A new dairy bar is open where a Zesto near Columbia used to be. What to know
A legendary building that was home to a Zesto restaurant for nearly eight decades is once again open as a new dairy bar.
Mel’s Dairy Bar opened this week at 3239 Forest Drive in Forest Acres. Customers were lined up at the location ordering burgers, ice cream cones and more when a reporter stopped by Tuesday afternoon.
The spot along Forest Drive had previously been home to a Zesto Drive-In for 75 years, but that location closed in December amid the retirement of its owner.
Mel’s Dairy Bar is the latest effort from Columbia restaurateur Mohammad Saadeddin, who owns Main Street’s Noma Bistro and the recently opened Cat Daddy Cafe. A city of Forest Acres business license hanging in the window at Mel’s on Tuesday was issued to Saadeddin.
Visitors to Mel’s who had previously visited the Zesto at that location will find the experience comfortably familiar. It continues to have dining room and patio seating and a blue-and-white color scheme. Customers can order from cash registers inside or from the windows in the front of the building along Forest Drive.
The menu at Mel’s features burgers, fries, hot dogs, chicken dinners and snacks, salads and Philly sandwiches. There also are several gyros on the list, including lamb and chicken.
The Mel’s lineup also includes a roster of ice cream treats, including cones, dipped cones, sundaes, milkshakes and floats. This reporter purchased a chocolate milkshake on Tuesday, a cold treat that helped quell the blast furnace heat of a June afternoon in the Columbia area.
