George therefore made the decision to rent the space and restore it to its 1962 appearance, even if only for two hours on the big screen. After the filming was finished, the restaurant stayed open for a while before closing and being demolished by bulldozers. However, it has been said that the prominent play that was given to the place prevented Mel’s from possibly going out of business entirely.
In 1972, the original Mel’s located at 140 South Van Ness in San Francisco was selected as a feature location by filmmaker George Lucas for his 1973 coming of age film American Graffiti. Although the movie takes place in Modesto, California, most of its scenes were actually shot in the nearby city of Petaluma.
Today, several Mel’s Drive-in restaurants still exists around the bay area. The most famous ones are however probably the somewhat cheesy replicas located at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL and Hollywood, CA.
Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs founded Mel’s Drive-In restaurants in 1947 in San Francisco, California, as a response to similar eateries serving motorists in Los Angeles. People who wanted to eat in their cars came in droves day and night, early and often. The first restaurant quickly expanded into eleven others.
When filming began, in spite of popular belief, Mel’s Drive-In (aka Burger City) had been not been closed for years and was not slated for demolition either. In fact, Dennis Kay, who was working as director of operations for Foster’s West who were the owners of Mel’s at the time was put in charge to make arrangements for the filming.
It is recommended to view this blog in website mode rather than “fat-ass” mobile mode. The best and most popular online tribute to the iconic 1973 movie American Graffiti is KIP PULLMANS AMERICAN GRAFFITI BLOG. Here, you can find a ton of reliable information about the George Lucas-directed movie, including my own articles and personal interviews, as well as articles about cars, film analysis, and original newspaper clippings.
In “Gold,” a young actor named Dean Douglas Cooper is followed as he relocates to Los Angeles in order to pursue his dreams of becoming famous. When things don’t work out, Dean is in an unusual situation. See full summary ».