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Lawana’s Family Diner

There is a new diner open in town. Stacey and Lawana Heard, owners of the Olney Café, have expanded. Lawana opened a 1950s themed diner with a jukebox featuring albums such as the Grease soundtrack. Lawana’s Family Diner will be serving up fun Tuesday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The diner will close daily from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Lawana started doing deserts at the Olney Café while she was working at the bank. She wanted to get away from the bank and do something different. “I was just going to do deserts the whole time, I did not want to own a restaurant” said Lawana, “It actually got put in my husband’s hands when he was asked, want to buy this you got today this is it.” They have owned the café for almost five years now. “It has done well,” said Lawana,” The employees are great, like family, not really related, but family.” When the diner became available, they decided it was time to expand. They chose the 1950s theme to bring something different, upbeat, fun and something everybody would enjoy. Lawana enjoys the 1950s style and has taken the time to collect and display a creative array of decorations on the walls. The diner will have a different menu from the café, so that patrons will have more variety. A few items will be the same, like the hamburger steak, chicken fried steak and burgers, but there will be different side choices. The specials at the diner will always be different from the ones at the café. Lawana, who is a licensed culinary chef, is also looking forward to trying out new menu options to see what other selections people might like. The diner features a salad bar that can be enjoyed for under five dollars. There is an additional room at Lawana’s Family Diner that can be booked for special events.

Another exciting addition to the diner is the bakery. Lawana’s son, Dylan, became a pastry chef and has worked in Dallas and Denton for the past two years. When Lawana decided to open the diner, she invited her son to come run the bakery. Dylan will be serving up cakes, pies, cupcakes, and cookies in the bakery where you can sit and enjoy a treat. He will also be taking special orders for birthday cakes and wedding cakes.

The diner’s grand opening has not been scheduled yet but is expected to be an exciting event, as the staff will be dressed up in 1950s style outfits such as poodle skirts. And if we are lucky we may be entertained by an impromptu dance by the staff.