In 1928 the Ekegren family opened a twenty-seat diner along US Highway 101 and named it the “101 Cafe.” It is the small dining room where the counters are now. The north dining room was added in the mid-1930s. The Greyhound bus made a stop in front until the 1940s when a station was built downtown. The 101 Highway was the main road to bring people from the Los Angeles area to San Diego. In 1942 the Navy Department purchased Rancho Santa Margarita y Los Flores for use as a Marine Corps Base for our World War II effort.