Get The Ink Out:

Betrayed. That’s the only way I can describe how I felt Saturday.

You put food on the table, provided a roof over my family’s head and helped put me through college. And now you’re taking away something I enjoy.

No, it’s not my parents. It’s Vons. The grocer is going to raze the building it’s in at 17th Street and Newport Boulevard, which means the Costa Mesa Omelette Parlor has 30 days to vacate.

The eatery, according to its Facebook page, is thinking about moving somewhere else. I sure hope it does.

When I saw the announcement on the restaurant’s door, my heart sank. The space has so much history packed inside it, from the neat decorations to the wall “murals” of pictures from various points in the city’s history. I really like the firefighter one.

The restaurant has been there for 27 years. That’s as old as I am!

Shouldn’t something like that be preserved? Too often we destroy buildings for something “newer” and “better.” But what we’re really doing is demolishing our history.

I know we can’t keep every building ever built and new stuff is cool, but how much architectural history and beauty are we ruining just because we think we want something bigger? Bigger isn’t always better, let me tell you.

Vons is supposedly going to rebuild and become bigger. But is that really wise? Mother’s is going to be more prominent over on Newport Boulevard and 19th Street. One could argue that it will be more difficult to get into that store, but I have a feeling that Vons’ business will be siphoned off a bit.

In the March 19 edition of this column (“Just keep me happy”), I wrote, “I especially love the Costa Mesa Omelette Parlor because the staff is really friendly and never freak out when I give my very complicated order (breakfast muffin sandwich, no onion, no tomato, sub fruit but not grapefruit or melon because I won’t eat them). Another feather in their hat is that my mother asks to eat there, something she never does with any other restaurant.”

And all of that is still very much true. Except my order. I started getting the vanilla yogurt instead of the fruit. Fantastic.

Where else am I going to take my family when they visit? Where else will I go when I need some quiet space to think and write? I have barely branched out on the menu. I’ve tried the French toast. It’s great. My dad loves the pancakes.

I spent my birthday brunch with my dad at the O.P. It’s a tradition I’d like to start.

I haven’t found a breakfast place as awesome as this. The closest is Shorehouse Cafe in Seal Beach. The food and service is good there, but there’s something about the parlor that screams homeyness.

My friend Mitzi brought me to the parlor more than a year ago. She first went there on a date. I have since taken an ex-boyfriend there, my family, co-workers and my roommate Alicia.

We are all saddened by the possibility that the Omelette Parlor could close forever.

I haven’t completely converted everyone to being in love with the Omelette Parlor, so I’m thinking of organizing a trip with my co-workers. E-mail me if you’d like to join us. Maybe I can persuade John Canalis to make it a Chat with the Editors event. Let me know what you think.

Until I find out if the Omelette Parlor is going to stay open but move elsewhere, I’m boycotting Vons, which hurts. My father has worked there since 1981. I got a scholarship through his union that put me through college. I’ve always been brand loyal, but forcing a local store that brought foot traffic to what seems to be a dead center to close is the wrong move.

JAMIE ROWE is a copy editor for the Daily Pilot. She may be reached at (714) 966-4634 or [email protected]. Squee is disappointed he’s not allowed in Disneyland, as he thinks he would really fit in well on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in his new alter ego, Squeebeard. Arrrrgh!