Mel's Drive-In

Mel's Drive-In is an American restaurant brand that originated in San Francisco in 1947, when Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs established the first restaurant in what became a regional chain. The original business expanded during the postwar growth of automobile-oriented dining, serving familiar American fare in a format built around cars, neon signage, counter service, and informal family dining. Although the original chain disappeared during the 1970s, the name was revived in the 1980s by Steven Weiss, Mel Weiss's son, and business partner Donald Wagstaff. This later revival created the basis for the modern Mel's Drive-In identity. The brand's history includes both a notable civil-rights controversy and a major cultural breakthrough. In 1963, activists organized pickets and sit-ins at Mel's locations in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley because African American employees were reportedly restricted to kitchen roles and were not permitted to work in customer-facing positions. More than 100 demonstrators were arrested. The protests ended after Harold Dobbs, who was then a San Francisco city supervisor as well as a company co-founder, reached an agreement with the protesters and the restaurants allowed Black employees to work in front-of-house positions. Mel's became nationally recognizable after George Lucas selected the San Francisco restaurant at 140 South Van Ness Avenue as a principal location for the 1973 film American Graffiti. The restaurant appears in the opening sequence and behind the film's opening credits, linking the brand to the movie's depiction of early-1960s California youth, cruising, and popular music. The exposure helped preserve the restaurant's cultural relevance and gave its visual identity a life beyond the operating chain. Universal Studios subsequently licensed the brand and reproduced Mel's-style restaurants at several of its theme parks, including parks in Hollywood, Orlando, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore. The revived business later separated into two related but distinct operations. Following a family dispute, Steven Weiss retained the Mel's Drive-In name, while Mel Weiss operated restaurants under the name Original Mels. The elder Weiss sold his company in 1994. The two chains developed separately, although both continued to draw on American Graffiti-era nostalgia and similar visual cues. They should not be treated as a single unified contemporary operating group. As of 2025, the Mel's Drive-In chain associated with Steven Weiss has eight locations: four in San Francisco and four in the Los Angeles area. Not every location functions as a traditional drive-in; current San Francisco restaurants generally operate as diners rather than serving meals directly to customers in parked cars. The business has also adapted parts of its offer to contemporary urban dining. The location near downtown San Francisco, known as Mel's Kitchen, has offered more upscale items such as cocktails, locally sourced-beef burgers, ahi poke, acai smoothies, and avocado toast. The Los Angeles restaurants occupy architecturally notable former coffee shops, diners, and commercial buildings, including Googie and Hollywood Regency structures. The separate Original Mels chain has operated locations across Northern California and Nevada.

Mel's Drive-In began in San Francisco in 1947, founded by Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs. Its original format belonged to the postwar expansion of automobile-centered American dining: restaurants were designed for fast, informal meals and were associated with cars, neon, counter service, and familiar burgers, fries, shakes, and desserts. The chain expanded beyond its first restaurant and became part of the Bay Area's roadside and neighborhood dining landscape. The original business also became involved in a significant local civil-rights dispute. Beginning on October 16, 1963, the Ad Hoc Committee to End Discrimination organized demonstrations at Mel's restaurants in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. The protesters objected to the company's employment practices, specifically the reported practice of hiring African Americans as cooks while preventing them from holding visible, customer-facing positions. More than 100 people were arrested during the pickets and sit-ins. Harold Dobbs, a co-founder who was serving as a San Francisco city supervisor, negotiated with the protesters. The demonstrations concluded after the company agreed to permit Black employees to work in front-of-house roles. Mel's achieved its strongest association with popular culture in the early 1970s. George Lucas chose the restaurant at 140 South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco as a location for American Graffiti, a 1973 film about teenage life, cruising, and music in early-1960s California. Mel's appears in the film's opening scene and provides the visual setting for the opening credits. The exposure connected the restaurant's name and design with the film's idealized image of American drive-in culture and is widely credited with helping the brand survive a period when the original business was at risk of disappearing. The brand's signage and visual motifs subsequently became part of the film's promotional identity. The original chain eventually closed its remaining restaurants during the 1970s. A new generation began in 1985, when Steven Weiss, Mel Weiss's son, and Donald Wagstaff opened a revived Mel's Drive-In. The revival did not remain under unified family control. A dispute between father and son resulted in two businesses: Steven retained the Mel's Drive-In name, while Mel Weiss used Original Mels for his restaurants. Mel Weiss sold his company in 1994. The two chains thereafter operated independently, despite overlapping nostalgia themes, regional proximity, and similar references to American Graffiti-era diner culture. Universal Studios extended Mel's cultural reach through a licensing arrangement. It built restaurants modeled on the American Graffiti-associated Mel's at Universal theme parks in Hollywood, Orlando, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore. These venues functioned as branded recreations and helped transform Mel's from a regional restaurant name into an internationally recognizable symbol of the American drive-in. The contemporary Mel's Drive-In chain has combined preservation with adaptation. As of 2025, it has eight locations, four in San Francisco and four in the Los Angeles area. Some locations are conventional diners rather than drive-ins, and the San Francisco restaurants do not currently provide car-side food service. The downtown San Francisco location, referred to as Mel's Kitchen, has moved toward a more contemporary menu including cocktails, locally sourced-beef burgers, ahi poke, acai smoothies, and avocado toast. In Los Angeles, the restaurants occupy historic buildings that previously housed businesses such as Kerry's coffee shop, Ben Frank's, the Max Factor makeup studio, and The Penguin. Their architecture, including Googie and Hollywood Regency elements, reinforces the brand's preservation-oriented identity. The separate Original Mels chain has maintained a wider Northern California and Nevada presence.

• 2025

  Modern Mel's Drive-In chain has eight locations

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  The revived Mel's Drive-In chain is described as having four San Francisco locations and four in the Los Angeles area.

• 1994

  Mel Weiss sells the Original Mels business

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  The elder Weiss sells the company operating under the Original Mels name.

• 1985

  Revived Mel's Drive-In chain begins

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  Steven Weiss and Donald Wagstaff open the first restaurant of the modern revival.

• 1973

  American Graffiti makes Mel's a pop-culture landmark

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  George Lucas features the San Francisco restaurant in American Graffiti, giving the brand national cultural visibility.

• 1970

  Original chain closes during the decade

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  The first generation of Mel's Drive-In restaurants ends after the remaining original locations close during the 1970s.

• 1967

  Mel's appears in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  A Mel's location appears in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, predating the brand's later association with American Graffiti.

• 1963

  Civil-rights demonstrations lead to employment-policy changes

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  Pickets and sit-ins at Bay Area locations challenge the exclusion of African American employees from visible customer-service roles, followed by an agreement allowing them to work up front.

• 1947

  First Mel's Drive-In opens in San Francisco

  [1]Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org

  Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs establish the original Mel's Drive-In restaurant in San Francisco.

Nostalgic American drive-in and diner dining, combining retro car-culture imagery with casual food and, at selected locations, updated urban-restaurant offerings.

• Main dishes

  Classic burgers

  Burgers are a core part of Mel's traditional American drive-in and diner offer. They represent the brand's connection to postwar roadside dining and remain one of its most recognizable menu categories.

• Beverages and desserts

  Milkshakes and frozen desserts

  Milkshakes, ice cream, and related desserts reinforce the classic diner positioning. The brand's historical association with old-style American dining makes these items important to its nostalgic identity.

• Sides

  French fries and casual sides

  French fries and other casual side dishes accompany the restaurant's burger and sandwich-oriented menu and reflect the quick-service roots of the drive-in format.

• Contemporary diner cuisine

  Mel's Kitchen contemporary menu

  The downtown San Francisco Mel's Kitchen location has broadened the traditional diner proposition with cocktails, burgers made with locally sourced beef, ahi poke, acai smoothies, and avocado toast. This menu illustrates the brand's effort to adapt its historic identity to contemporary urban dining.

• 1963

  Employment discrimination protests

  Activists protested the reported practice of employing African Americans in kitchen positions while barring them from visible, customer-facing work. More than 100 protesters were arrested before the dispute was settled and front-of-house access was opened to Black workers.

  Source

Read more

• 1973American Graffiti brand exposure

  United States

  The use of a San Francisco Mel's as a major American Graffiti location placed the restaurant's signage, architecture, and diner atmosphere at the center of a widely distributed film.

  Outcome. The film substantially increased the brand's cultural visibility and helped preserve its association with classic American drive-in culture.

  Source
• Universal theme-park licensing

  United States · Japan · China · Singapore

  Universal Studios licensed the Mel's Drive-In identity and built restaurant replicas modeled on the American Graffiti location at several Universal theme parks.

  Outcome. The arrangement extended the brand beyond its regional restaurant footprint and made its retro drive-in image available to international theme-park visitors.

  Source

• 1985

  Revive the Mel's Drive-In brandStrategy

  Background

  The original restaurant chain had ceased operating during the 1970s, leaving an established name associated with San Francisco drive-in culture.

  Action taken

  Steven Weiss and Donald Wagstaff opened a new generation of Mel's Drive-In restaurants.

  Aftermath

  The revival restored the brand to active restaurant operations and established the basis of the contemporary chain.

  Source

• Operate separate Mel's Drive-In and Original Mels chainsStrategy

  Background

  A family dispute divided the revived business between Mel Weiss and Steven Weiss.

  Action taken

  Steven Weiss retained the Mel's Drive-In name, while Mel Weiss used Original Mels for his restaurants.

  Aftermath

  The two businesses continued independently, with separate location networks and official web presences.

  Source

• Blend historic diner identity with contemporary menu formatsStrategy

  Background

  Some modern Mel's locations operate as diners rather than traditional car-service drive-ins, while urban customers seek broader casual-dining options.

  Action taken

  The downtown San Francisco location adopted the Mel's Kitchen identity and added cocktails, locally sourced-beef burgers, ahi poke, acai smoothies, and avocado toast.

  Aftermath

  The brand retained its retro positioning while testing a more contemporary restaurant offer at a selected location.

  Source

1. 1Mel's Drive-Inen.wikipedia.org