Just out of curiosity, does anybody know whereabouts the interior and/or exteriors of the diner were filmed?
If anybody has any information on whereabouts these filming locations are, as well as actual names & addresses, I'd be most appreciative.
Thank you
[deleted]
I ate at that diner many times when I lived in Phoenix. It was a decent greasy spoon, but I probably wouldn't go there again if not for the history.
shareThe restaurant it was filmed at was actually called Big Al's Pit Bar-B-Q, and stood at 1148 N. Main Ave., Tucson, and is long-since defunct. I have an old newspaper article from the time of the filming that has an interview with the guy who ran the place, discussing the use of it in the movie. I'd be happy to forward the article to anyone interested. Big Al himself had a role as an extra in the movie, apparently.
And I just tried typing that old address into Google Maps, and if you choose the "street view" option, you'll see a boarded-up building that at first glance does indeed look like the diner in the movie.
Thank you everybody for the information. I have one more question regarding a location that was right near Mel & Ruby's Cafe. I am talking about the place where Alice & Tommy lived when she got the job at Mel & Ruby's Cafe. Was that especially built for the movie or was it a real place? I couldn't make out if it was a motel or a housing development. It was only but so big. Also, if it was real, is it still there?
Also, lilsourgoose, I sent you two private messages. :)
[deleted]
I'm familiar with Tucson and was recently visiting. While driving through downtown with a lifelong Tucson resident and passing the Ronstadt Transit Center (downtown bus station) on 6th Avenue my friend said, out of the blue, that's where the Manhattan bar used to be, the one in ADLHA. (I don't recall if the Manhattan is the one she actually sang in or just checked out.)
Chicago Store music shop is still there, complete with painted signage on the side of the building as seen in the movie. A few years ago a big truck somehow managed to crash right into the big glass windows in the front of the store.
During the same above-mentioned visit to Tucson, I ended up on the east side of Tucson and sure enough passed right by the Monterey Village shopping center, thinking again of ADLHA.
Mel's Diner is still open for business and doing well in Phoenix, Arizona as of June 22, 2011.
The interior is very much as it appears in the film, while the decor has been updated and the walls are decorated with photos and articals about the TV show, including autographed stills of the TV cast.
Strangely, there is no mention at all of the feature film.
"If you don't know the answer -change the question."