By Kailyn Huynh
After 39 years of business, the Silky Sullivan’s Restaurant & Irish Pub will close its doors to allow for the construction of a five-story apartment complex.
This highly-beloved—even considered iconic by some—restaurant is home to the Fountain Valley community. It is a place of reunion for Fountain Valley High School alumni, of celebration and life.
“[Silky’s is] one place that people can always come to,” owner Bill Madden said.
Many are upset with the news of the demolition, some even taking to city hall in protest.
Although several speakers expressed their concerns that this project will lead to the urbanization of Fountain Valley, with the expansion of taller, more metropolitan buildings, the Fountain Valley City Council approved the construction of the mixed-use housing development in a 3-2 vote.
This new building will contribute to alleviating the housing needs in Fountain Valley, but in turn it will take away the treasured Silky Sullivan’s.
Yet, this is not the end for the Silky’s. Madden plans to relocate just about 100 feet away, in a vacant building across San Mateo Street.
“[It is] a chance to do something nice,” Madden said. “Put a positive spin on it.”
He even commented on how the new location is going to have a lot better parking.
“It’s kind of bitter-sweet,” Madden said.
Before the Silky Sullivan’s, a United States postal service took up the plot, but it eventually closed down in 1982 and relocated to its current location on Newhope street.
Madden, who was looking for an Orange County location at the time, saw the area up for rent while attending a wedding nearby. He saw the perfect opportunity to build this restaurant, with the high-density housing in Fountain Valley and lots of businesses close-by.
Now, this building which Madden and a few others had built up with their own hands is soon to be gone.
But as he said, “[Silky’s is] not a place, it’s a feeling.”
