<P> Mel ′ s Diner is the setting for the 1976 − 1985 American TV series Alice . It is a fictional roadside diner on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, that serves locals and truckers . It has a counter, two large booths and a couple of tables . Although one of the three waitresses, Alice, is the main character, the show revolves around all of the waitresses and Mel Sharples, the owner and cook . Most scenes of the show take place in the diner as well . The diner setting is so intertwined with the show that the series itself is often referred to erroneously as "Mel's Diner". </P> <P> Throughout the run of the series, Mel's Diner has a reputation, especially among its regular customers, for serving terrible food, though, more often than not, this is meant to be a joke . Mel's is noted for its gourmet chili, which is referred to as "Mel's Famous Chili". In "Sharples vs Sharples" Mel's mother, Carrie (Martha Raye), published a cookbook with Mel's chili recipe in it and the two fought about whose chili recipe it really was . Carrie took it out because Mel claimed it's "mine, mine, mine". </P>

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