The interior of the Old Town Diner makes the restaurant look as if it hasn't changed in decades — and in many ways it hasn't.
The paneled walls, brown padded booths and stainless steel waitress station at the diner, 516 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, have had only minor renovations since it opened.
"We try to keep it the same, (just) try to fix the things that need to be fixed," said Jessica Watson, the assistant manager.
The diner opened in 1946, and about 80 percent of the customers are regulars, Watson said.
"They walk in and you know what they want," she said. "A couple of them have been coming since the '70s."
Bill Bartilson said he has eaten lunch at the diner almost every day for the last two years, but has known about it since he was a child.
"It's been here in one form or another since I was very young," he said. "It was a north end hang-out, so I knew it was here."
The one thing that can't be overlooked at the diner is the size of the pancakes, Bartilson said.
No one has ever finished the stack of three pancakes, an item that has been on the menu since the diner opened, Watson said, adding that the pancakes are as big as dinner plates.
"If I get a pancake with a normal breakfast, I can't finish the one," Bartilson said. "I've seen a number of people try to eat three — they can't."
He said he saw an MSU student come to the diner to eat a whole plate of pancakes, and the student only ate about one.
Lou Tallarico, who owns Lou Tallarico's Barber Shop, 521 E. Grand River Ave., said he has watched the diner change over the last 60 years.
"I moved in here in 1949 and have been looking out this window (at the diner) ever since," Tallarico said.
The original owners built the diner in 1946 and ran it until the early 1970s, Tallarico said. The diner was sold and operated for a few years until it closed in the mid-1970s. It stayed closed for two years and then was rented. When it finally received new owners, the diner was expanded into the next building.
"A guy by the name of Casey bought it and remodeled it in the early '80s. It's changed hands a half a dozen times, but it seems to be doing well," Tallarico said.
The diner was originally named the North Town Grill and changed to Old Town Diner in 1995. Jake Morelan bought the diner in 2002 with a group of co-owners, but took full ownership last year.
"It is going to be a classic diner and we are going to add an old fashion ice cream parlor," Morelan said. Old fashion ice cream sundaes, banana splits and soda will be offered, but no soft ice cream, he said.
"Like soda fountains of old, I think it's going to be fun," Morelan said.
