Seal Beach, CA - The Parasol Restaurant is a restaurant that looks
like its name. In recent years, there were two Parasol's remaining in
the area. However, Dinah's Parasol in Torrance was demolished in the last
past couple of years. Check out more coffee shops at Roadside Peek'sCoffee Shops.
Parasol (now Mel's Diner) Closed
Seal Beach, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
An enormous umbrella makes the Parasol Restaurant in Seal Beach a rather unusual place to stop for a meal. Check out the broad roof spreading over the building, giving the name a literal introduction. This parasol came with tables, a kitchen, and room for hungry customers underneath.
Opened in 1967, the restaurant brought a playful bit of space-age architecture to the Rossmoor shopping center. Its circular form stood apart from the more ordinary storefronts nearby, making a drive along Seal Beach Boulevard a little more interesting. Even without reading the sign, a traveler could make a fairly good guess at the restaurant’s name.
Parasol Restaurant while open
Seal Beach, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The roof was the main attraction from the road. Its wide canopy gave the building a silhouette that could be recognized at a glance, with the umbrella shape doing much of the advertising. Quite a bit of effort went into making sure this coffee shop wouldn’t blend into the shopping center.
Take a look at the roadside marquee too. The geometric framing carried the restaurant’s identity toward passing traffic, adding another distinctive shape to the property. The building and sign worked together, each offering something for anyone keeping an eye out for old Southern California restaurant design.
Interior of The Parasol
Seal Beach, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
The Parasol belonged to an era when eating out could come with a little architectural entertainment. A coffee shop might have an angular roof, a giant arrow, or a sign reaching well above the parked cars. Here, customers got the umbrella treatment, turning an ordinary lunch outing into a stop beneath a piece of roadside scenery.
For regular customers, the place meant more than its unusual appearance. The Parasol became a familiar gathering spot, particularly for residents of nearby Leisure World. Visitors might arrive to admire the building, while longtime patrons came for a meal and the people they knew inside. Both helped give the restaurant its following.
The Parasol Marquee
Seal Beach, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
That following spoke up when redevelopment plans threatened the structure in 2004. The Friends of the Parasol organized a preservation campaign and gathered more than 10,000 petition signatures. The prospect of losing the umbrella brought quite a few people together around the old coffee shop.
The effort helped keep the building standing, though the original restaurant closed in 2006. For a while, the roof sheltered an empty dining room instead of the usual gathering of customers. The Parasol had survived the demolition threat, but it still needed another business to bring activity back inside.
The Parasol Restaurant in Seal Beach, CA is one of the last remaining
examples of a roadside theme called programmatic
architecture. Built during
the space age era, the Parasol is the sole remaining survivor of the Parasol
restaurants, with the demise of the Dinah's
Parasol in Torrance in the late 1990's.
Parasol rendering Courtesy John Flores
Renovation prepared the property for its next chapter. Mel’s Drive-In opened in December 2007, returning diner service beneath the familiar roof. The interior took on Mel’s 1950s-style look, and the new name appeared out front. An old roadside restaurant was back in the business of welcoming people for a meal.
The Mel’s name also brought some American Graffiti nostalgia. The original San Francisco Mel’s was the restaurant featured in the 1973 film, rather than the Seal Beach Parasol. The connection here came through the later tenant and its movie-themed decorating, giving customers another bit of restaurant history to look over.
For anyone who had followed the preservation effort, the reopening was a welcome sight. The building had customers again, and the umbrella remained part of the boulevard. There was something satisfying about seeing a threatened coffee shop put back to use, especially with its most recognizable feature still overhead.
Mel's Diner sign raising
Seal Beach, CA Photo courtesy Ron Pierce
Unfortunately, Mel’s didn’t stay long. The restaurant closed in October 2009, ending its brief run at the Parasol. The doors were shut again, though this time the building’s survival had already been secured through the earlier preservation work.
Another change followed when Panera Bread took over the space in late 2010. The interior was adapted for bakery-cafe service, and the branding changed once more. Customers returned for sandwiches, soup, and coffee beneath a roof that had already seen several different menus.
UPDATE: Here are photos from the sign raising at Mel's Diner (The Parasol) in Seal Beach on 9/10/07. Mel's Diner will be open soon. More information can be found here. Many thanks to Ron Pierce for photos and update. 10-07
UPDATE: Mel's Drive-in in Rossmoor, CA near Seal Beach closed its doors this past Tuesday. According to the restaurant owner, this Mel's location saw a large decline in customers since the beginning of the year as well as a problem getting rent reduced. This is the former site of the 1960's era Parasol Restaurant which had occupied the building for almost 40 years before it closed in 2006. Mel's had maintained much of the Parasol's mid-century look when it renovated the building. According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, the shopping center is now working with a national tenant to occupy the site. 10-09
UPDATE: The former Parasol continues as Panera Bread, with its distinctive umbrella roof still marking the property. The Parasol and Mel’s names are gone from the business, but the building remains a recognizable Seal Beach roadside find. Nearly sixty years after opening, this oversized umbrella still has a place along the boulevard, and there’s still something to eat underneath it. 10-26
More photos
Mel's Diner
Seal Beach, CA Photo courtesy Ron Pierce
Mel's Diner, the former Parasol
Seal Beach, CA Photo courtesy Ron Pierce
Parasol Restaurant while open
Interior of The Parasol
The Parasol Marquee
Parasol rendering
Mel's Diner sign raising
