The Dinky Diner, the restaurant right above the Blue Owl, is trudging through mud. It is undergoing some changes for the better, said Michael Roberts, co-owner of Charlie Yoke’s.

While the Dinky Diner is being remodeled, the owners are working on a new menu and decisions are being made to get the restaurant opened back up as soon as possible.

Jennifer Schubert, waitress at the Dinky Diner, said she enjoyed her time at the restaurant.

“It was fun being a waitress. It was fun to see the different types of people between the night crowd and the morning crowd,” Schubert said.

The restaurant has been going through some rough patches for a while. As it turns out, people aren’t as keen on the idea of waking up at 7 o’clock to eat breakfast, Roberts said.

“I think the problem was that not enough people heard of us or came through our doors. I think we should change it up, change up the scene to better fit Welch Avenue,” Schubert said.

The Campustown redevelopment through Kingland Systems is also playing a part in the actions taken to get the Dinky Diner reopened.

“With us dealing with Charlie Yoke’s relocation, we’re trying to open up a restaurant down in Des Moines we decided that [Dinky Diner] had to close,” Roberts said.

There is still work that needs to be done inside Dinky Diner, and for now that will be the focus to get things back up and running within the next two to three weeks, Roberts said.

The restaurant was bought as a secondary plan so Charlie Yoke’s had a place to go when the Campustown redevelopment took hold.

“We had basically about two hours to decide whether we wanted to buy [Golden Wok], and since Charlie Yokes is in the redevelopment we decided to pick up that building just in case,” Roberts said.

It is not guaranteed what is going to be put in the Dinky Diner yet. It might be left as the Dinky Diner with an expansion of the lunch menu and go back to breakfast.

“We may flip to the old restaurant concept that we are working on down in Des Moines, which will be a franchise concept,” Roberts said.

Schubert said she would hope if the Dinky Diner were to be more like a bar scene, the specialty items would stand out more than other restaurants on Welch Avenue.

“Dinky Diner won’t go away whether it’s under a different name,” Roberts said. “We’re looking at a lot of things if Charlie Yoke’s has to leave … my whole kitchen staff there may just take that kitchen and move it over the Dinky Diner and call it Charlie Yoke’s Bar and Grill.”

Roberts said his hope for the Dinky Diner is the restaurant will be a prime lunch destination on Welch Avenue.