Farewell, Mel’s

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No, U-Haul wasn’t expecting drive-up service. Mel’s Drive-In, the ’50s diner inside an ’08 shopping center across from Ontario Mills (but technically within Rancho Cucamonga), closed Sunday. On Tuesday, items from the drive-in were loaded and driven out. Read more about Mel’s in my Wednesday column. I miss Mel’s already.

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  • Charles Bentley

    GREETINGS:

    As a fan of Mel’s Drive-In (and Original Mel’s, an offshoot created by a rift among family members), I anxiously awaited this Mel’s to open and recall being frustrated on how long it was taking. Finally, I heard that Mel’s was open for business and quickly made time to check out the local version.

    To say the least, the experience was extremely disappointing. The quality and the service just wasn’t what I’d enjoyed at other locations. But, I hoped, maybe it would improve with time.

    The right time never came. I made three visits in all (one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner) and finally decided “three strikes, yer out!” So when I heard they’d closed the doors to the RC Mel’s, I was both saddened and relieved.

    My recommendation to those taking the next option on this location — pay more attention to customer service, quality and value. It doesn’t matter what the sign says outside, if you don’t provide good food and a friendly atmosphere, you can build it up all you want and the customers won’t come.

    David, maybe you could pull a few strings and get us a Bob Evans? Or maybe an Original Pancake House? Even a Cracker Barrel would be something new to the area.

    [I would welcome any of the above. -- DA]

  • Matt

    Why did Rancho with its superb planning put a Mels Drive In next to a furniture store? That furniture store is a joke. All those hotels and that’s the best anchor we could come up with?

    And a bowling alley was supposed to be built instead of the furniture store? This is what is wrong with Rancho…bowling alleys and movie theaters. The kids are tired of the same old boring 1950′s entertainment. And we wonder why there are lots of house parties and there is neighborhood-bar binge drinking.

    I thought the city would build an office tower there or some ground floor retail with office and condos above to improve the daytime foot traffic. Or they could have put a pedestrian bridge to connect the hotel district to the Mills. The hotels are beautiful but the parking/land use is embarrassing.

    The city of Rancho Cucamonga has wasted more land for parking than any city I have ever seen. Parking structures seem to scare Cucamonga so we just waste our potential economic growth and disappearing land on oceans and oceans of surface parking.

    The Marie Osmond furniture store will go out of business soon due to skyrocketing mortgages, the housing collapse, and the half built neighborhoods in the north.

    The future of the Rancho Hotel District is interconnected with the major tourist attraction mall across the street as well as the airport and sports arena. The Mills parking oceans will someday become parking structures with surrounding condos. The land freed up from surface parking will become an outdoor lifestyle addition to the big box mall. Office/Condo towers will also spring up around southern California’s number one tourist attraction. This will make Rancho’s Hotel District a very hot spot.

    But for now looks like all we have is Burgertown USA, Sonic Burgers, Mels Burgers, Fat Burger, seeing a pattern here? All we are missing is a Ruby Tuesdays. Let me guess, it’s already planned for the Costco parking lot?

    And while I’m on the subject of repetitious restaurant genres…Carnelian/Vineyard should be renamed Burger Avenue.

    Carnelian @ Baseline
    McDonalds Burgers, Legends Burgers, Carls Jr. Burgers, Tam’s Burgers.

    Carnelian @ Foothill
    In-n-Out Burgers, Jack In The Box Burgers, Wendy’s Burgers.

    Welcome to Rancho Burgermonga.

    [Hey, there's a Souplantation too! Seriously, though, thanks for the critique, Matt. -- DA]