Longhorn Bar & Grill (1968-2025) was a longtime “informal outpost” with a cowboy theme (think John “The Duke” Wayne), established by Gilbert Albert Ambrose (1925-2016) and his wife Clara Edna Crosswhite Ambrose (1924-2011).
After serving as Sgt in the Marine Corps, Gil Ambrose worked for the Litchfield Farm House House chain of restaurants in Connecticut and Florida. The family settled in National City with his family, selling insurance, then working as assistant manager for Litchfield Farmhouse and as manager of Mr Jason’s Smorgasbord in Chula Vista. Clara worked as assistant manager of the Thrifty Drugstore Chula Vista. Ambrose loved Westerns, even writing and directing a play, Calamity at Langtry, for the Harborside Players at their local PTA. In 1967, the opportunity arose for them to open a business in the brand-new Mission Gorge Shopping Center, next to the Thrifty Drug (now The Mart). Who remembers grabbing a cone of Thrifty Ice Cream? It was the perfect spot. The $1 million business center was designed by Tucker, Sadler, & Bennett in a “Spanish-California motif throughout,” built with “concrete, slump block and heavy, textured plaster with exposed wood beams for exterior trim.”
The original liquor license was owned by J Douglas Thompson and Isodoro “Ted” Matranga (La Mesa Bowl, Lyman’s), nephew of “Big Frank” Matranga, who was linked to an extortion scheme of bribing California Alcohol Board of Control (ABC) officials and a judge for favorable licensing of their properties. The Ambroses likely negotiated with the Matrangas for the license, as many others in San Diego County resorted. In the 1950s and ’60s, it was reported that the allegedly mob-connected Matrangas wanted a piece of every bar business they could acquire. But the elder Matrangas were on the ABC’s shitlist, who denied their license applications regularly, as it would be “contrary to public welfare and morals.” So they worked with legitimate businesspeople as “fronts.”
Sidenote: Several unaffiliated businesses, the Longhorn Cafe in Calexico closed in 1962, and the Longhorn Cafe and Bar in Ramona, CA, closed in 1965. Also in 1967, the Longhorn Bar in San Ysidro suffered a fire of unknown origin and eventually burned down in 1976.
Over the years, the Longhorn in Grantville became known as a comfortable neighborhood “watering hole,” operated by son John and the Ambrose family. The Longhorn was sold to new owners Matt Guilbert (Bottle Rocket, Regal Beagle, Sidecar), Jesse Melton (Sidecar, Bottle Rocket), Garrett Haislip, and Logan Henry in 2023. As of April 2025, the John Wayne tribute bar is closed, undergoing a remodel and rebranding as “The Duke Cocktails and Grub” with less Duke and a more modern interior. Currently closed [April 2025].
Craft beer on tap, “The Duke” burger, seared steaks, American pub grub, and the perfect place for a hearty breakfast after a hike at nearby Mission Trails Park.
Longhorn Bar and Grill interior.Photo, San Diego Reader.
Grantville
The Duke Cocktails and Grub (~2025)
Longhorn Bar & Grill (1968-2025, Gilbert Ambrose family)
Mission Gorge Center
6519 Mission Gorge Road
San Diego CA 92120
San Ysidro
Longhorn Bar (1968-1976)
99 East SAn Ysidro Blvd
San Ysidro, CA
Ramona
Longhorn Bar Cafe and Bar (closed 1965)
Ramona, CA
Calexico
Longhorn Cafe (1957-1962, Elvira and Alejandro “Alex” Fernandez)
340 Rockwood Avenue
Calexico, CA 92231
Notes
Citation: Martin S. Lindsay. ‘The Longhorn Bar and Grill.’ Classic San Diego: tasty bites from the history of America’s finest city. Web. < https://classicsandiego.com/longhorn-bar-and-grill/ >