Brett Henry, Brad Waller and Buck Driggs didn't grow up dreaming of the day they'd be able to serve beer from behind a bar. But the idea of owning one came up sometime during the last three years, and the three are now the new owners of Mel's Tavern.

"We'd been talking about owning a bar for quite a while," Waller said. "We didn't have a specific one in mind, but when we saw the ad for Mel's in the paper, we decided to look into it."

The three friends have worked at HWS Consulting in Manhattan for about five years. Waller and Henry both said they enjoy their jobs, but were looking for entrepreneurial opportunities on the side.

Waller, a graduate of both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, said Mel's presented a good opportunity for investment.

"It's pretty much the oldest bar in town, and a lot of people know about it," he said. "We know college students and parents who say 'yeah, I know that place.' So we did a market analysis and decided that with a little work we could make this a great place."

Name recognition isn't the only factor the new owners are banking on to attract business. Mel's is oozing with history — like the 75-plus year-old horseshoe bar that came from a beer hall in the stock yards of Kansas City.

Henry said that history, along with a few modifications, ensures Mel's will keep it's old-school, local feel, but be a hip place for the younger, college crowd.

"We don't want this to be strictly a college bar," Henry said. "There are a lot of people who have been loyal to Mel's and who want to have a good place to come hang out, and that's what this will be."

Waller said they plan to eventually refurbish the floor and ceiling, and will be pushing the carry-out lunch service. They've already added a giant flat-screen TV, which they say the customers love. They're keeping the Mel's name as well, something they said was of great concern to the previous owner, Wayne Winfrey. Winfrey decided to sell the bar in October for health reasons.

"That was one of Wayne's biggest worries," Waller said. "This place has pretty much been Mel's since it opened, and it wouldn't be right to change it."

Waller, Henry and Driggs don't plan to get involved in many of the day-to-day operations at Mel's. They'll get a manager for that. But they do intend to be there often, for the benefit of their customers.

"We'll be down there to get to know everyone," Waller said. "We're not going to be strangers."

If all goes as planned, Waller, Henry and Driggs will be in charge of Mel's for a long time.

"That's definitely our goal," Henry said. "It may take a while to get everything going, but hope we're here for a long time.