 "Photo: Shelby Swank | Chronicle photo")
If you’re wondering where you can buy tasty spaghetti sauce by the bucket you can go to The Mug.
For over 62 years, The Mug has been a living preservation of San Bernardino's rich history.
Tony Trozera, the restaurant's original owner since it first opened in 1948, says he has bigger plans for his business than just serving great food.
Located 10 minutes from campus on West Highland Avenue in San Bernardino, The Mug attracts a lot of older customers, families and students wanting a break from the typical fast food chains on University Parkway.
The business thrived, like many other great ideas, after a few failures.
First, Trozera had a fruit stand which didn’t sell too well and then he went around serving beer through a box.
Finally, it was Trozera’s mother who showed him the art of cooking.
“I think The Mug is a great family owned restaurant that serves delicious food," student Geoffrey Ball said. "The prices are reasonable, but the location could be better. It’s a place to just mellow out and have a good laugh.”
With competition from famous restaurants and their ten-page menus, Trozera has managed to keep his menu as simple as possible.
His menu includes steak, spaghetti, ravioli, pizza, beer and a variety of sandwiches.
The classiness of having a static menu can only relieve a customer when they see they don’t have to choose between 100 items.
“The menu has remained relatively the same. My mother taught me how to cook; she was an immigrant from Sicily,” Trozera said.
It’s hard to believe that a family business so deeply rooted in San Bernardino is still thriving, despite the current economic state. Sixty-two years and not once has the restaurant changed venues or shut down. The Mug also witnessed the great shifts in the city's economy, from post-World War II booms to the current decline.
“We maintain the old recipes my mother gave me as well as maintain the classy San Bernardino environment. We were here when San Bernardino was a real city,” Trozera said.
“Everybody used to go downtown and have a wonderful time. Beer was a nickel and cheese pizza was 95 cents. Crime was low and now it’s not that way anymore.”
The atmosphere of the restaurant can take a person my age back to the '90s. A person older than me can even be taken as far back as 1948 if they’d like.
The jukebox in the restaurant seems to have music from every decade after 1948 until the '90s. In other words, you could end up eating dinner while hearing an N’Sync song.
It’s a flashback of a meal!
Although the restaurant was once open seven days a week, they have to take days off to be at similar hours of nearby businesses to keep the crime rate low.
“I’m not too worried about my business going out like the rest of the family owned restaurants. We’re obviously doing something right to have stayed in the business this long,” Trozera said.
The entire restaurant gives off a heartwarming feeling. It has provided comfort for many customers.
CSUSB student Christy Dimagio has dined at The Mug since she was four.
“I feel welcome when I eat at The Mug," Dimagio said. "I get my usual plate of spaghetti with meat sauce and do my homework until the check comes. The owner always comes in to ask me how I am and gives me a free keychain.”
It seems that The Mug has won many hearts in San Bernardino.
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