in the area and heard the news and thought maybe I could get one last cup and it's already closed. It's really disappointing. It hit 100 years old and now it's gone. This is where everybody comes when they come to Buellton and Solvang and now it's no more," said Silver.
The quiet closure has surprised many, like Silver, with the current owners telling KCLU that the site is set for redevelopment. However, the 35,000 square-foot property was listed for sale as long ago as August 2020.
The adjacent Pea Soup Andersen Inn is independently owned. Terry Nielsen, the hotel’s manager, told KCLU that they are very much still open for business.
"We are not the same company, but they do assume we are the same company," explained Nielsen.
"People feel the hotel's closed. I just want people to know that we are open and viable and accepting guests and greeting people," she said.
There is a second location of Andersen's Pea Soup Restaurant on Interstate 5 in Santa Nella, if you’re willing to make the 240 mile drive from Buellton.
