A tilted coffee cup sign hangs over Grand Avenue in Arizona, and it has been pointing hungry folks toward the same booths since the 1950s. This little diner once starred on national television, yet locals mostly come for the coffee refills and plates big enough to share.
Breakfast tastes better when the walls around you have watched Phoenix grow up. Bring your appetite and a little patience, because good things here move at their own pace.
A Grand Avenue Landmark With a Tilted Cup
Right along Grand Avenue in Phoenix sits a low-slung building that looks like it wandered out of a black-and-white postcard. The famous slanted coffee cup sign leans over the sidewalk, catching the eye of anyone driving past.
Mel’s Diner has held this corner since the 1950s, serving breakfast and lunch to a steady stream of curious travelers and loyal regulars. It is the kind of spot you might pass a hundred times before finally pulling in, and plenty of longtime Phoenix residents admit they did exactly that…