High school sweethearts, Bart and Maura Gillman, stand near the water feature outside the banquet facilities of Mel and Faye's Diner. The past fifty-three years have seen great changes, and today, Mel's is still one of Jackson's favorite attractions.

The family behind the legendary Moo Burger

By Vera Allen

1956 was the year Elvis Presley topped the charts for the first time with Heartbreak Hotel and Norma Jean officially changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. A big year for American pop culture, but in Amador County that year was especially profound, for it was the year that Mel and Faye Gillman opened their small roadside diner Mel and Faye’s. This small diner would become a significant part of Amador County’s past and future. The original diner was just a small stand that was situated at the intersection of Highway 49/88 and Main Street. While residing at that location the diner went through three different expansions and became an icon. People flocked to Mel and Faye’s for the great food they served and especially for the legendary “Moo Burger,” which is still a customer favorite. It wasn’t long before Mel and Faye's was one of the biggest attractions in the small town of Jackson.

For the past fifty-three years, many great changes have been made at the diner. One significant change was when Mel and Faye’s son, Bart and his wife Maura, took over ownership of the diner. Also, due to the expansion of the Highway 49/88 corridor, the diner was relocated to where it now resides today, which is only a stone's throw from the original location. This new site allowed for many much needed upgrades such as extra dining space, a large, more maneuverable kitchen and the addition of banquet facilities.

The banquet room has fulfilled a great need in this community. Jackson City Manager, Mike Daly expresses “The banquet room has been a tremendous asset to the community. There really hadn’t been anything like it in Jackson before.” The banquet room has not only been a beacon to several community service group like the Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis, but has also provided much needed facilities for wedding receptions, funerals, benefit dinners and much more. The facility has also given the Jackson Lions Club, which Bart Gillman has been an active member for many years, an official home.

This year brought another great change to Mel and Faye’s, with the opening of Bg’s Lounge. The new lounge offers customers a full bar for the first time and a big screen television to watch their favorite sports.

While many people may be familiar with the history of the diner, many are not familiar with the story of Bart and Maura Gillman. Bart Gillman was born in 1959. He spent most of his childhood growing up in his parent’s dinner and by the early 1970’s he began cooking for them. During Bart’s senior year at Jackson High School, he began dating freshmen Maura. Upon graduating High School in 1978, Bart went to work full time with his parents at the diner. Three years later Maura graduated and began attending American River College. She graduated with and Associated Arts degree and opened an agents office for her father in Jackson.

On November 3, 1984 these high school sweethearts were married and later had three sons; Beau, Bryant and Bradley. In 2003 with the imminent relocation of Mel and Faye’s, Maura quit her job to join forces with Bart at the diner. Together they compliment each other and have become the powerful force behind what the locals call "Mel's" as it is known today.  Bart manages the kitchen and the cooking while Maura takes care of the booking and execution of events in the banquet room.

Both Bart and Maura acknowledge that running Mel’s is a demanding and challenging task, but it’s a task they manage pretty darn well. Their son Beau Gillman confesses, “I have no idea when my parents sleep!” He greatly admires their fortitude and believes it has taught him and his brothers to become stronger people. Anyone who sees this hardworking couple will come to the same conclusion so many of their friends, family, customers and fellow residents have come to. Officer Mike Collins of the Jackson Police Department has witnessed this strong dedication countless times while on patrol.“ I have never met more hardworking or more dedicated parents, employers or business owners," he said.

Not only have Bart and Maura kept Mel's a thriving business, they also greatly contribute to the community. When the lights go out in the County everyone knows PG&E is working around the clock to get the power back up, but what many don’t realize is Bart and Maura are working around the clock to keep those workers fed. All the food vendors at the Jackson Lions Dandelion Days get their food from Mel’s. Furthermore, during the annual Push America 501K, a national outreach project of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity that comes through Jackson every July, Bart and Maura provide breakfast for the many hungry bicyclist that participate in the event.

Both Bart and Maura have a magnificent love for the community and because of that love Mel's become, as Mike Daly puts it, “like the 'Cheers' of Jackson.” It is a place that you can go where you are bound to run into someone you know. It has become the information hub of Amador. But more importantly, it is a place where people from all over can go and know that they will be welcomed, because both Bart and Maura have the biggest hearts you can find here in Amador County. For all of these reasons and many more, it has been overwhelming decided that Bart and Maura Gillman deserved beyond all measure the 2009 Business Persons of the Year Award.

Bart and Maura will be honored at an awards dinner Wednesday, November 4th at the American Legion Hall, in Sutter Hill by the Amador County Chamber of Commerce.