Mel's Diner

Mel’s Diner is giving customers a new reason to enjoy the summertime – and its made-from-scratch comfort foods – with a “Hummer of a Summer” chance drawing benefiting Kids with Cancer. All proceeds from Mel’s Diner’s donated Hummer H3 will benefit The Children’s Hospital...

Now, with summer in full bloom, the company has expanded its menu even further, offering a new set of culinary delights inspired by the season. New items include such tantalizing creations as Yukon gold mashed potatoes, and Granny Smith apple...

Mel’s Diner has been affectionately known as “Southwest Florida’s kitchen” since opening in 1989. But really, how popular and well-loved are the company’s restaurants in that area? You need only to ask the readers of the Southwest Florida News-Press...

The smell of fresh, buttery biscuits and the crackle of sizzling bacon is enough to get just about anyone out of bed, and since Mel’s Diner added a classic car club to its Saturday morning breakfast, the restaurant chain has become an even friendlier family hangout...

St. Patrick’s Day has always been one of the biggest days on the Mel’s calendar -- and rightfully so.  People expect good cheer and good deals when they enter a Mel’s location, and they certainly will receive that -- and more -- on this holiday...

Last month, Mel’s Diner held an internal contest to determine which of its 10 stores could produce the highest percentage of beverage sales. The GM of the location with the peak proportion got to swap cars with Mel’s founder and President Chris Karakosta...

As of April 2006, visitors to any Mel’s Diner location will find comment cards placed on dining room tables. Each card bears a personalized message from the company’s founder and president, Chris Karakosta, which reads...

Mel’s Diner, affectionately known as “Southwest Florida’s kitchen,” will be honoring Joe Brooks, a valued customer who recently passed away, by hosting a car show on March 18 from 3pm till 8pm at their Golden Gate Location (12035 Collier Boulevard)...

Starting Monday, Feb. 20, the company’s Port Richey location will take that belief to greater heights, offering free coffee to anyone stopping by the restaurant every day from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.  No purchase is required and there are absolutely no strings attached...

“Our manager incentive packages will simultaneously bring these candidates back in time and move them ahead into the future,” said Chris Karakosta, president and CEO of Mel’s Diner.  “Picture a working environment with family-style values...

The popular southwest Florida comfort-food chain starts a new campaign aimed at reminding employees – and guests – about the importance of customer service...

Mel’s Diner, affectionately known as “Southwest Florida’s kitchen,” has always understood that comfort food means more than wholesome ingredients and familiar dishes -- it also means of memories home, family and simpler times...

Mel’s Diner, affectionately known as “Southwest Florida’s kitchen,” plans to add three locations within the next 18 months, increasing the size of the company by 30%.

Mel’s Diner, affectionately known as “Southwest Florida’s kitchen,” plans to open a third Naples location in 2007.  The store will also be the third new Mel’s Diner to open in the region in the next year to 18 months...

For the second year in a row, hurricane season has put several southwest Florida eateries at a standstill.  However, some, like popular chain Mel’s Diner, have survived with little damage and are now feeding the community in droves....

Popular southwest Florida chain, Mel’s Diner, has implemented a number of new technologies into its locations as a means to lessen the work load for its managers, improve food and labor costs and better connect with customers...

You either love it or hate it.  Your grandmother’s recipe has been in the family for ages.  It’s meatloaf and it’s been a regular on dining room tables and in home-style restaurants for ages.  The Mel’s Diner kitchen has recently revisited their traditional style of...

At first glance, Ralph Desiano and Mel’s Diner seem like exact opposites. Mel’s Diner, a popular 10-unit chain based in southwest Florida, prides itself on its mom-and-pop origins, its comfort-food-filled menu and its family friendly service...

The diner got its start in the 1930’s, but its boom years are just beginning. During the Great Depression, feeding the hungry public a square meal for a low price in converted railroad cars along the highways and byways of the land became an American way...

After more than 15 years in operation, mom-and-pop mainstay Mel’s Diner of southwest Florida has accepted corporate culture as a means to help build a more stable future. For years, Mel’s Diner has been southwest Florida’s best place for comfort food...

Mel’s Diner, affectionately known as “Southwest Florida’s kitchen,” announces the chain will undergo brand, menu and décor changes in early 2006. The Mel’s Diner executive management team gathered last week in Naples, Fla. to hammer out...

“Bringing back good times and great food!”  That slogan has been the driving force behind Mel’s Diner, the popular southwest Florida chain, for fifteen years.  Even though company has experienced significant growth in recent years...

Restaurants have been in Chris Karakosta’s blood from the beginning. Born in Chicago in 1953 and raised in nearby Elmhurst, Ill., Karakosta spend a majority of his childhood and high school years surrounded by the food industry...