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Mel's Drive-In

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For the restaurant featured in the TV showAlice,seeMel's Diner.
Mel's Drive-In
Restaurantinformation
CountryUnited States
Websitemelsdrive-in
Mel's Drive-In neon sign, Los Angeles, CA

Mel's Drive-Inis a term referring to two American restaurant chains, the successors of a chain founded in 1947 by Mel Weiss andHarold DobbsinSan Francisco, California.It is closely associated with the filmAmerican Graffiti.

History

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The first Mel's Drive-In was founded in 1947 by Mel Weiss andHarold DobbsinSan Francisco, California.It later expanded to several other locations.

After the last of the original restaurants closed in the 1970s, Weiss's son Steven Weiss and partner Donald Wagstaff opened the first of a new generation of Mel's Drive-In restaurants in 1985.[1]As of 2020, there are seven Mel's drive-in locations in Northern and Southern California and one Mel's Kitchen.

Some Mel's Drive-In locations are not drive-ins but rather diners. For example, while founded in San Francisco, none of the locations in the city currently serve food to patrons’ cars.

Mel's Drive-In in the historic Max Factor Building inHollywood

The signage and menus on the original Mel's Diners did not have a possessive apostrophe in the name, as would be expected. However, when Universal Studios recreated the diners at their theme parks inHollywood,Orlando,Japan,Beijing,andSingapore,they opted to include the apostrophe in all Mel's Drive-In signage, literature, and media.

One location near downtown San Francisco, rechristened Mel's Kitchen, has gone upscale, serving $12 cocktails, $16 burgers with locally sourced beef, ahi poke, acai smoothies, and avocado toast.[2][3][4][5]That site was almost demolished to build housing.[6]

Original Mels

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There are several Mel's in Northern California that share the same generalAmerican Graffitinostalgia theme and the similarly styled Mel's logo. These restaurants are called “Original Mels”. Their locations are not listed on the official Mel's Drive-In website, but they have their own website, although an article from theSacramento Business Journalshows that they are related. A family rift caused the Weisses to part ways and form two chains. The elder Weiss sold his company to Larry Spergel in 1994, who formed a group of about 50 stockholders that now owns the chain.[7]

Southern California locations

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The Original Mels - 2009

All four Mel's Drive-In locations in Southern California are housed in historic buildings. Mel's Drive-In at 14846 Ventura Blvd in theSherman Oaksneighborhood ofLos Angeleswas built as Kerry's coffee shop in 1953. Thegoogiestyle building was designed byArmet & Davis.Mel's Drive-In at 8585 Sunset Blvd inWest Hollywoodwas built asBen Frank'sin 1962. Thegoogiestyle building was designed by Lane & Schlick. Mel's Drive-In at 1660 N. Highland Ave inHollywoodis located in a portion of the formerMax Factor makeup studio.TheHollywood Regencystyle building was designed byS. Charles Leeand built in 1935. The Mel's Drive-In at 1670 Lincoln Blvd inSanta Monicawas built as The Penguin in 1958. Thegoogiestyle building was designed byArmet & Davis.[8][9][10][11]

Protest

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Interior of an Original Mels Diner

In October 1963, the Mel's Drive-In chain was picketed and subjected to a sit-in by the Ad Hoc Committee to End Discrimination over the fact that while the restaurant would serve food toAfrican Americansand hired them as cooks, they were not allowed to work “up front” where they could be seen by white customers. More than 100 protesters were arrested. The picketing ended when Harold Dobbs, a San Francisco City supervisor who had run for mayor and lost, settled with the protesters and began to allow black workers upfront.[12]

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Mel’s at Universal Studios Singapore

In 1972, the restaurant was selected as a feature location byGeorge Lucasfor his1973filmAmerican Graffiti.The Mel's used was located at 140 South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.[13]It serves as the setting for the opening scene of the film as well as the backdrop for the opening credits, accompanied on the soundtrack byBill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock”.

The prominent play given to the location has been credited with having saved the company from possibly going out of business.[citation needed]Signage and artwork from the Mel's chain are frequently used in marketing for the film.

Universal Studiosbuilt a replica of Mel's Drive-In on its lot, pursuant to the restaurant being used inAmerican Graffiti– this amusement attraction also served as a gift shop for years.

Prior toAmerican Graffiti,Mel's was used as a location in the 1967 filmGuess Who's Coming to Dinner.Spencer TracyandKatharine Hepburnare out for a drive, and Tracy pulls into Mel's and orders Oregon boysenberry ice cream; he then has a minor traffic altercation with a black man. The Mel's was located in the Excelsior district of San Francisco. Hepburn and Tracy never actually visited the location.

Mel's restaurants have since been featured in other media, such asMelrose Place(1996, Season 5, Episode 1),Doonesburycomics (December 18, 1989), and the bookThe American Drive-inby Mike Witzel.

The address for the Mel's Drive-In location on theSunset Stripin West Hollywood is listed at the bottom of the signed headshots found in the VIP packages for the band Ghost's "A Pale Tour Named Death".

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  • Mel's Drive-In sign in San Francisco.
    Mel's Drive-In sign in San Francisco.
  • Bar seating at a Mel's Drive-In
    Bar seating at a Mel's Drive-In
  • Mel's drive in Hollywood
    Mel's drive in Hollywood
  • Sweet potato fries at Original Mel's Diner
    Sweet potato fries at Original Mel's Diner
  • Original Mel's Diner at Boomtown in Verdi, Nevada
    Original Mel's Diner at Boomtown in Verdi, Nevada
  • Mel's Drive-In on Mission Street in San Francisco
    Mel's Drive-In on Mission Street in San Francisco
  • Mel's Drive-In sign in San Francisco
    Mel's Drive-In sign in San Francisco
  • Breakfast at Mel's Drive-in
    Breakfast at Mel's Drive-in
  • Original Mel's in Fairfield, CA
    Original Mel's in Fairfield, CA

References

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  1. ^Eng 2010, p. 103
  2. ^"Mel's Drive-In revamps its Van Ness location with cocktails and dry-aged, locally sourced burger".SFGate.2018-09-19.Retrieved2018-09-20.
  3. ^"Mel's Drive-In Transforms into Swanky Destination for Avocado Toast and $12 Cocktails".Eater SF.Retrieved2018-09-20.
  4. ^"SF's shuttered 'Mel's Drive-In' to reopen with new concept".SFGate.2018-02-26.Retrieved2018-09-20.
  5. ^"Avocado toast and cold brew… at Mel's Drive-In?".The Mercury News.2018-09-19.Retrieved2018-09-20.
  6. ^"In unusual twist amid development boom, Mel's Drive-In will not be torn down for housing".The San Francisco Examiner.Retrieved2018-09-20.
  7. ^A 24-hour diner, Original Mels, soon to open on Howe - Sacramento Business Journal:
  8. ^"Santa Monica's Penguin Coffee Shop Is Being Restored".Los Angeles magazine.Retrieved2020-11-04.
  9. ^"Mel's".Los Angeles Conservancy.Retrieved2020-11-04.
  10. ^"Mel's Drive-In".Santa Monica Conservancy.Retrieved2020-11-04.
  11. ^Hess 2004, p. 113
  12. ^"From Freedom Now! to Free Speech: How the 1963-64 Bay Area Civil Rights Demonstrations Paved the Way to Campus Protest" by Jo Freeman
  13. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-01-27.Retrieved2014-02-03.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toMel's Drive-In.
Wikimedia Commons has media related toThe Original Mels Diner.
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