The Iconic California Drive-In Restaurant That Was Featured In American Graffiti

Along with lunch cafeterias located in pharmacies, drive-ins exemplified what it was like eating out in the 1950s, and they remained popular until the 1970s (you can still get a taste of the experience at North Carolina spot El's Drive-In). The latter is the decade when the film "American Graffiti" was shot and released. And in that movie, which chronicles the last night of summer vacation in the lives of teenagers in the 1960s, to make it an authentic setting, the filmmakers — including the director, George Lucas of "Star Wars" fame — opted to shoot on location at an actual drive-in, called Mel's Drive-In.

Particularly for modern audiences, the scenes that take place at this now-defunct location, which was located at 140 South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, California (currently home to a condo building), are filled with nostalgia for a time long gone by. The hustle and bustle of automobiles, car hops on roller skates, and the powder blue neon glow of the Mel's sign all bring to life what it must have been like to actually go there when it was open during the middle part of the 20th century.

While there is a persistent myth that Mel's had shuttered before the filming of "American Graffiti," research has proven that this was not the case. Instead, when the movie was being shot there, the restaurant closed to the public for the night, but resumed operations the following day.

In fact, Mel's remained operational for a few years after the movie came out. But perhaps because of the rise of fast food restaurants and their drive-thrus rather than drive-ins, the OG location closed in 1976. Not only that, but it was also leveled in the same year, forever erasing a significant piece of history for both film and food.

Still, you can't keep a good restaurant down; in 1985, two enterprising men by the names of Steven Weiss (son of one of the original founders) and Donald Wagstaff opted to reinvigorate the Mel's Drive-In name by opening a new location on Lombard Street. This was followed throughout the coming decades by three more locations in the Bay Area, four locations in other cities in California, and even a restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, which opened in September 2025 and features 10,000 square feet of space. The chain has also announced its intention to expand all around the country, seeking entrepreneurs with an interest in franchising its restaurants.

Sadly, in February 2026, the location on Lombard Street suffered damage after a fire, believed to have started in the kitchen, ripped through the building. That restaurant closed indefinitely, but the GM hoped to reopen in just a few months.