Tudor House under new management

By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer

 

Lake Arrowhead’s premier dining and entertainment center, the Tudor House, is under new management and primed for a summer season of fine dinners, musical entertainment, dinner theater, gaming and much more. Ken Williams from San Marzano in Crestline has signed a six-month contract to manage the Tudor House, with the intention to purchase it in the future.

“Jennifer and I are thrilled to be able to expand upon John Connor’s vision of making the Tudor House the best dining and entertainment venue on the mountain. I am happy to announce that Amber Crubaugh, owner of several mountain restaurants, will be directing the food service that will offer dinner fare into the late hours,” stated Williams.

The new food and entertainment managers are taking over from Connor, who has been running the Tudor House for over 10 years. The turnover in management occurred last weekend; with that, a new weekly schedule of summer activities will be occurring, including dinner theater, music and nightly dining, Thursday through Saturday, from 5 p.m. until midnight. It is planned to bring back the popular Sunday morning champagne brunch buffets, beginning next month, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with mimosas and sangria.

The weekend of activities begins on Wednesdays with a farmers market and artisan fair on the outdoor patio. Bugsy’s Bar, inside the Tudor House, will be fully open during the Wednesday events. Bugsy’s Bar has been newly restocked and will now be open from 3 p.m. to midnight and all hours the restaurant or other parts of the facility are open. The bar will serve fine craft, local and domestic brews, as well as a full bar of liquors and mixed drinks.

They are revamping and modernizing the kitchen and will be offering a fine new menu of delicious food dishes, designed by Crubaugh. “The Tudor House will once again become a fine dining venue,” Williams said. They are already accepting dinner reservations at a new phone number, (951) 977-5290.

On Thursdays through Saturdays, the bar will open at 3 p.m. and the restaurant will open for dining beginning at 5 p.m. and will be serving food late, until midnight. “We will be open late, since no other location serves meals late in the local area,” Williams said. “At San Marzano, we used to serve burgers late and discovered many people on the mountain are seeking to eat later than 8 p.m.”

The number of events previously scheduled for this summer was at 12, but now the number of entertainment events has mushroomed to 30, so far, and they anticipate more to book soon.

The Tudor House will be family friendly. Something new to be added is a video game room, which will house 35 “retro” arcade and pinball games in the “green room” area behind the Tudor House stage. The games are currently being moved into the building. Children will be able to play games while their parents are enjoying their meals. The video games are free to play for customers.

The Tudor House is a historic mountain location, built by the Atkins Development Company, beginning about 95 years ago. “When I got this building,” Connor said, “it took three years to do the upgrades necessary just to get it open to the public again. I always hoped to get a children’s playground built for this isolated residential area. Maybe with this extra time I may have, by not being the one responsible for everything, I could finally get one open this summer, but I hope to travel first.”

“We intend to keep the integrity of this historic building while creating a food and entertainment experience that everyone will want to enjoy at the Tudor House,” said Williams, adding, “We do plan to add karaoke nights, too.

“The lease is officially for six months, so John can go on vacation,” said Williams. Connor, who owns the Tudor House, has decided to finally take the long-needed vacation that he has been desiring, with plans to visit his family, especially his elderly mother, and, hopefully, to fulfill his dream of finding time to get to Paris to paint.

“My father always told me, as I was growing up, that no matter what, if after five years you may no longer be a part of the solution, but maybe now a part of the problem, so I’m moving on,” Connor said. “I believe that life is better when you are helping others and, at times, I’ve been so busy doing that, I didn’t have the time I needed to get the Tudor House where it should be.” Connor told the story of how Emmy-winning set designer Rene Lagler designed the raised stage area, reimagined from the old bar that had been in that part of the building, sketching it out on a napkin and then assisted in supervising its construction. That stage has been a major part of the dramatic upturn in theater productions in the mountain communities in the last decade.

“I opened the Tudor house in 2013,” Connor said, “and I am looking forward to a long vacation and seeing my mother, while the Tudor House continues to move forward.”

The entertainment will include bands, Heisler Theater performances, Rachel Murray musical shows, karaoke nights, possible pinball tournaments, wrestling shows and more. The new website to keep updated is now being established.

The first big scheduled event is on Saturday, June 21 with the Mountain Brewfest and Brawl. Last month, the “Brawling Brews Fest” was held at Lake Gregory and, even though it was snowing, over 100 people arrived and enjoyed a great afternoon of entertainment. This month at the Tudor House, everyone is invited to witness a “Brawl in the Hall.” They’ve invited all mountain residents to step up to Arrowhead Villas for “a night of wrestling, chilling thrills and craft beer madness.” The Brawl in the Hall is going to be more than just a wrestling event; it will be a full-on spectacle “featuring live wrestling, a beer festival and appearances by mountain wrestling’s legendary announcer, Gold Rush.”

The Tudor House is located at 800 Arrowhead Villa Road in Lake Arrowhead, just off Highway 18.

Williams will also soon be cleaning up and reopening the Bracken Fern Manor, across the street from the Tudor House, as a full-service hotel. They hope to open a small museum at the Bracken Fern on the history of the Arrowhead Villas area, which already has received an E. Clampus Vitus historical marker recognizing its historical significance.