The original building of the Parasol Diner sits within the Rossmoor center in Seal Beach, California. This once popular 1960s eatery features a massive roof shaped like an opened umbrella, or parasol like the name suggests. Its twin lived in Torrance at 2690 Pacific Coast Highway on the corner of Crenshaw Blvd. Within the pink and white buildings, custom parasol-shaped lighting fixtures hung from the ceiling. In a 1961 review article, the Torrance Herald described the interior decor as “imported tile in regular and irregular shapes — in pink, brown and black — blend with the imported gold wall paper to be found within the circular restaurant.” The Parasol served a variety of diner-like home-cooked meals 24 hours a day including breakfast, …show more content…
The restaurant received much of its business from the shoppers at the Rossmoor shopping center as well as the nearby Leisure World retirement community. The popular eatery served the residents of Seal Beach for nearly forty years until changing times called for a refurbishment of the vintage scene. In 2004 the Rossmoor shopping center went under remodeling and the Parasol was scheduled for demolition. Quickly the members of the community formed a grassroots group called Friends of the Parasol to save the building. Together they collected 10,000 signatures for their petition. The building was saved, but sadly the diner inside was shut down. In 2008 the famous Mel’s Diner opened in the Parasol building. The Mel’s Diner chain was made famous from George Lucas’s 1973 classic, American Graffiti. This was the drive-in themed diner’s 8th location, and its first in Orange County. Mel’s spent around $2 million to renovate the older aspects of the diner but kept the building’s shape and space-age sign. The fame of Mel’s Diner added another layer to the rich history of the Parasol, providing excitement and a sense of pride to the Seal Beach community. Once again, the diner closed down in 2010 and was replaced by another chain eatery, Panera Bread. “Our goal was to find a restaurant that would complement both the iconic Parasol building and the rest of our lifestyle center,” said Madelyn Jackrel, president of Century National Properties. The interior of the building was gutted and renovated, but the sign was left intact and replaced with the Panera Bread