Another Rally Stop

Thought you might like to read about another one of our stops. The first stop from the north for raffle tickets will be Pea Soup Andersen's in Buellton.

Buellton is the "Gateway to the Santa Ynez Valley," feeding traffic north, south, east and west. The Central Coast is now famous for many reasons and Pea Soup Andersen's remains at the top of the list.

In the early 1960's Highway 101 was moved to its present location. The former highway, now named the Avenue of the Flags remains the main street of Buellton. It has been converted into an attractive parkway featuring a proud row of American flags and is host to many community events, car shows and parades. Pea Soup Andersen's remains an integral part of the community as a central meeting place for the Santa Ynez Valley and the Tri-Counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. It is approximately a two hour drive from Los Angeles.

The story of why Pea Soup Andersen's is so fondly remembered, by millions who visit from all parts of the world, begins with the story Anton and Juliette Andersen and their family restaurant.

It all began Friday, June 13th, 1924, when Anton Andersen, born in Denmark purchased a piece of the Golden State. The land, originally a Spanish Land Grant, was purchased by the Buell brothers in 1865. R.T. Buell turned the land into a prosperous horse and cattle ranch and dairy farm, named Rancho San Carlos de Jonata. The area of Buellton began to change rapidly after the turn of the century. By 1911 Danish settlers were pouring into the area starting farms and businesses. When the highway was diverted through Buellton in 1924 and electricity was brought to the valley, it seemed the right time to for Anton and Juliette Andersen make their move. 

They purchased a small parcel of land and building from William Budd and opened a tiny restaurant and named it "Andersen's Electric Cafe," in honor of their prized possession, a new electric stove. Anton and Juliette began their new venture by serving simple, wholesome everyday foods: hot cakes and coffee, ice cream sodas and such, to highway travelers. Their first customers were the salesmen, tourists and truck drivers who drove the main highway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Anton, who was trained in exclusive restaurants in Europe and New York, put his tuxedo in mothballs and donned a bib apron, soon to become his personal trademark. Juliette was a gracious woman, warm and friendly to all those around her. She was from the east of France and an expert cook, so she prepared many of the recipes she had brought with her; the most popular with the customers was her split pea soup. Many of her special dishes now appear on the large Andersen's menu, and still the most popular of all and the one which finally changed the name of the restaurant is Juliette's split pea soup!

With the demand for their split pea soup increasing steadily, the Andersen's soon had to locate large suppliers of peas far from their area. Just three years after the first bowl was served, they were amazed to realize they needed to order ONE TON of peas! When Anton faced the problem of what to do with one ton of peas, he solved it by putting them in the window, proclaiming the restaurant, "The Home of Split Pea Soup," the slogan it carries to this day.

Their son, Robert, returned to the family business after graduating from Stanford in the 1930's. Robert established the billboards for which the restaurant became known. In the early thirties a cartoon appeared in the old "Judge" magazine. It was one of a series by the famous cartoonist Forbell, under the heading of "Little Known Occupations." The cartoon showed the little known occupation of splitting peas for pea soup, with two comic chefs standing at a chopping table, one holding a huge chisel, splitting peas singly as they came down a chute. Robert Andersen obtained permission to use the idea for advertising.

During World War II, the restaurant closed to the public. The hotel rooms were used to house military personnel stationed locally and meals were served to servicemen and their families. Robert also purchased a small building across the street from the hotel and converted it to a canteen. The canteen was operated by the American Women's Voluntary Services (A.W.V.S.), patterned after a program begun in England. The local Valley residents took turns providing meals for the servicemen on weekends.

After the war, Pea Soup Andersen's re-opened with a flourish. Robert commissioned Disney-trained artist Milt Neil to re-draw the two cartoon chefs to use for promotion and they became the Pea Soup Andersen's trademark. The big fellow (Hap-Pea) is shown having all the fun and the easy side of the work, as the little one (Pea-Wee) holds the chisel, looking sad and a bit frightened, always in danger of the big mallet. A contest was held and from thousands of entries the names Hap-pea and Pea-Wee were chosen.

In 1947, the new coast highway was rerouted through the center of the growing town of Buellton. In the same year the name of the restaurant was changed to "Pea Soup Andersen's", the name that remains to the present. At the same time Buellton was nicknamed "The Home of Split Pea Soup", an honor Andersen's is still proud of today.

Robert "Pea-Soup" Andersen decided he needed a break from the high paced family business and in April of 1965 sold the Buellton restaurant to Vince Evans. Pea Soup Andersen’s thrived under Evans' hand. By then the restaurant was purchasing 50 tons of peas each year, enough for three-quarters of a million bowls of soup! He built an aviary, he installed a train for children to ride that went from the restaurant to the area where the motel now stands, and even had a miniature wild animal park for two years. The park was discontinued in 1970 to make way for the addition of a Danish style motel in 1970. In 1979, Vince purchased an English Pub that had stood for over 100 years at the Liverpool railway station in London. The Pub was reconstructed in Buellton and is now used as a private dining room. He also expanded the Pea Soup Andersen's empire and opened the Santa Nella Location in 1976.  Unfortunately he, his wife, and daughter died in an airplane crash in 1980.After the Evans’ death, ownership change had several times.

 

For the first time in many years the two remaining locations are again under the same ownership. Milt Guggia, a Central Coast restaurateur, purchased Pea Soup Andersen's Buellton in 1999 and Pea Soup Andersen's Santa Nella in 2007. He remembered coming to Pea Soup Andersen's as a child with his grandparents and wanted to continue the tradition for future generations.

So, if you can make the rally be sure and stop by Pea Soup Andersen's! Great food, wonderful pastries and of course, Split Pea Soup just like Juliette used to make it!

Scroll on down to purchase tickets for the Rally, and remember not only will you have a wonderful time in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, you'll be helping the wonderful athletes of Special Olympics!