The Karakosta family opened the first Mel’s Diner opened in 1989 in San Carlos Park, just south of Fort Myers, Florida. Chris Karakosta and his father Dhimitri “Jim”, along with their wives Lynn and Diana, operated the first restaurant in what would grow into a chain across southwest Florida.

Dhimitri Karakosta was born in Albania before immigrating to Chicago in 1936. He served in World War II before opening a diner in the Chicago area. But in 1984, he moved south to Naples to be closer to his grandchildren. That’s when he teamed up with his son, Chris, to open the diner.

The success of the San Carlos Park location led the Karakostas to expand the restaurant into a mini chain spanning the west coast of Florida from Sarasota to Naples. At its peak, the restaurant group had 11 Mel’s diner locations. Karakosta also created two other concepts, The Green Onion and Stevie Tomato’s Sports Page.

Mel’s was originally a throwback themed restaurant drawing on nostalgia from the 1950s and 1960s. Aluminum siding and neon lights highlighted the old days of the mid century. Even the name was invented, a suggestion from the previous owner when the Karakostas didn’t think “Chris’s diner” or “Jim’s Diner” would be a success. The thematic look was ultimately the chain’s downfall rather than an asset. By the early 2000s, the Karakostas believed the diner needed a new, updated aesthetic.

The diner chain launched a plan to update their look. The Cape Coral location, which still operates today, was the first to sport the new style. That location saw a boost in sales over the others, and in 2006 the restaurant group was seeing more than $28 million in revenue.

Unfortunately, the remodels were expensive, costing anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000 each. And what the family didn’t realize either was his investment was coming just as a tsunami of economic crisis was on the horizon.

Whether it was the over investment in new locations and remodeling or the crashing economy, by 2008 Mel’s was in trouble. The original San Carlos Park Location closed, followed by others in Bradenton and Sarasota. Cash flow left vendors and staff unpaid, and Chris Karakosta was arrested for passing bad checks.

The current iteration of Mel’s Diner has four locations in Naples, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers, and is run by the Terezi family who collaborate on new dishes. Romey Terezi started out working as a bus boy working alongside Chris Karakosta, but now leads the diner chain.

The diner has become an institution in the region. In 2012, then Vice President Joe Biden paid a visit chatting with patrons. A decade later, War Monger Pete Hegseth visited the diner in 2021 while serving as a drunken talking head for Fox & Friends.

We were looking for an easy dinner with our four-year-old in tow. He’d just been let down after learning the pirate ship playground in downtown Naples had been torn down a few months earlier, and the witching hour was fast approaching. That’s when I spotted Mel’s Diner, a restaurant we’d long threatened to eat at but somehow never found the time.

We swung into the parking lot. The Naples location is part of a strip mall complex and isn’t built out like the other locations with the retro styling, rounded edges, and decorative pillars, a distinctive building shape that dots the region wherever Mel’s once had locations. The exterior here has the feeling of the gray box aesthetic so many fast food chains have adopted in recent years.

Inside was crowded, but not so crowded we couldn’t get a seat. The morning brunch crowd is supposedly a bit more of a cutthroat experience, but by 7:30 pm in South Florida, we’re already at the point of “late night” dining. Our table was in the center of the restaurant overlooking the open kitchen and the counter.

We ordered and the waiter brought a bowl of biscuits. It’s been a while since we’ve had bread service, and nothing says southern like biscuits. These were totally fine, although the fake butter that came with them detracted from the whole experience.

We started off with mozzarella sticks. These were monstrously large. I regret not having a banana for scale. These things were cheese logs, and cooked well through which can be a problem with larger variations.

The fries and chicken tenders for our 4-year-old arrived quickly. I appreciated that these were thick pieces of real chicken, but he didn’t. That’s alright, he had the fries, and I had a nice lunch the next day.

My wife ordered a patty melt with sweet potato fries. This seemed pretty adequate, and she even got a pickle.

I ordered the pastrami rueben. It was a little late to the table, and I never did get my pickle or coleslaw, but that’s alright, it was a pretty good sandwich, for Florida.

And that’s my take away here. Mel’s feels like Florida, from the tap water that has a slightly chlorinated flavor, to the whipped spread product served with biscuits. And we brought down the average age of the customers by at least a decade. This is a local place where Florida man fills his belly before doing whatever is Florida man does in time for the 5 o’clock news.

Mel’s remains an institution, albeit a smaller one. The original San Carlos Park location, after becoming the Talk of the Town and eventually 41 Diner has reinvented itself as an Italian concept, 41 Bistro. While the remodels over the years have stripped the building of its shiny aluminum siding and retro neon, remnants of the old Mel’s remain in the shape of the building, a reminder that the legacy of this restaurant chain will remain for years to come.

Mel’s Diner

3650 Tamiami Trail N
Naples, FL 34103

---