The diner got its start in the 1930’s, but its boom years are just beginning
What do you want when you don’t know what you want? Why, comfort food, of course.
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 of life. Now, just like
before, diners and low priced platefuls of traditional family fare are
in, giving modern chains like McDonald’s and Burger King some
unexpected food for thought.
Just as the burger chain phenomenon offering prefab fast food took off
like a rocket in the sixties, today’s public is slowing down the pace
and hankering after the soothing reassurance of hearty home-style
meals, or what has come to be called comfort food.
Meat loaf, pot roast and Southern fried chicken, with heaping sides of
vegetables and plenty of mashed potatoes and gravy are back.
Add to that chicken n’ biscuits, country fried steak soaking in sausage
gravy, beef Stroganoff drenched in cream, Virginia ham with veggies, a
mountain of corned beef on rye, and even. All served on Formica
top dining tables in pastel-colored booths, lit up with neon lights and
shiny glass displays holding pies and cakes.
The upstart behind this retro revolution is Chris Karakosta, the
founder of Mel’s Diner. Mel’s Diner is “bringing back good times
and great food!” he says.
It wasn’t so long ago, 1989 in fact, when after trying his hand in
running an upscale restaurant, and looking at the glitzy chains dotting
the landscape, Chris got the bright idea of getting back to
basics. “Let’s start a diner like dad had back in Chicago way
back when – back to home made soups, blue plate specials, real
mashed potatoes, mile high pies, no short cuts,” he told his wife and
three kids, all of whom pitched in.
The king of the road wherever a Mel’s Diner is found is meat
loaf. When a manager tried to drop it from the menu, the
clientele “nearly went crazy,” says Chef Fred Scherger, Director of
Culinary Operations. And the secret of Mel’s meat loaf is
vegetables. “We caramelize vegetables with the meat and put
sautéed mushrooms and onions into it, which give it a lot flavor.
When it gets reconstituted, it adds moisture. You won’t find
another like it.”
“They stop at Mel’s because they know what to expect. And the
prices blow them away even more – an entire meal for $7.99 that you
can’t even finish most of the time,” said Chris Karakosta. With
ten restaurants operating and more on the way, Mel’s Diner is the
harbinger of comfort food in Southwest Florida.
###
Media Contact:
Quantified Marketing Group
407.936.1010
|
|
|
