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Author: masterleader

23 Jan

Posted at 10:23h in Developer

Mike grew up in middle class Whittier and like most California kids in the early sixties loved surfing, playing music (drums) racing cars, motorcycles and boats.  In 1969, just after high school he had enough money saved up to buy a one way (Standby) ticket to Hawaii, traveling with only with a duffel bag and his surfboard he was going to surf for the rest of his life. Big Mike soon realized his workaholic personality just didn’t fit the Surfer dude lifestyle and soon came back.  He started a framing company in the early seventies called Harrah Construction Company, starting with a 10,000 sq. ft. house he built with a helper on weekends and evenings after working as a framing contractor on other jobs. Never afraid to get his hands dirty he is in the mix on every endeavor, even today.   From one custom house to One Broadway Plaza Big Mike builds anything.  In fact Big Mike is now constructing the tallest superstructure in the history of Orange County in Santa Ana, California. His passion for racing, boats, cars, speed ski racing and riding motorcycles has also grown through the years. A professional S.A.G. (Screen Actors Guild) card holder since 1997 as a major motion picture Helicopter stunt pilot and a dare devil sports man who drives alcohol fueled dragsters,...

23 Jun

Posted at 10:27h in Recognitions

Profiles of the County’s Most Influential Business People Mr. Big in county’s biggest city Mike Harrah’s 2009 profile in the Orange County Business Journal highlights some of Harrah’s latest accomplishments. Namely, he owns close to 80 buildings, about 4 million square feet in Santa Ana’s downtown.   Harrah has played a key role in revitalizing Santa Ana through restoring buildings, attracting restaurants, art galleries and others.  His One Broadway Plaza project won voter approval in 2005 and is required by city to have 50% of the footage leased before beginning construction.   In the last year he finished the multi-million dollar Pinnacle Hawaii condo building which is sold out.  In the past decade, Harrah has redeveloped much of central Santa Ana and has been called the city’s savior for restoring old buildings.  Honored by the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society in 2003, Michael Harrah was named Preservationist of the Year.  His company, Caribou Industries, does an estimated $30 million in annual revenue and Mike’s office, complete with a stuffed bear in the corner, overlooks the One Broadway Plaza site.  Harrah is notoriously distinguishable from the rest of the local real estate elite.  Standing at 6’6 and sporting a ZZ Top beard, Harrah looks the part of his other hobbies—helicopter piloting and jazz drumming, but he managed to direct the construction of the Orange County...

23 Apr

Posted at 10:28h in Developer

From Ruins to Restaurant “When Big Mike Harrah, the largest tenant improvement contractor in Orange County, California, spotted what was left of the United Auto Building in Santa Ana, California, he wasn’t repulsed, he was enthused.” Don Weberg of Garage Style Magazine profiles Mike Harrah’s transformation of the first car dealership in Orange County to Original Mike’s Restaurant.  Located at First and Main in the heart of downtown Santa Ana, Original Mike’s is part restaurant, part auto museum and part history.  Given the “Best Restaurant and Bar” award by Dining Out magazine in 2006 and 2007, Original Mike’s offers a variety of dishes from large, juicy burgers to fish plates and steaks prepared exactly as prescribed by the customer. Tables and booths are intermingled between vehicles ranging from historic Harley Davidson motorcycles, to Santa Ana’s first fire engine (built in 1919) to the only Murphy-Bodied 1929 Packard Touring Sedan ever built, ordered originally by the President of Mexico.  The building’s historic character was kept intact by Mike’s construction crews who preserved the leaded glass windows, wood beam ceilings and octagonal tile floor.  Myriads of photos of both Santa Ana and the building, circa 1890- 1933 grace the walls. Original Mike’s slogan is, “good cookin,’ good eatin,’ and good livin’” and it’s clear the restaurant lives up to it. Read More in the...

27 Feb

Posted at 03:43h in Magazine Article

Originally budgeted at $5 million, the OC Pavilion has been finished with a price tag of $22 million.  Owner and developer, Michael Harrah, designed the theater with himself in mind, hence the $3.5 million sound system and the private dining room with an antique Steinway piano.  While it’s easy to trace Harrah’s passion for music to his passion for building a premier music venue, Harrah has greater motivation.  “It’s part of my master plan to redevelop downtown Santa Ana.” Harrah has said.  As he looks to draw tenants to his planned office tower at One Broadway Plaza, Harrah realizes that amenities like restaurants, entertainment venues and even the Orange County High School of the Arts which he helped remodel.  Just like a 57 T-Bird, Harrah has tinkered with every aspect of the OC Pavilion, turning what was originally planned to be a modest office building into one of the county’s finest entertainment venues....

01 Mar

Posted at 03:18h in Magazine Article

Whether building hot rods or high rises, Mike Harrah only knows how to go full throttle In a profile for Velocity, a magazine targeted at car enthusiasts in Orange County, Mike Harrah shared stories of his favorite car acquisitions. There was his first car, a 1956 Chevy Nomad he bought at age 14 and restored from the ground up—taking it from an immovable heap filled with acorns and sporting four flat tires to a loved machine he drove for nine years.  Harrah also remembered the time he was cited by the DMV with a $1,200 fine for selling cars without a dealer’s license.  He was 17-years-old and would buy decrepit, perform basic maintenance and turn them around for a profit.  Even in those early years, it was clear that Mike didn’t just love working with his hands, he also knew how to turn that drive into a successful business. Writer Patrick C. Paternie aptly describes, “Developer Mike Harrah lives the lifestyle of a highflying, high horsepower renaissance man. He’s equally at home sitting on drums for ZZ Top, the driver’s seat of his 3000 HP, 632 cubic inch Chevy Dragster, the head table at his award winning Ambrosia restaurant, or the pilot’s chair of his Gulfstream G IV business jet. “Mike’s personal garage has come a long way from that Chevy...

01 Jun

Posted at 03:22h in Magazine Article

Owner Mike Harrah has always defied convention but his unique vision for Original Mike’s continues to solidify Santa Ana’s place on the dining map.  First a Packard dealership then an empty and condemned building, Harrah has restored this architectural gem and transformed it into a restaurant that brings to mind the all-American den of a rich uncle.  Harley Davidson motorcycles hang from the ceiling. Big fireplaces, two antique bars, satellite sports feeds and all sorts of eclectic surprises greet customers.  The whimsical décor gives Original Mikes an all ages feel and the scheduled entertainment which ranges from classic car nights to karaoke to Latin-infused dance music attracts everyone from three-year-old kids to 90-year-old grandmothers.   One of the restaurant’s chief goals is to inspire people to have fun and this is lived out in Original Mike’s slogan, “Good cookin,’ good eatin,’ and good livin.’” Read More in the Summer 2007 Dining Out Magazine...

01 May

Posted at 03:24h in Magazine Article

Mike Harrah is a daredevil and a developer. Sometimes, he is both at once. Now, he wants to make a lasting mark in Hawaii Mike Harrah can’t help but make a big impression.  He’s 6’6, 300 pounds and, as numerous writers including this article’s Scott Radway have noticed, he looks like “an oversize, high energy member of ZZ Top.”  At the time of publication, Harrah was looking to make a big impression once again, this time on the Honolulu skyline.  The Pinnacle Honolulu is a 36-story luxury condominium tower located at 1199 Bishop Street.  With only one to two units per floor and a penthouse suite taking up the top two stories, prices started at $800,000 and quickly sold.  In this article, Harrah was quoted as saying, “At the end of the day, I want everyone to take a look back and say, ‘That is a Mike Harrah project.’ It is superiorly built, it’s a great value, and it is a one-of-a-kind landmark.’”   The Pinnacle project wasn’t Harrah’s first foray into Hawaii—right after his high school graduation he and a buddy bought one-way tickets to Hawaii, planning on living the penultimate beach bum lifestyle.  Six months of picking pineapples for 67-cents an hour and he scraped together the money to fly stand-by home.  Harrah built a successful career as a real...

27 Jan

Posted at 03:26h in Magazine Article

He was penniless when he first resolved to buy a jet. Not anymore. Thirty five years after launching his career with nothing but competitive zeal and a carpenter’s tool kit, Michael Harrah is the sole owner of Caribou Industries, a major development corporation which has built and managed restaurants, high-rise offices, hotels, golf courses, shopping malls, convention centers and other properties across the western United States. Harrah’s interest in aviation began in 1976 when he saw a simple, “Learn to Fly--$25” ad, took an introductory flight and was hooked. He worked his way up from a Cessna 310 to a 421B, buying and flying a number of planes along the way, all in the course of a couple months.   He now owns a Gulfstream IV and five helicopters, including a Cobra combat helicopter he’s flown in a number of blockbuster Hollywood films.  While Harrah loves flying, he also sees how owning a jet and helicopters makes a statement.  In this interview, he tells a story of flying to San Francisco, picking up his loan officer and flying to Lake Havasu where he had a helicopter parked.  They transferred to the helicopter and Harrah flew across the river where the pair had a great dinner in Harrah’s restaurant. He says, “I had a loan commitment for $13 million that same night. I...

14 Sep

Posted at 03:35h in Magazine Article

The re-creation of an Orange County classic in downtown Santa Ana OC Metro dining critic, Patrick Mott, calls Ambrosia “unapologetically sumptuous.”  Mike Harrah has reopened Ambrosia, the fine dining restaurant which locals remember from its heyday on the Balboa Peninsula, and spared no expense.   Located above Harrah’s $21-million OC Pavilion, Ambrosia is upscale, old school fine dining.  This article details just a few of the menu’s offerings and raves about the perfectly balanced Bibb lettuce salad, succulent filet mignon and French vanilla bean ice cream topped with strawberry slices, caramelized pear and a red wine and prune reduction sauce.  Ambrosia is located at 801 N. Main St. in downtown Santa Ana and is led by Chef Jean Marie Josselin, owner of 808 restaurant at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Read More in the September 14, 2006 issue of OC Metro...

14 Sep

Posted at 03:30h in Magazine Article

How visionary developer Michael Harrah rescued Orange County’s biggest city from urban blight This article tracks Mike Harrah’s involvement with development in Santa Ana, starting with his first real estate deal in the early 1990’s, a midrise at the corner of Main and 17th street.  While Harrah was excited to finally be involved in Santa Ana real estate, he didn’t realize that a mass exodus from the county seat was quietly underway.  While other tenants considered moving to nearby Irvine, Harrah worked fast.  He plunged into the developing economic disaster scene, buying up bank foreclosures, renovating them then filling them with government tenants by offering lower rents than their current contracts. Once he was on solid footing with his office tenants, Harrah set to work renovating some of the best historical buildings downtown.  He transformed the Santa Ana Masonic Temple, built in 1930, into the Santa Ana Performing Arts and Event Center and renovated the white marble-clad Bank of America building into the OC Pavilion, another performing arts venue that includes a new version of Ambrosia, a gourmet restaurant with a long lineage in Orange County.   In downtown Santa Ana, Harrah has been able to combine his love for jazz drumming and the arts with his commitment to architectural redevelopment.  Harrah has created a cultural environment ready for the next level...