Mel's Cafe owner remembered, honored

Melvin Walker's restaurant on West Main has played a starring role in our community for over 30 years.

"There's no real big secret....just seasoning and love." — Mel Walker

In 2006, Mel’s Cafe had a starring role in a movie called Swedish Auto. It was made by local filmmaker Derek Seig and starred Lukas Haas (known then for his role in Witness with Harrison Ford), January Jones (of later Mad Men fame), Chris Williams (of later 'Krazee Eyez Killa' on Curb Your Enthusiasm fame and more), and Lee Weaver (who had played the blind seer in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and numerous characters of 60, 70, 80s, and 90s TV shows ). While a young, orphaned white guy who works as an auto mechanic at a Volvo repair shop falling in love with a young, blond UVA student and violin virtuoso who works at Mel's Cafe stretches the imagination, after isolating the Mel's Cafe scenes (please enjoy below) I realized the cafe really did have a starring role, as the basic arc of the love story plays out there. Much like it still does, as its owner, Melvin Walker, who died suddenly on May 28 at the age of 69, built …