diner for teens, adults

? Happy days are returning to this central-Kansas town.

A long-dormant restaurant on U.S. 50 Highway in Burrton has been outfitted with antiques, memorabilia and a staff of mostly teen-agers sporting the rolled-up jeans look that was popular in the 1950s.

Entrepreneur Jim Dole and his wife, Pam, are creating “Happy Days” for the teen-agers living in the city of Burrton, located about 15 miles southeast of Hutchinson. It opens for business on Wednesday.

“The kids in Burrton need something to do,” said Pam Dole, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Jim.

Activities at “Happy Days” will range from televised sporting events to pinball machines and air hockey. Customers also will be able to dine on sandwiches, hot dogs, pizza and ice cream.

The food will be dished out on an unusual fountain-like counter crafted out of an old Coca-Cola pop cooler. Adding to the ambiance is a bust of Elvis and wooden and Formica tables from the period.

Most of the antiques are for sale, Pam Dole said.

Happy Days also includes a room for the non-teens, dubbed “the old people” by manager Debbie Good.

“People in town were asking, ‘Why just for kids?'” Dole said. “And we thought, ‘Yeah. Why not?”‘

The property also includes a large parking lot just to the west. And there are a couple of business possibilities under consideration for that property.

Pam Dole said her husband had a simple reason for deciding to invest in his community.

“He grew up here,” she said “His great-grandparents homesteaded some land near here. He always has told me he had the happiest childhood here. Great parents. It was just time for him to give something back.”