Iconic eatery at entrance to Presque Isle State Park prepares for annual April 1 opening.

When the doors to Sara's restaurant swing open Monday at 10:30 a.m. for its 39th season, count on finding owner Sean Candela in his customary spot near the back grill.

"It's an essential spot where I can see the flow of the whole restaurant," said Candela, 65. "I have cameras in front of me for drive-through, I have cameras for express windows. I can see the flow of the sundae stations. I'm the hot dog cooker."

No matter the weather conditions, legions of patrons will line up at the 1950s-style eatery at the entrance to Presque Isle State Park and enjoy the first taste of summer.

Candela never loses the sense of excitement for opening day.

"That's the great thing about being seasonal," he said. "You get to regenerate the batteries and there's a light at the end of the tunnel, so you're eager to get back and ready to get going. It's nice to see the new customers and the employees that you haven't seen for a year and how the kids have grown, and the customers you haven't seen over the winter. It's always exciting to say hello to people."

Candela estimates Sara's will serve several hundred thousand visitors through closing day on Sept. 30.

When Candela opened Sara's in 1980, business was sparse and his staff numbered two, including himself.

"I would do the ice cream and the cooking at the same time," he said. "That first year, I had one employee for the whole year. I used to open in the morning, my employee would work a few hours, I'd mop the floors, clean the ice cream machines and lock up. We didn't have the awnings but it was basically the same footprint. There was no paved parking lot and no outside seating."

Candela never envisioned his restaurant would become such a community icon.

"I think that first year, my philosophy basically was I made every mistake possible and tried not to do them two or three times," he said with a laugh. "It was a matter of trial and error because I had never worked in the restaurant industry. I was going to be a city manager. At one point I went for a master's degree in public administration. I enjoyed this from the very beginning. It's a lot of hours and a lot of work, but you get a lot of interaction with people. It's exceeded my expectations. I still look forward to it as much as I have in the past."

Walk inside the restaurant and you'll see the latest food-service technology intertwined with 1950s-era Americana.

"You can build a tradition if you're older and if you've done it long enough," Candela said. "We've been blessed to be able to open on April 1 39 years in a row. People get to learn and remember, and it makes it nice. We have a lot of people who try to visit here the first day and we have a lot of people who try to come the last day of the season, and some who try to visit both days. It's very nice."

Sara's daily spring hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Summer hours — 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. — kick in Memorial Day weekend.

Menu additions include a perch sandwich, a perch basket and a maple baked beans side item. A second ice-cream express window also will debut.

At peak times, Candela's staff will number 75 to 90.

"We have a few second-generation employees," Candela said. "I always tell them it's going to be tough to be as good as your mother or as good as your father, and they always get a smile out of that."

His philosophy with customers has always been to "try and make things a little better every day."

"That's what we're constantly doing," he said. "I feel like I'm never satisfied. I always want to make things just a small percentage better. We've been able to do that. We're trying to shave seconds off the time it takes to serve our customers. The philosophy of that is if we're faster, you get to spend time with your family and friends a little longer. That's what we try to do so that you have a great time with family and friends. That's always our goal."

Erie Times-News staff writers share their views from behind the scenes, stories and bylines. Ron Leonardi can be reached at 870-1680. Send email to ron.leonardi@timesnews.com.