The Santa Monica Landmarks Commission will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 on the future of Mel’s Drive-In, a diner at the end of Route 66.
Irvine developer ValueRock Realty Partners wants to demolish the building and replace it with housing. It submitted preliminary plans for the project to city planners on Sept. 18, according to city records. Several news outlets picked up the story this week.
The diner has been nominated as a city landmark, which the commission will take up at the meeting.
All this is happening as the United States marks the 100th anniversary of Route 66 and celebrates its historical diners and roadside attractions.
Mel’s is at 1670 Lincoln Blvd. ValueRock calls the lot “irreplaceable, high identity, hard-corner real estate.” “Hard-corner” means that it’s at the intersection of two streets, Lincoln and Olympic boulevards. In addition, it’s at an off-ramp to the 10 Freeway.
That corner was the official terminus of Route 66. But Santa Monica now has two ends to the Mother Road because advocates of the Santa Monica Pier now market it as the “end of the trail.”
ValueRock wants to replace the 1959 diner with a mixed-use development that includes housing and retail. But no demolition permit application has been submitted for the property, according to the city.
Mel’s has leased the half-acre site through June 2029, according to real estate sites LoopNet and Newmark.
The landmark nomination was jointly made by the Santa Monica Conservancy and the Los Angeles Conservancy.
The meeting will take place in Santa Monica City Council Chambers, 1685 Main St., No. 250, where the city’s Landmark Commission meets on the second Monday of the month, according to the city’s website.
Mel’s Drive-In was originally Penguin Coffee Shop, and its neon sign still features a penguin. Built in 1959, it is an example of Googie architecture, which flourished among diners in the 1950s. It is not actually a drive-in. Mel’s is a drive-in chain that began in the Bay Area in 1947 and was made famous by George Lucas’ 1973 film “American Graffiti.”
Other locations in Southern California are in Sherman Oaks and West Hollywood, on Sunset Boulevard. Both are also diners with their own prior histories. There’s also a quick-service eatery inspired by the movie in Universal Studios Hollywood.
Information: smconservancy.org, melsdrive-in.com