By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Andy Serrioz says come Saturday night; he’s going to lock the doors at Andy’s Grill & Bar restaurant around 11 or 12 p.m. on New Years’ Eve night, much like Sam Malone did on the season’s finale of the T.V. show Cheers.

No fanfare, no confetti, no sentimental speeches.

He will quietly close the door, lock it, and walk into retirement as the owner of Wellington’s popular restaurant and bar for the past 50 years on 1604 North A Street.

Andy and Diane Serrioz

Serrioz contemplates what’s next for the restaurant. He hopes to lease it to a young man in Wellington. But, at the moment, this man needs licensing and financing to pay the staff. He had two other buyers wanting to buy it outright. Again, both deals fell through because of financing.

If Serrioz had to guess, it might take two or three months before Andy’s will reopen. But one thing is for sure; it won’t be his. You may be too late if you want a meal at the traditional Andy’s Grill & Bar. There are just three nights left, and it is filled with reservations. Saturday evening, the Serrioz-run restaurant will close for good. And with it will be have a lifetime of memories.

The beginning 

Serrioz and his wife Diane have been operating the business since 1972. It has indeed become a family affair. He does the cooking. Diane does the bartending. He has a daughter who waits tables and another helping with the cooking. He has a couple of granddaughters who help as well.

The past two years, Andy’s has been open 12 hours a week – Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

“It is still profitable to stay open even with those hours,” he said.

But he is in pain due to his back – a result of years of standing up in the kitchen or bartending. It is time to rest full-time, he says.

“I used to enjoy the challenge of cooking for a dinner party of 20 from a full menu and doing it in a timely manner,” Serrioz said. “Now it just makes me grumpy.”

Serrioz has spent a lifetime perfecting his craft ever since he got a job at the new Ramada Inn in Wellington around 1964. They needed someone to clean the bathrooms, and the teenager Andy needed the job.

“That was where I learned the craft of serving drinks and food simultaneously,” he said.

Ramada Inn was not the deserted, dilapidated building it is today by the Viaduct. When it was first opened, it had quite the restaurant. People could come in and watch their steaks grilled from the front window.

He said one day, the chef there asked him to help, and soon, it became a daily job. It was here he especially learned the craft of cooking steaks at various temperatures almost simultaneously with other foods.

Eventually, when Serrioz got into his 20s, he was talking to Lynn Carroll, who was then owner of Circle Inn at 1604 N. A. He wanted out of the business. At 25, Serrioz bought the business. At that time, the Circle Inn was strictly a bar with a dance floor. Serrioz also ran bars in other surrounding communities and helping in his family’s pool table business. The Circle Inn was one of the most hopping drinking establishments in the area — especially on the weekends.

“We would have a country band on Friday and a rock-n-roll band on Saturday,” Serrioz said. “And they were the best bands in the Wichita area. We’d get customers from all over – south Wichita, Derby, Ark City, Conway Springs – you name it.”

The restaurant business 

But Serrioz’s dream of running a supper club was always on his mind. And in 1979, he decided to take the plunge and turn Circle Inn into Andy’s Grill & Bar. He expanded the north side of the building with new restrooms and would put in tables where there was once a stage. He built a fireplace and got a big screen T.V.

He and Diane would periodically host dances on Saturday nights, but that faded away by the 1990s as the family focused on food and drinks.

“We were careful in that we wanted to make it a nice upscale atmosphere, but not too upscale,” Serrioz said. “We wanted people to feel at home.”

And boy, did they ever. Andy’s was a restaurant where you could order many things or just sit around and socialize. He had steaks, chicken, burgers, seafood, appetizers, and house salads.

Cooking became an art form. Not only did Andy practice consistency, but he adhered to timelines. His philosophy was a customer shouldn’t have to wait longer than 15 minutes for an order – 20 tops.

“Diane always gets mad at me when I go to a restaurant in Wichita,” Serrioz says. “I’m amazed at how much time they waste. I could put out 30 meals; what it takes them to put out our meal.”

Serrioz said that timing is the key to running a restaurant, and he knows how to maximize it. A large group ordering different things in the kitchen becomes like a big band putting on a show – other instruments performing simultaneously and in sync.

It starts with the person ordering a well-done steak. That goes on first, followed by the chicken breast, then the seafood, then the medium steak, followed by the medium rare. That’s not to mention the chicken strips in the fryer or the mashed potatoes and green beans on the side. Serrioz said he knows exactly when a steak is cooked just by looking at it. While the newer chefs depend on electronic thermometers to get the exact temperature inside, Serrioz knows just by the steak’s texture.

Andy’s, in its heydays, was open six days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. If the party went wild, it could be 3 a.m. on Sunday. If a couple of yahoos were mixing it up, they were told to take it outside, and usually, they did. He said throughout the years; he only had to kick out a few.

“My rule was if you broke something or hurt someone, you couldn’t come back,” Serrioz said.

But if those same people came back later in the week and apologized to him, Serrioz was willing to reconsider.

The days went by

Eventually, the rowdy crowd got older, just like him. Those burn-the-place-down crowds of yesteryear were now sitting quietly, drinking and socializing.

“I guess I aged just like my customers,” he said.

Eventually, it became routine. He knew his customers. On Saturday nights, he knew a farming couple east of town would come in every weekend and order chicken fried steak and pork chops. He knew who would order the halibut, those who liked their steak charred black, and those who ate it bloody red. When some people walked into the door, Diane would automatically start fixing them their favorite drink before they even sat down.

Who knows what latest love-triangle scandal was discussed, what world problems were solved, and what emotions were quelled? It was a meeting place for so many people in town. He guessed 70 percent of Andy’s business was from Wellington proper. They loved Andy’s, and he loved them.

“I can’t say enough about the people of Wellington,” Serrioz says. “They have always been there for me. When I announced my retirement, we got so many cards.”

In recent years, it became a family affair with his three daughters, Chelsea, Miranda, and Bridgette, helping.

Some of the food may be irreplaceable. Will the next chef work as hard as Andy? That may not be easy. Take the one menu item, green beans, as an example.

“People ask me how come they can’t get the flavor we have in our green beans at home,” he said. “Well, do they put their green beans on at 10 in the morning, allowing it to simmer all day with special seasoning? It is those kinds of things that make a difference.”

For more than 50 years, Serrioz has provided food, drinks, and atmosphere for town folks looking for a good time.

As we ring in the New Year this Saturday night, that era in Wellington will come to an end (cue the Cheers music).

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