Bayou Profile | Mel’s Diner

article by MEREDITH MCKINNIE
photography by KELLY MOORE CLARK

The Louisiana landmark, Mel’s Diner, opened its doors in 1992, quickly becoming the round-the-clock food favorite of Lafayette college students and neighborhood residents. The diner’s history dates back to a simple, American boy-meets-girl story, when Jack fell in love with Mel Hornsby. Jack Naumann, originally from Mansura, Louisiana, served in the U.S. Navy before graduating from Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). Jack was hired by a good friend to help grow his family’s restaurants, and in 1963, Jack supervised the opening of Pitt Grill on Johnston Street in Lafayette. That very location would later become the flagship location of Mel’s Diner today. Committed to hard work and mastering the restaurant business, Jack went on to open 76 Pitt Grill units across the Southeastern states. When scouting a new location, Jack’s business philosophy was that Pitt Grills were built in high-traffic areas with burgeoning populations. The Johnston St. location is right next to the university, hospitals and neighborhoods. Lafayette was growing, and Jack was the primary architect in making sure the restaurant company grew, as well. 

While Jack was growing the company, Mel was raising the couple’s three daughters – Shanna, Shawn, and Shelly. The Naumann house sat on the end of the cul-de-sac with its doors open to welcome community members and their daughters’ friends and their families. Shelly remembers her mother cooking for everyone and hosting parties. The music always wafted through the rooms, and Mel danced alongside the revolving door of guests. Most of all, Shelly remembers her parents always having a good time, making each other laugh and making the most of time together, as Jack frequently worked away from home. Mel was involved in the girls’ school activities, and the daughters rarely wanted for anything. For an idea of the playful atmosphere, the Naumann’s den often housed lifesize arcade games destined for the diners’ vestibules. Neighborhood friends could come play Pacman and Joust – video games were all the rage in the 80’s. At home, Mel served typical dishes with the Americana flair like pot roast, soups, and fried chicken – the same dishes that would become the diner’s Blue Plate specials. 

When Pitt Grill merged with Kettle Restaurant out of Houston, Jack worked in Texas during the week while Mel and the girls remained in Lafayette. Though the Kettle Restaurant chairman tried relentlessly to convince Mel to move to Houston, she refused to uproot her daughters during their formative years. When Jack wanted to be back home, he franchised the four Kettle Restaurant locations in Lafayette. The restaurants were open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. With a manager at each location, Jack had more time for family life, and Shelly benefitted the most with her two older sisters away at LSU. Jack’s thoughtful, logical, and disciplined approach to business made him a go-to for budding and existing entrepreneurs. People always came to Jack for advice, and he shot straight, knowing the restaurant business inside and out. He knew math mattered to the profit margin and could tell someone off the top of his head what a spoonful of sugar cost. 

In the early 90s, the local economy took a downturn because of South Louisiana’s heavy dependency on the oil field. Shelly remembers times were tough in town, as so much of the business was dependent on customers who worked in, or for, the oil industry. The Naumanns decided to sell the Kettle Restaurant locations back to the company but keep the location on Johnston Street. Jack had always told Mel that he would put her name in lights, and in 1992, he did just that, transforming the Johnston Street location into the first Mel’s Diner. Though times were tough and Naumann’s budget was small, Jack and Mel managed to renovate the space. Mel adorned the walls with Norma Rockwell prints and portraits of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Elvis Presley – a nod to her 50’s heyday when rock-n-roll and iconic celebrities were all the rage. With a stainless steel back bar, counter facing, and revolving stools, along with hot pink walls, aqua booths, and boom a rang patterned tabletops, Mel’s Diner exuded the spirit of the 50’s. The initial menu only featured one page of options, with a daily Blue Plate special. The family atmosphere was enriched by faithful former employees who stayed to work at Mel’s Diner and the regulars who filled the stools during their hours of choice. 

Youngest daughter Shelly grew up in the restaurant business and began working in the restaurant at 14 years old. Hanging on the wall at Mel’s Diner is a photograph taken of her as a child seated behind a huge stack of pancakes, a 1975 breakfast promotional poster. Shelly eventually attended LSU and served in Student Government as the Secretary of Assembly where she met Keith, a graduate student representative and Rayville, Louisiana native. Upon graduating, Jack asked his daughter about her future plans. Having no firm answer, he suggested Shelly come back and work at Mel’s. She did and started cooking the morning shift.  As an adult, she fell in love with the business and its patrons. When Keith approached Jack to ask for Shelly’s hand in marriage, Keith also asked to expand the family business. Jack insisted Keith try the restaurant industry on for a bit and make sure it’s what he wanted. At the time, Keith was working in Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Attorney General. For many months, he would return to Lafayette on weekends to work in the diner. Keith always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur and found his business home at Mel’s Diner. Keith would follow in Jack’s footsteps, partnering with him to open a second Mel’s Diner in Broussard, Louisiana. 

With the commitment of opening a new location, the low-key couple surprised everyone and  eloped to Antigua, forgoing a big planned wedding. On opening day for Mel’s Diner in Broussard, Jack in turn surprised the couple and said he was going hunting. Dad’s strategic behavior conveyed that Keith and Shelly needed to learn by diving right in. Shelly admits that for the first few months, the business ran the couple, as opposed to the other way around. But after a while, Keith and Shelly found their footing. They lived in a garage apartment, quite a few miles from the restaurant and often slept between shifts in the car. When the diner got busy, an employee would tap on the window signaling it was time to get back in the kitchen. By the end of the first year, Keith and Shelly had a fully trained staff, some who have been with Mel’s Diner now for over 20 years.  

The Covid shutdown order of 2020 forced both Mel’s Diners to close their doors for a month.  Once some of the restrictions were lifted, the staff quickly moved to takeout orders. A fire erupted in the kitchen after hours, one that staff could have easily put out had they been present. The fire demolished the kitchen on Johnston Street, and the location would have to be completely gutted and renovated. The tragedy was heartbreaking for the entire community. It was a difficult decision and Jack and Mel decided not to start over again. However, Keith and Shelly committed to reviving the original location back to what it was and more. As a surprise for Mel, Shelly used Mel’s 1959 Lafayette High School yearbook to have a wallpaper made for the bathrooms featuring all her high school classmates and memories. It resembled the wallpaper in the Broussard location, lifesize versions of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. Mel’s Diner on Johnston Street reopened in March of 2022. Now when long-time patrons visit the Johnston Street location, they search for their high school pictures on the bathroom wall to take selfies next to their youthful images. 

After thirty years of serving Lafayette, Mel’s Diner serves some of the same patrons and new diner devotees. The college students who used to populate the joint from midnight to 6 am are now frequenting the day shift, and new UL college students are discovering Mel’s for the first time. When the older crowds roll in for their coffee and newspaper, the former evening’s closing bartenders are just calling it a night. People come for good food, a laid-back atmosphere, and a side of nostalgia. The Monday tradition means red beans and rice – the Blue Plate Special. Some other favorites are chicken fried steak, liver and onions, BIG burgers, chili and of course, breakfast. All food is homemade, even the morning biscuits. Keith’s and Shelly’s sons work in the restaurant. Carson (23) is a UL student and Coleman (20) attends community college. Carson has mastered making the infamous batter for the pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Their daughter Ellie (17) can often be found seated in a corner booth with friends. 

Mel’s Diner exemplifies the connection between family and business – that loving what you do along with the people you love is a recipe for success in a tenuous industry. Jack and Mel’s vision found and kept its rightful place in south Louisiana, and Mel’s name is still shining in bright lights.