Tradition and more on the menu as Cleburne Cafeteria...

Fans of Cleburne Cafeteria may soon inhale the familiar aroma of baked squash, chicken and dumplings, and turkey with dressing when the landmark eatery reopens this summer after being destroyed by fire in April 2016.

Beef lovers will be pleased to hear that steaks made to order are being added to the menu. So will beer and wine - for the first time in the 76-year-old restaurant's history.

But diners should be aware that the management still wants you to pay in cash upfront.

"A cash transaction helps the line move quickly!" signs in the restored restaurant will say. "Cash makes the serving line go fast!"

Owner George Mickelis plans to put a no-fee ATM inside the formerly cash- or check-only restaurant to encourage customers to maintain his tradition of avoiding credit card machines. He'll have one such credit card machine that's chip-enabled, but he really doesn't want to use it.

Cleburne is set to reopen in late August following its second devastating fire. The last time it burned down, in 1990, it took less than three months to rebuild. Mickelis said Tuesday that this effort is taking longer because the new place will be much larger and he has to meet many more local, state and federal regulations and inspections than he did before.

He has a few new twists in store.

"It's going to be something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue," Mickelis said.

That includes menu items that have been around since the 1940s, and a number of familiar faces will be behind the cafeteria line ready to serve up fare that has pleased crowds since before Nick Mickelis, George's father, purchased the cafeteria on Cleburne at Fannin near downtown in 1952.

It moved to its current site across from West University Place in 1969. Its 15-month absence is acutely felt.

"Everybody misses our big giant cakes," George Mickelis said.

The new cafeteria at 3606 Bissonnet will be about 70 percent larger, totaling more than 11,000 square feet. It will seat about 300. There will be 100 parking spaces and a free valet service that Mickelis says should benefit older customers.

Built by Mission Constructors and designed by Fehr Grossman Cox Architects, the cafeteria will sport a Hill Country style with rose-colored brick and stone and light alder wood in the decor. It will have a refreshed look, but keep a cozy, familiar feel using elements such as a felt-style black menu board, Homer Laughlin plates and paintings by Nick Mickelis of his native Greece.

New features will include outdoor areas for al fresco dining next to herb boxes and a private dining room with seating for 40. Separate from the kitchen will be a refrigerated butcher shop area for grinding beef and preparing chicken for chicken-fried steak and other dishes.

At the beginning of the cafeteria line will be a meat case with steaks for customers to select from before one is cooked and brought to the table.

Mickelis aims to attract a younger crowd, in addition to keeping longtime customers. His business model, going to the farmers market and preparing everything fresh on site including breads and pies daily, has gained favor recently. Everything is made in-house, as it always has been, down to squeezing the lemons used to make mayonnaise or lemon meringue pie.

"We're going to be offering beer and wine, which is something we've never done before," Mickelis said.

"We're going to have steaks cooked to order like my dad used to do on Cleburne Street."

Mickelis secured a loan to fund part of the project, which totals about $3 million. He already owned the land, totaling about 72,000 square feet.

And for the "something blue," Mickelis pointed to the artwork: "A lot of the oceans my father painted."

Nick Mickelis, who immigrated from the island of Patmos in 1948, long painted scenes of his homeland. He used to paint on walls using the ink of berries.

"As a little boy, he would chase donkeys and trim their tails and make a brush," Mickelis said. "When he came to America and could afford canvas, he painted."

The family was able to save many of his paintings after the 1990 fire. On April 26, 2016, they were not as fortunate.

"Of the 65 paintings, we only rescued 11 out of the fire," Mickelis said.

The paintings, along with photos of the early days taken by his mother, Pat Mickelis, 93, will again be a prominent part of the decor.

The Mickelis family was able to replicate some paintings from photos as Giclee prints and will bring others from home.

The new design has an expansive two-story entry with music piped in. The paintings will be on display to the right, and Cleburne Cafeteria's long history will be cataloged to the left.

"We're taking you back in time," Mickelis said. "It's nostalgic and it's comforting."