LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- For nearly a decade, the student-run Ranger Cafe @ West Shore restaurant at Lakewood High School has dispelled the bad rap school lunches receive, one fine-dining meal at a time.

Lakewood City Schools West Shore Career Tech Culinary Arts Instructor Rob McGorray said the restaurant, which opens for business this school year beginning Oct. 23, boasts quite an impressive menu.

"We added a panini sandwich with double-smoked ham, smoked Gouda cheese, caramelized onions and apple chutney served on ciabatta bread," said McGorray, who teaches Ranger Cafe seniors. "We also added a chicken chasseur served with creamy polenta, seasonal vegetables and a mushroom demi-glace sauce.

"Each week, we have a special salad, a special quiche and a special pasta the students come up with," he said.

Ranger Cafe @ West Shore restaurant is open from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays between mid-October and mid-April. The 50-seat restaurant, which first opened in 2010, does make money every year, with profits going back into the business.

"This provides our students real-world experience," McGorray said. "We can't really duplicate what it feels like to have customers ordering food with glitches and problems and changes. It helps the students to be responsible for their work and own their performance.

"Because we're only open two days, it's a challenge to get fresh ingredients while not making too much and at the same time making enough. Really, it's kind of what the problem every restaurant has every day. Also, we've tried to keep the menu to what students would see in the field, where everything is made from scratch," he said.

Ranger Cafe @ West Shore is run by roughly 40 students from Lakewood, Westlake, Bay Village and Rocky River. Juniors from 8 to 11 a.m. prep and cook food, while seniors from noon to 3 p.m. serve and clean up.

The one change to this school year's operation of the Ranger Cafe @ West Shore restaurant is the active solicitation of businesses and community groups holding special events.

"In the middle of our season during January and February, where it slows down because of the weather, we'd like for clubs, groups or businesses to have a meal with a meeting afterwards," McGorray said.

"It's a nice size room for a small meeting. Up to now, we've been doing it a little bit by word of mouth, but this year we hope to add more dates," he said.

To make a dining room reservation, call 216-529-4165, extension 1.