If Eric Beaune and Chris Tasca – friends and business partners – ever wondered if they made the right move by resurrecting the popular Wein-O-Rama restaurant on Oaklawn Avenue, the answer was apparent last Saturday.

Despite it being well past lunchtime and a scorcher of a day more suited to a visit to the Bay or the beach, the diner-style eatery was crowded with customers. They filled the booths and the long lunch counter to enjoy the restaurant’s homemade food, especially its legendary hot wieners with all the fixings.

“We knew we were doing the right thing,” Beaune said. “But the response has been greater than we thought.” He said the restaurant has remained busy since it reopened in April and people still come up to him and Tasca to thank them for rescuing the local institution.

Opened in 1962 by founder Mike Sotirakos, the restaurant quickly became a local landmark, easily spotted by its glitzy, colorful neon sign. It was well known for its homemade breakfasts and lunches – and, of course, its trademark wieners, typically served with mustard, fresh onions and a zesty meat sauce.

There was widespread dismay throughout the city last summer when the Sotirakos family announced that it was time to retire and close the restaurant. But hope was reignited a couple of months later when Beaune, one of the owners of Garden Hills Fruit and Deli, and his long-time friend, Chris Tasca of Fly Alliance, announced that they were going to reopen the restaurant and keep its traditions going.

“Chris knew right away that he wanted to do this,” Beaune said Saturday, pausing during his own lunch break to talk to customers who wanted to say hi to him as they toted out bags of the aromatic, paper-wrapped wieners. “It took me a while to agree, but we are both so glad we did.”

He noted how important the project has been to Tasca, who still fondly remembers all the trips he made to the eatery with his dad, who passed away 11 years ago.

Before reopening the restaurant this spring, Beaune and Tasca spent time doing some updates and renovations, including the restoration of the trademark sign. The project became a community affair, with the sign refreshed and refurbished by City Councilman Richard Campopiano, owner of R&D Tool Engineering.

When it was time to relight it, city and state officials turned out for the occasion and lauded the return of the local landmark.

And while Beaune and Tasca made some physical updates to the building, they have kept the heart and soul of the restaurant the same – from securing the original recipe for the ‘secret sauce’ that tops the wieners to rehiring as much of the staff as possible.

As a result, the atmosphere was relaxed, friendly and familial on Saturday as customers enjoyed their menu favorites, chatted with staff and ran into neighbors and friends.

People are still thanking us,” Beaune said. “Everybody seems to have their own story about being here.”

Liz Archetto, a long-time patron, was seated at the counter to get her usual order: One wiener with the works (known as “all the way”) and a glass of coffee milk. “It just doesn’t get any better than this,” she said.

Saturday was particularly special because it was the day before the official ribbon-cutting to mark Wein-O-Rama’s new lease on life.

Campopiano did the honors, accompanied by other city officials who gathered outside to applaud Beaune and Tasca and the continuation of a Cranston tradition.

Campopiano said he was happy to have a place in Wein-O-Rama history by restoring the sign and that he was proud to help the city celebrate a local business that is a long-running success story.

“I love family businesses,” he said in an interview. “Some people live in the past and some in the future. The two gentlemen who (saved) this business are taking our past and moving it into the future.”