Omelette Parlor owner gets a lawyer

Paul Clinton

After two decades of serving popular breakfast dishes, Susan Adkins

isn’t ready to take her Omelette Parlor and go quietly.

Adkins, who had said she would close the popular local eatery

after failing to reach a lease extension with her landlord, now

promises to stand and fight.

The soft-spoken Adkins hired a Huntington Beach attorney and, with

the help of a community now rallying behind her, says she’ll stay at

her 17th Street location beyond the end of the month and the end of

her lease.

Vons Companies Inc., which owns the shopping center that has

housed the Omelette Parlor since 1983, had ordered her to vacate her

7,000-square-foot space by June 30. Adkins also owns Chester Drawers,

the adjoining folksy bar.

And while a legal victory is slim, a political one could be in the

offing, Huntington Beach attorney Mindy Willingham said.

“The last thing a judge wants to do is intrude on somebody’s

property rights,” Willingham said. “A lot of people are very upset

and they want to see it stay.”

Willingham wrote a May 30 letter to Keith Lam, the shopping

center’s property manager, claiming that Adkins is “open to multiple

suggestions” that would pave the way for her to stay.

A meeting has been scheduled for today between Adkins and Vons

officials, who have agreed to reopen stalled talks for a lease

extension.

“Vons is reviewing all of its options as it related to possible

expansion and current retail tenants at the shopping center,” said

Daymond Rice, a spokesman for Vons owner Safeway Inc. “Vons is

seeking a solution that will benefit all of the residents of Costa

Mesa.”

A year ago, Vons mounted plans to expand and refurbish the center;

those plans received City Council approval. No building permits have

been issued for the work, though.

Willingham said she has appealed to the city to help Adkins find a

new location for the Omelette Parlor, which sits in a redevelopment

area.

Also, on Saturday and Sunday, supporters of the restaurant

circulated a petition, gathering some 800 names of people who want

the restaurant and bar to stay, Willingham said.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

paul.clinton@latimes.com.