As much as the founder of the San Bernardino-based Juan Pollo restaurant chain valued being the self-described “chicken man,” he appeared equally passionate about nostalgia.
In a nod to the McDonald’s hamburger franchise serving as an inspiration to his career, Albert Okura built a McDonald’s museum on the site of its original restaurant in San Bernardino in 1998. In 2005, Okura dreamed bigger, purchasing the abandoned mining town of Amboy on Route 66 in the San Bernardino County desert for $425,000 with hopes of restoring it.