Underneath a large penguin signal, Mel’s Drive-In marks the tip of Route 66

Famous indicators alongside the practically 2,500 miles of Route 66 embrace the 66-foot soda bottle at Pops in Oklahoma, the wagging neon tail of Albuquerque’s Dog House and the hand-painted slogans for Snow Cap Drive-In in Arizona. But in L.A., none is so iconic as the large looming penguin that signifies milkshakes, burgers, oldies playlists and sheer Americana on the finish of the highway.

Stories, pictures and journey suggestions from America’s Mother Road

The Mother Road that stretches from Chicago to the West Coast unofficially ends on the Santa Monica Pier, however at its technical terminus, Mel’s Drive-In declares the “ROUTE ENDS HERE,” inlaid in terrazzo beneath that jumbo tuxedoed penguin. It’s been a beacon for many years, and although the beloved restaurant area not too long ago was listed on the market for $26 million, Mel’s homeowners hope it stays a diner and vacation spot for generations.

For a lot of its historical past, the diner on the finish of Route 66 was the 1959-founded Penguin Coffee Shop, a Googie-architecture marvel of angular home windows, rock partitions and little cartoons of penguins hanging above swivel stools and an open kitchen.

The unique penguin signal from the previous Penguin Coffee Shop nonetheless stands at Mel’s Drive-In in Santa Monica.

As a really younger little one I bear in mind sliding into the cubicles with my father, whose workplace was close by on Wilshire. Back then, the tall angled ceilings appeared to soar and the breakfast combos appeared mountainous.

“It was a Googie kind of restaurant — you know, we don’t have that many of them around anymore,” my dad remembers. “It had an aura of roadside diner about it. … Everybody would see the giant penguin out there. I don’t think Burgess Meredith ever ate there, though.” The joke takes me a beat earlier than touchdown; my model of Batman’s Penguin will at all times be Danny DeVito.

“It was a Googie kind of restaurant — you know, we don’t have that many of them around anymore,” the author’s dad remembers.

We’d go to each month or two, till the Penguin closed its doorways in 1991 and reworked right into a Western Dental workplace, which stored the penguin signal however dropped these excessive ceilings and eliminated the kitchen together with different hallmarks of its roadside allure. Thankfully, its journey didn’t finish there.

The Weiss household, which based Mel’s Drive-In diner in 1947, had been eyeing the property for years and signed a lease in 2016. Then there was the hyperlink to their very own historical past: The prolific Armet & Davis architecture firm designed the Penguin in addition to the present dwelling of Mel’s Sherman Oaks.

“When the dentist office went out of business,” mentioned co-owner Colton Weiss, “it seemed like a no-brainer to make it Mel’s and bring it back to the glory days of being a diner.”

What adopted had been two years of “very expensive” renovations, based on the third-generation Mel’s proprietor.

Beyond the enduring penguin signal — which obtained “historically or architecturally significant” designation in 2000 — Mel’s pays homage with the big sculptural, custom-made glass globe lights, which replicate the unique’s. The Weisses employed backyard specialists to evaluation decades-old pictures of the Penguin Coffee Shop to find out which forms of flowers adorned the entrance of the restaurant, then they replanted them.

Since the constructing’s reopening in 2018, 1000’s of visitors have ended the journey alongside Route 66 with a meal within the diner.

While sledgehammering drywall, they uncovered the diner’s unique rock wall. Along a hallway close to the loos, a small gallery of Penguin Coffee Shop pictures affords one other glimpse of the predecessor. This location additionally contains a marshmallow-and-chocolate-sauce Penguin Shake in honor of the tuxedoed mascot of the unique.

It wasn’t till they had been near signing a deal that they realized it sat alongside Route 66.

“We’re like Route 66 authorities now,” mentioned Weiss, whose father, Steven Weiss, was largely answerable for the restoration.

Since the constructing’s reopening in 2018, homeowners say 1000’s of visitors have ended their travels with a meal within the diner. They bustle by way of the doorways after the lengthy journey, generally bedecked in Route 66 merchandise, and generally shopping for Mel’s personal model of Route 66 merch whereas there.

Atmosphere and particulars of Mel’s Drive-in Diner.

“We had a guy do it in a ’67 Chevy, that was on his bucket list: Older guy who did it with his wife, and it was a convertible,” mentioned Weiss. “He did it in summertime, so by the time he showed up he was covered in dust and dirt. He couldn’t be happier to make it to Mel’s and get a burger.”

Another, he mentioned, did the entire route on a bicycle.

The diner affords certificates of completion for individuals who end the trek, and devised a burger named for the route. A fish tank on the entrance contains a Route 66 theme, as does a mural on a small wall of the parking zone. Two official indicators, positioned by the town, denote the situation’s significance.

“The city knew there’d be renewed interest in a diner being the real ending of Route 66,” Weiss mentioned. “Before, I don’t know anybody who’d want to end their trip at a dentist’s office. Maybe somebody who broke their teeth on the way.”

But the path’s finish might sometime see its personal finish. The property was listed on the market in 2025. Representatives for the constructing’s administration firm didn’t reply to requests for remark.

“We’re trying to keep it there as long as possible,” Weiss mentioned. “People really enjoy this location, and it seems like one of the last diners in Santa Monica.” Weiss declined to remark additional.

Mel’s assistant supervisor Yazmin Minguelasays she sees extra vacationers now as a result of it’s the centennial of Route 66. “But even before that, we still had a lot of visitors.”

She’s labored for Mel’s 22 years, six of which have been spent within the Santa Monica restaurant. Her shifts are stuffed with Westside regulars, celebrities and visitors ending their journey alongside Route 66.

“Ending on a diner is nostalgia,” my dad mused. “Having a place like Mel’s, which is a substitute for the kind of flea-bitten ptomaine joints that you might get along Route 66, brings back memories to very old people. And very new people ask questions like, ‘Who’s Burgess Meredith?’”

Mel’s Drive-In is open at 1670 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, Sunday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to midnight.