Omelette Parlor spared

Paul Clinton

Susan Adkins gained an 11th-hour reprieve for her Omelette Parlor

after Vons officials agreed to rescind their call for her ouster from

a 17th Street shopping center.

During a Tuesday meeting, Vons Companies Inc. agreed to put Adkins

on a month-to-month lease and incorporate her popular local eatery

into a planned renovation of the center.

“Vons is planning a remodel of the shopping center,” Adkins said.

“At this point, it’s their intention to accommodate the Omelette

Parlor.”

As part of her settlement agreement with Vons, Adkins has agreed

to close adjacent watering hole Chester Drawers by June 30.

A spokeswoman for Safeway Inc., which owns Vons, couldn’t be

reached for comment.

Earlier this month, Adkins announced she was closing the Omelette

Parlor, which she has run since 1983. Many customers at the homey

eatery, which draws praises for its down-home food and historic

photos of Costa Mesa on the wall, said the announcement outraged and

saddened him.

At the time, Vons was unwilling to extend Adkins’ lease for the

7,000-square-foot space that includes Chester Drawers.

Within six months, Vons is expected to submit revised plans to

renovate the center to the city. Those plans would included the

Omelette Parlor, said Mindy Willingham, Adkins’ Huntington Beach

attorney.

Corporate owner Great American Fair opened the Omelette Parlor and

Chester Drawers in 1983 as a Western-themed chain restaurant. A

similar Omelette Parlor still exists in Santa Monica.

At the time of the opening, the company signed a 15-year lease

with a five-year option. In 1988, Adkins, who helped launch the

restaurant, bought the Omelette Parlor. As the company dissolved in

1993, Adkins purchased the Chester Drawers bar.

Local patrons have said they head to the Omelette Parlor for its

hearty food and local flavor. The eatery’s menu is dotted with

locally named omelets such as Estancia Rediscovered and the

Performing Arts Center.

* 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.