Mel’s Drive-In at the Shoppes at Rossmoor is history; they closed their doors this week. Denny’s on Katella in Los Alamitos also has closed. Mel’s was open for just about 2 years. The landlord is looking for a national chain to take over the space.

Mel’s opened just about the time the housing market collapsed, followed shortly by the recession. That was not a very good time to open a new business.
Jim Lynch, Shoppes at Rossmoor general manager said “Things started getting sideways pretty quick on us after that. But, they did their best and we’re looking forward to finding a replacement tenant.”

“We’re looking to get a national tenant in there to replace them as soon as we can.” Compared to Mel’s, which has 7 or 8 units in very urban settings, Lynch said “We’re looking for a more nationally recognized name. We’re working with some tenants right now and we hope to have something to announce in the next 60-90 days.”

Lynch said “We’re really trying to find something that the community is going to embrace. One of the things we really liked about Mel’s was that they offered breakfast. That seems to be a need in the community. We’re going to try to match the tenant to the community as best as we can.”

When Mel’s first opened, they were open until midnight, but that did not last very long. Lynch said “The word that we got from them was that there was not much going on around here that late.”

Although their focus is a national chain, Lynch said “We would consider any good tenant. The trick these days is finding tenants that are adequately financed.” When asked about the possibility of bringing back the venerable Parasol, Lynch said “That has not come up from either end. That doesn’t seem to be something that is in the cards.”

Since the lead time for opening a new restaurant is probably at least a few months, Lynch said the center will be sponsoring some activities in the vacant space. “Please watch for announcements of Kids Craft activities and Holiday events in the parasol building during the Holiday season.”