By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Ryan Makovec and his wife, Dani Hatfield, look forward to raising their five children just as both of them grew up — working at Al’s Café in Lost Springs.

The Peabody couple have deep ties to the restraint, which they have purchased. Ryan is a grandson of Dee Alvarez, who ran Al’s Café from 1970 until the day she died in January 2020. Dani, family friend, started working for Dee when she was 14. They plan to reopen the café early in 2022.

They are continuing more than his grandmother’s beloved café. They are continuing family tradition. The café was a way of life for Dee’s family.

The couple’s five children will help in the café, just as Dee’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren grew up working there.

The menu will be the same as when Ryan’s grandmother ran it.

Both Ryan and Dani are managers at Nortons Brewing Co. in Wichita.

For now, they will continue to live in Peabody and work at Nortons.

“We know the community is looking forward to it reopening, and we are going to need their support,” Dani said.

An earlier story incorrectly reported that Ryan’s brother Justin will jointly operate the restaurant when it reopens.