{"id":133731,"date":"2026-05-12T18:11:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/beneath-a-giant-penguin-sign-mels-drive-in-marks-the-end-of-route-66\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T18:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:31:11","slug":"beneath-a-giant-penguin-sign-mels-drive-in-marks-the-end-of-route-66","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/beneath-a-giant-penguin-sign-mels-drive-in-marks-the-end-of-route-66\/","title":{"rendered":"Beneath a giant penguin sign, Mel’s Drive-In marks the end of Route 66"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

Famous signs along Route 66’s nearly 2,500 miles include the 66-foot soda bottle at Pop’s in Oklahoma, the wagging neon tail of Albuquerque’s Dog House and the hand-painted slogans for the Snow Cap Drive-In in Arizona. But in L.A., none are quite as iconic as milkshakes, burgers, old playlists and the giant looming penguin that seems to symbolize sheer Americana at the end of the street.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"100 <\/picture> <\/div>\n

Stories, photos and travel recommendations from America’s Mother Road<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The Mother Road stretching from Chicago to the West Coast unofficially ends at the Santa Monica Pier, but at its technical terminus, the Mel Drive-In beneath that jumbo tuxedoed penguin embedded in the terrazzo, proclaims “The route ends here.” It’s been a lighthouse for decades, and though the beloved restaurant space was recently listed for sale for $26 million, Mel’s owners hope it will remain an eatery and destination for generations.<\/p>\n

For most of its history, the eatery at the end of Route 66 was the Penguin Coffee Shop, established in 1959, a Googie-architectural marvel of angular windows, rock walls and little cartoons of penguins hanging above swivel stools and an open kitchen.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The <\/picture>\n
\n

The original Penguin sign from the former Penguin Coffee Shop still exists at the Mel’s Drive-In in Santa Monica.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

I remember as a very young child going to the booths with my father, who had an office near Wilshire. At the time, high-angled ceilings seemed high and breakfast combos looked hillbilly.<\/p>\n

My dad recalls, “It was a Googie type of restaurant \u2013 you know, we don’t have that many restaurants anymore.” “It had the aura of roadside dining about it. …Everyone would see the giant penguin there. Although, I don’t think Burgess Meredith ever ate there.” The joke irritates me before it lands; My version of Batman’s Penguin will always be Danny DeVito.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A <\/picture>\n
\n

The author’s father recalls, “It was a Googie type of restaurant \u2013 you know, we don’t have that many restaurants anymore.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

We visited every month or two until the Penguin closed its doors in 1991 and was converted into a Western Dental office, which kept the Penguin sign but removed those high ceilings and the kitchen along with other signs of a roadside attraction. Thankfully, its journey did not end here.<\/p>\n

The Weis family, which founded Mel’s Drive-In Diner in 1947, had been eyeing the property for years and signed a lease in 2016. Then there was a link to his own history: Vipul Armet & Davis Architecture Firm<\/a> Designed the Penguin as well as Mel’s current home of Sherman Oaks.<\/p>\n

“When the dentist office went out of business, it seemed like it was no easy task to match it and bring back the glory days of being an eatery,” said co-owner Colton Weiss.<\/p>\n

According to the owner of the third generation Mail, this was followed by two years of “very expensive” renovation.<\/p>\n

Beyond the iconic penguin sign \u2013 which received a “historically or architecturally significant” designation in 2000 \u2013 the Mail paid tribute with a large sculpture, custom-made glass globe lights that mimic the original. Weiss hired garden experts to review decades-old photographs of the Penguin Coffee Shop to determine what types of flowers decorated the front of the restaurant, then he replanted them. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Since <\/picture> <\/div>\n
\"2.) <\/picture> <\/div>\n

Since the building reopened in 2018, thousands of guests have ended their trip along Route 66 with a meal at the eatery. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

“We’re like Route 66 officers now.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

-Colton Weiss, co-owner of Mel’s Drive-In<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

While sledgehammering the drywall, he exposed the eatery’s original rock wall. Along a hallway near the bathrooms, a small gallery of photos of the Penguin Coffee Shop offers another glimpse of the former. This location also has a marshmallow-and-chocolate-sauce Penguin Shake in honor of the original’s tuxedo mascot.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t until they were close to signing an agreement that they realized it was in line with Route 66.<\/p>\n

“We’re like the Route 66 authorities now,” said Weiss, whose father, Steven Weiss, was largely responsible for the restoration.<\/p>\n

Since the building reopened in 2018, the owners say thousands of guests have ended their visit with a meal at the eatery. They walk out the doors after a long trip, sometimes decorated with Route 66 merchandise, and sometimes purchase Mel’s own brand of Route 66 merchandise while there.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The <\/picture>\n
\n

The atmosphere and details of Mel’s Drive-In Diner. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

“We had a guy do it in a ’67 Chevy that was on his bucket list: an older guy who had done it with his wife, and it was a convertible,” Weiss said. “He did it in the summertime, so he was covered in dust and dirt by the time he arrived. He couldn’t have been happier to go to the mall and get a burger.”<\/p>\n

Another covered the entire distance by bicycle, he said.<\/p>\n

The eatery provides completion certificates to those who finish the trek, and has designed a burger named after the route. A fish tank at the entrance has a Route 66 theme, as does a mural on a small wall in the parking lot. Two official signs, placed by the city, indicate the importance of the location.<\/p>\n

“The city knew there would be renewed interest in the diner being the actual end of Route 66,” Weiss said. “Before, I don’t know anyone who would want to end their trip at the dentist’s office. There might be someone who broke a tooth on the way.”<\/p>\n

\n
\"Mel's <\/picture> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

But the end of the road may see its end some day. The property was listed for sale in 2025. Representatives of the building’s management company did not respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n

“We’re trying to keep it there as long as we can,” Weiss said. “People really enjoy this place, and it feels like it’s one of the last dinners in Santa Monica.” Weiss declined to comment further.<\/p>\n

Yazmin Minguella, assistant manager of the mail, says she sees more travelers now that it’s Route 66’s centennial. “But even before that, we still had a lot of visitors.”<\/p>\n

She has worked for Mel for 22 years, six of which she spent at the Santa Monica restaurant. Their shifts are filled with Westside regulars, celebrities, and guests who complete their commute along Route 66.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinishing food is like nostalgia,\u201d my dad thought. “Having a place like Mel’s, which is an alternative to the flea-bitten Potamoin joints you find on Route 66, brings back memories for very old people. And very new people asking questions, like ‘Who is Burgess Meredith?'”<\/p>\n

\n
\"\" <\/picture> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Mel’s Drive-In<\/i><\/a> 1670 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica Open Sunday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. to midnight.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\"\" <\/picture> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Famous signs along Route 66’s nearly 2,500 miles include the 66-foot soda bottle at Pop’s in Oklahoma, the wagging neon tail of Albuquerque’s Dog House and the hand-painted slogans for the Snow Cap Drive-In in Arizona. But in L.A., none are quite as iconic as milkshakes, burgers, old playlists and the giant looming penguin that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[5566,30426,3300,11496,30425,30424,3707,505],"class_list":["post-133731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-verse","tag-beneath","tag-drivein","tag-giant","tag-marks","tag-mels","tag-penguin","tag-route","tag-sign"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133731"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133786,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133731\/revisions\/133786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}