GIRARD, Kan. — It isn’t every day that a teenager – who entered the restaurant industry at the ripe old age of 14 – sets out to preserve and reopen a popular restaurant in a building more than 100 years older than he is.

In the eastern Kansas community of Girard, 10 miles shy of the Missouri border, 19-year-old Andrew Faucett is the new operator of East Side Diner. 

The rural community of fewer than 3,000 people has seen a restaurant in that space since 1920, but the diner had closed about a year ago. 

Past owner-operator Kimbra Brunk will lease the building to Faucett for one year, but if the restaurant succeeds, she plans to sell it to him.

The teen believes he can manage a grand opening by the end of May, as he concludes his affairs at a popular cafe in nearby Pittsburg, Kansas, where he’s been a cook, server and manager since he was 14 years old.

“If you have the heart and the passion to want to be your own boss and to have your own efforts impact the community, you can do it,” Faucett said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are.”

Work ahead

Old appliances and furniture have collected dust since Faucett’s future restaurant closed, and he didn’t exactly find a new-car smell when he turned the key for the first time.

The exterior awning has large holes in it, the interior paint is chipped, the ceiling has to be replaced, and Faucett will have to deep clean everything before opening.

“We won’t have any problems with people coming in on day one,” Brunk said. “People keep asking, ‘When are you going to reopen?’ Everyone is very anxious. After that, the place will have to be ready. We’ll have to earn their trust.”

If the essentials are done in time, Faucett said, he plans to provide catering services around the area to make sure everyone knows East Side is back. He’s confident the demand is there.

“The anticipation is so high, we could probably have a vegetarian menu just fine the first week,” Brunk said with a laugh. “But these guys are farmers. They’ll be wanting to know where the meat is.”

Dave Wutke, who worked at the restaurant in the 1970s as a busboy and waiter, said the reopening drums up plenty of memories and hope for the future.

“It’s the ideal hometown kind of place,” Wutke said. “It’s location and everything right on the square really represents the heart and soul of Girard.”

Clem writes for the Joplin, Missouri Globe.