Ty’s Diner feels like a back-highway diner from a bygone era, a romantic notion validated by the small but steady stature of this time-tested ICT burger joint. Located on 2nd Street a block east of Seneca, skirting the North side of the Delano district, Ty’s is now under its sixth round of ownership since it was first opened in 1952, but is still going strong.

Owners Greg and Annette Helms have headed the operation for just over a month. When they bought the business, they set out to virtually duplicate the original Ty’s experience.

“We’re taking painstaking precautions to keep it the way it was,” said waitress Kristin Hale. “Kenny Tyson made the mold and we just keep filling it up.”

The result is a true-to-the-original experience that sets itself apart in taste and character from other great Wichita burger joints. They use 90/10 meat, a lean ground beef that holds together and doesn’t warp into the oddly shaped, condensed ball produced when you cook the fat and grease out of lesser meats. This allows them to make those tasty, ultra-thin patties used in the original Ty’s recipe.

The restaurant goes through 30-50 lbs of the lean ground every day, an impressive feat for a joint that’s only open for lunch (11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday).

Ty’s by no means falls under that category of cheeseburger that the dive-joint burger lover more often than not prefers: the grease sack burger. And in their case, it’s to their credit. The thin but wide sandwich is a delicious lunch that it’s hard to find fault with, especially when you’re traipsing back into work instead of slouching through the doors in terror of the hours until 5 p.m.

Of course, if you don’t have that consideration to deal with, I recommend taking a friend with you and splitting a half order of fries with chili. Even though chili cheese fries aren’t on the menu, they’ll give them to you; what they bring out can only be described as a fortified steam tower. I can only imagine what kind of monolith would come out if one asked for a full order.

If you’re in the neighborhood of 2nd and Seneca and on the prowl for a tasty lunch, consider giving Ty’s a chance. Ty’s Diner is one of just a handful of ICT burger joints with this level of history in Wichita culture and dining. The atmosphere is charming, the food delicious, and the help superb.

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