November 9, 2005

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.

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Media Contact:
Ashley H. Hallmark
Quantified Marketing Group
407.936.1010
321.663.1209 c.
ahallmark@quantifiedmarketing.com


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