For two years the lounge and restaurant at Pineway Golf Course near Lebanon was silent behind closed doors.

On June 5 of this year that changed. Golfers and the general public now have a completely remodeled restaurant and bar to enjoy.

Jim Glasser and Buck Hart are emphasizing fun in the expanded gathering place overlooking the course.

"We aren't fine dining. It's casual with a terrific view and a lot of elbow room," said Hart, who came back from Florida last fall to help prepare the course.

Along with the full bar, the menu includes appetizers, burgers, salads and sandwiches. There is also a dinner menu featuring steaks and chicken until 9 p.m.

Glasser is glad to be part of it all again. His mom, Jan, sold the course in 2007, but when the new owners were unable to keep it she retained ownership and decided to lease it to her son and Hart, her brother.

"I guess you would call us co-managers," Hart said. "We saw that things needed to change."

Glasser, a fixture on the course since his family purchased it in 1971, had no reservations about getting back to the site where he spent a good part of his life.

"There was no hesitation on my part," he said. "I missed being around the golf game."

In August 2008, Glasser and Hart started to plan improvements. The restaurant was the first project.

Expanding and remodeling with an open floor plan has provided a spacious gathering place with panoramic views of the course and surrounding hills.

"We wanted to show off the view," said Hart, who along with Glasser and Glen Hackstedt handled almost all of the work.

The space now has room for 200 people, an open dance area, laminate wood flooring throughout, a deck and the bar.

"We moved the lounge into the restaurant and combined it," Hart said. "The old lounge will be our pro shop."

Hart said a lot of the original material has been recycled and used in the remodel. The existing lighting was incorporated with some new fixtures. A little landscaping outside the windows improved the view.

Hart, who has spent most of his life in construction, came up with the basic floor plan. Work began in September of last year.

To take advantage of the new space, Glasser and Hart have added some regular activities. Line dancing classes are held every Wednesday evening, karaoke and pool are popular and there is a DJ every weekend. Video poker is due soon and live music will likely be added.

"Our idea was to have an open area where people can have a lot to do," Hart said.

Glasser feels the new restaurant and bar provide a perfect complement to the 9-hole golf course.

"We offer low-cost golf and fun. People who enjoy that are who we're looking for," he said.

Pineway is open for golf daily at 7 a.m. The remodeled restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. or later. Friday and Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

"We're proud of what we're doing," Glasser said. "We think it's the right way to go."