Jeff Owens, left and Brittany Lyon, right, cheers with their chilled root beer mugs as Leisa Norman and Amanda Yaprak enjoy.

Text and Photos
By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Column Note: In the 74th column in the Diners and Dives series, some Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club members explore Mentone.

MENTONE — On a crisp Friday under a fall-blue sky Diners and Dives drove south on long country roads surrounded by golden fields. Our goal: the B&K Mentone Drive-in located at 9396 SR 25. We had heard that this was the place for vintage vibes and BK delivered.

B & K sign on SR 25.

Most diners pulled up and stayed in their vehicles, ordering through their windows, but we gathered around a picnic table in the shade of the drive-in. A woman with cool pink stripes in her hair and vivid pink reading glasses passed out copies of the menu. This was one of the owners, Gretchen Powell. “I’m usually very colorful,” she grinned. “What would you like? We have Pepsi products.”

We deliberated about the sides including fries, tots, onion rings, lotsa totsa, mozzarella sticks, breaded mushrooms, breaded pickles, nachos, or salad.

“What’s the most popular item here?” asked Wildcard Amanda Yaprak, Mentone town clerk-treasurer. “I always ask that everywhere I go.” Amanda began her job with Mentone in 2024 after moving back to Indiana. She’s a Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate and a United States Air Force veteran.

The Delemma

“Well, our tenderloin, of course.” Gretchen adjusted her pink glasses. “But the Spanish dog is also very popular. And the Lots-a-Tots too. Those have cheese and bacon bits.”

Our second wildcard Leisa Norman, retired court reporter and famous cookie-maker, went first, ordering a grilled tenderloin.

We looked down and gauged how well we could keep our shirts clean. Realtor Jeff Owens raised a finger. “This is a good point. Instead of the most popular thing, we should be asking what’s the sloppiest thing on the menu?”

Cash, Credit Or Square

Owner Leonard is in the house.

Gretchen took our orders and credit card payments with a sleek, cordless Square machine. “Whew,” breathed Owens. “I forgot to check if you only took cash.”

“Nope,” Gretchen grinned. “We want to make it easy for our customers.” She also had a coin-dispenser strapped to one hip and handled cash too. Her dad and BK co-owner Leonard Goble brought out fountain drinks and handed one to Leisa.

Before retirement, Leisa was a court reporter in Warsaw for 37 years. “Do you miss it?” I asked, attempting to take notes and eat hot fried mushrooms tipped in Ranch sauce.

“Wellll,” Leisa shrugged. “Maybe a little tiny bit.” Clearly, Amanda and Leisa enjoyed being in Mentone and weren’t in a hurry to leave for work or anything else.

“Maybe for a mall,” clarified Amanda.

Why Live In Mentone?

Titus Funeral Home Planner Brittany Lyon arrived. “Hi, guys!” She ordered a cheeseburger and fried cheese sticks. “I’ve been craving those lately.”

“Nothing’s better than fried cheese,” Amanda agreed.

“Get the bacon too,” urged co-owner Leonard Goble as he returned with a chilled glass mug full of root beer for Owens. “Always get the bacon too.”

“Why Mentone then?” Owens returned to our topic of conversation as he worked on his very juicy Spanish dog.

“Do you ever get tired of the focus on eggs?” he chuckled. “What do you need to get you out of your shell?!” Of course, Mentone is known for its 10-foot high, 3,000 pound, world’s-largest cement egg.

“I’ve never actually had my picture taken in front of that egg!” marveled Leisa. “But we really have a nice town here.” Leisa and Amanda looked at each other proudly. “We have several places to eat, a great grocery store.” Mentone also has a cool little bookstore and a great place to get coffee. “Pretty much everything but my bank,” continued Leisa.

Amanda had bravely ordered the chili cheese hot dog meal and gamely put up with me taking pictures of her trying to eat it while staying clean. “I grew up here. I kept leaving. Joined the Air Force after high school even. But every time I just came back here.”

So, What Does A Clerk-Treasurer Do?

Amanda plays the stack the chairs game.

“Everything!” Amanda answered wryly. “People call me about everything. I had people call last week and ask what houses in Mentone were for rent.” She picked up a napkin. “I asked, am I supposed to know That too? I ask that a lot.”

Amanda has a lot on her job plate. She does the billing, balancing the books, lots of paperwork and grant writing. “There’s a lot to know. Writing was not my strong suit in high school,” she sighed. “As I remember, it involved a lot of procrastination, bawling for like 45 minutes, and then turning it in like a minute before midnight.”

When I’m not writing columns, I’m a professor of business communications at Purdue Fort Wayne. So, I smiled. “That seems to be what 90% of students still do, so you’re right on track!”

Amanda laughed. “There’s a lot of following directions properly when writing grants!” On her LinkedIn page, Amanda has this motto listed: “Why follow the path of least resistance when the rocky path has the best view.” Sounds like Mentone and Kosciusko County are lucky to have her. We hope she stays a very long time this time.

The Secret To The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gretchen checked on us frequently, making sure we had full refills, lots of napkins, and enough food for a week. When we could barely breathe, she laughed. “Does anyone want a baby ice-cream cone? You have to try our ice-cream.” She brought Brittany and me each one. They were the perfect endings to the meal.

But we weren’t done talking about food. Leisa’s cookies are coveted from Mentone to Warsaw. She said she makes a lot of peanut butter cookies, but probably chocolate chip the most. “What’s your secret?” I asked.

Leisa said easily. “Salted butter. Well, half butter and half Crisco.” She’s made them for everyone from judges to realtors to family reunions. Everyone loves them.

The New Owners Of B&K

Reluctantly, we needed to return to our various jobs, but not before we got a great photo of chef and other owner Scott Powell with Gretchen and her father Leonard Goble. “My husband is a wonderful cook,” Gretchen hugged him proudly. “My dad got us into buying B&K altogether. He likes to get us into new ventures. We put our chips into this business and that’s how we keep our prices down and our customers happy.”

We loved all our food choices and the prices. Brittany Lyon went so far as to call it, “Dee-li-cious!” My breaded tenderloin, fried mushrooms, and a diet Pepsi cost a grand total of only $9.63! So, get yourself a dose of nostalgia and some great food.

TIPS — B&K Mentone aims to be open all year except for the weeks around Christmas and New Years. But they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Do you know of an interesting place, restaurant, nonprofit, or person that you’d like to see featured in Diners and Dives? Send Shari Benyousky an email at [email protected].