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Magazine Article

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...

01 Jul

Posted at 03:40h in Magazine Article

Ambitious downtown Santa Ana building projects are only part of Michael Harrah’s story Called Santa Ana’s patron saint of the arts, Mike Harrah is more than his gruff exterior would suggest.  Opening the OC Pavilion Performing Arts Center in 2005 at a cost of $28 million, Harrah has transformed a former bank building into a state of the art music venue that’s showcased such talent as Kenny G, Earth Wind and Fire, and Leann Rimes.  Just above the music venue is Ambrosia, a fine dining restaurant the was first opened in the late 1960s on Balboa Peninsula. While Harrah has worked to make downtown Santa Ana arts and entertainment friendly, perhaps his most “saintly” act was his 5-month restoration of a vacant building in order for the Orange County High School of the Arts to keep its charter and open on time.  Since the OCHSA’s move from its Los Alamitos location to downtown Santa Ana, Harrah has given the school $1.8 million of his own money and renovated the adjoining building, a former Christian Science church, into a 206-seat performance hall.  Harrah is a self-proclaimed “ultimate-risk taker” and the largest tenant improvement contractor in Orange County, but he says it’s never been about the money.  He enjoys knowing that he’ll be able to look back and see he gave back to...

01 Jun

Posted at 03:41h in Magazine Article

Blessing & Celebration Mark the Start of Construction The highly regarded Hawaiian reverend, Kahu Kaleo Patterson, offered a traditional Hawaii blessing at the May groundbreaking ceremony of The Pinnacle Honolulu.  The Pinnacle has been featured on KHON-TV, Hawaii’s top rated television station and the nation’s highest rate Fox affiliate.  Veteran reporter Leslie Wilcox began with the phrase, “Walk to work” and proceeded to describe the prime location and luxury that supersedes other nearby condominium developments.  Instead of “squeezing out more units,” developer Mike Harrah chose to build only 39 spacious and executive units.  Harrah described his work, “My plan and my scope of work that I’ve built in the past is high-end luxury.  So in this case, we’re not looking to have a bunch of small pigeon-hole type condominiums.”   The Pinnacle promises to be a spectacular transformation of an empty parking lot into a skyline jewel....

01 Jun

Posted at 03:28h in Magazine Article

The sweet taste of downtown Santa Ana’s comeback begins with Ambrosia According to Dining Out magazine, “Before its recent facelift, downtown Santa Ana would not have conjured any associations with ambrosia, the mythical food of the deities purported to render immortality to those who consumed it. These days, the nectar of the gods and the rebirth of downtown Santa Ana go hand in hand.” This article charts the history of the restaurant Ambrosia, beginning with its 1970’s incarnation of the Balboa Peninsula.  Now, Mike Harrah has reopened the restaurant in downtown Santa Ana as part of his OC Pavilion Performing Arts Theater.  Since its humble beginnings in a beach cottage, Ambrosia has come a long way.  Today, guests are treated to a magnificent dining venue run by Executive Chef Jean Marie Josselin, owner of restaurant 808 in Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.  Flawless team service, live jazz and art reminiscent of the art deco era all serve to enhance the extraordinary dining experience.  Ambrosia respects the fine-dining philosophy if a past era and provides cuisine worthy of any five-star palate. Read More in the Summer 2006 Dining Out Magazine...