By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The old Swirly Top Drive in on S.W. Trail Street in Larned was once known for handing out free shakes and malts to Larned High School football players if they won on Friday nights. The Swirly Top is gone but Chad Eakin has transformed the building at 424 S.W. Trail Street on the west of the city into the 1950s-themed The Diner. Caitlyn Eakin, who is handling marketing for the new restaurant, said The Diner will be a trip down memory lane.
"Ultimately, we wanted to just highlight the community by bringing back a vital piece of Larned's history and provide another dining place and experience for those who live in the Pawnee County community and beyond," she said. "The Swirly Top was a happening spot. We wanted to really do justice to that time period."
Eakin completely gutted and overhauled The Swirly Top inside and out but maintained the look of the era with a bar and stools and a black-and-white checkered floor. The Diner will serve standard diner fare for breakfast and lunch, as well as soft-serve ice cream, sundaes, and shakes.
"We're going to do cheeseburgers, chicken strips, sandwiches, things of that nature," Caitlyn said. "That will start at 10:30 a.m. Breakfast will be from 7 a.m. to 10:30, and they will have breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos to start out with, and then eventually move on to pancakes and waffles."
Chance and Michelle Noble will operate The Diner. The Larned Area Chamber of Commerce will host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at The Diner at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Starting hours for the restaurant are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, though those hours are subject to change once the business is fully established.
Watch for updates on the new restaurant by following The Diner - Larned, KS on Facebook.