BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:Still going strong

Despite steady business and never having closed the doors in 23 years, Omelette Parlor owner Susan Adkins still gets calls from people who don’t know the breakfast, brunch and lunch spot is still open for business.

The confusion isn’t entirely out of line, though. Three years ago, Adkins had to shut down Chester Drawers — the bar she owned next door — after Safeway Inc., which owns the 17th Street shopping center, threatened to terminate her lease.

Many Costa Mesa residents expressed their anger and sadness at the possible closing of the down-to-earth eatery, and eventually Vons Inc. gave Adkins a reprieve.

She sacrificed the bar and was able to keep the Omelette Parlor.

Since 2003, business has built back up, and it’s not unusual to wait, along with many others, outside for 15 or 20 minutes during the rush morning hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

Twenty-three years ago, Adkins helped open Omelette Parlor as part of a chain of breakfast-plus-bar joints all over California and Colorado, including the 17th Street location.

But after a few years, the parent company fizzled out, giving control to Adkins in 1988. Five years later, Adkins bought the Omelette Parlor and Chester Drawers.

Just like it has since it was opened, the restaurant specializes in hearty, down-home cooking with a flair for historic and comfortable ambiance. Pictures of Costa Mesa during the city’s first years hang on the wall, and menu items bear familiar names, such as the Estancia Rediscovered and Performing Arts Center omelets.

“It’s just comfortable,” Adkins said. “I think in this day and age of chrome and glass and tile and a starched-white atmosphere, some people find this refreshing.”

The population of diners at the Omelette Parlor includes older couples, high school students and everyone in the middle.

Costa Mesa residents Clinton Pace and Claire Roth have frequented the restaurant for years. Pace said when the eatery almost closed, he was there to stir up support.

“I’m stoked it didn’t close…. Everybody in Costa Mesa rallied together to show our support,” Pace said after he had eaten breakfast Saturday. “It’s all local people who come here, work here…. From Newport people driving their Ferraris to Westside folks like me — it’s just a hodge-podge.”

Besides the familiar atmosphere, the price is right at the Omelette Parlor. A complete breakfast with eggs, hearty breakfast potatoes and meat — never fear vegetarians, the restaurant offers Gardenburger patties, too — may only set you back about $7.

“It’s not a trendy place that you have to get all dressed up and only a certain kind of people come,” Adkins said. “Everybody’s welcome.”

Almost everything comes with fresh fruit, and almost all breakfast entrees include the signature wheat nut English muffin, accompanied by smooth apple butter. Despite Chesters being closed, Adkins still has her full liquor license and serves up mimosas and Bloody Marys.

But the menu doesn’t stop at breakfast, although Adkins estimated she goes through about 7,000 eggs a week. The eatery is known for its French fries, burgers and sandwiches, too.

“The value is good and the food is good,” Roth said. “Other places, you pay twice the price, and the service is great here, too.”

The Omelette Parlor is at 179 E. 17th Street between Vons and Longs Drugs.