It's been a long, strange trip for Arnold's Classic Diner, the new restaurant that opened recently at Interstate 90 and La Crosse Street.

The restaurant, a replica of a 1950s-era diner, was originally built on Mount Rushmore Road in 1999. It operated, off and on, as Denny's Classic Diner. But after the franchisee went out of business in 2006, it sat empty, dark and forlorn for about a year.

Enter David Bradsky. The Rapid City businessman and his wife, Tracy Bradsky, bought the building last summer. They hired Dakota Hills House Movers to truck the entire building through downtown Rapid City and north to its new home next to the Quality Inn.

Scores of local people turned out to watch the 90-foot by 55-foot structure make its lumbering 3 a.m. procession through downtown Rapid City.

"No cracks, no broken windows," Bradsky declared last week. "Dakota Hills did an excellent job."

Since then, Bradsky and his crew have been remodeling and outfitting the old diner to look even more like a product of the 1950s. The Arnold's name comes from the "Happy Days" hangout in the popular television show.

"I love the cars, I love that era, and this is something I've always wanted to do," said Bradsky, 46.

The hostesses wear poodle skirts. The waitresses wear knee-knockers. There's a 1957 Chevy protruding from beneath the counter. The floor is a checkerboard pattern, and the walls are decorated with neon.

And each booth is equipped with a Seeburg wall box, the 1950s style of jukebox that lets diners select songs from their seats.

Bradsky spent eight months on eBay buying up enough wall boxes to outfit Arnold's. "And they all work," Bradsky said.

However, the Arnold's jukebox, connected to all the wall boxes, plays music CDs instead of old 45-rpm records. That's about the only modern convenience Bradsky bowed down to.

Otherwise, Arnold's Classic Diner is pure '50s. It has half-pound, hand-pattied hamburgers. It has foot-long hot dogs that actually measure up, he said. And it has old-fashioned malts and shakes served in tall glasses with the steel blender containers on the side.

"We've gone through so much ice cream since we opened," he said. The new diner opened its doors late last month.

Ramona Esquivel of Rapid City said she tried Arnold's recently with two friends. She liked what she saw and tasted.

"The restaurant was decorated with a 1950s motif - a big jukebox by the door, smaller jukeboxes at each booth, (and) 25 cents to play the jukebox," she wrote in a letter to the Journal. "I especially liked Arnold's because I am a 1950s enthusiast."

Bradsky said he had a lot of help from Lacy Carter, 67, who has been in the restaurant business a long time. He helped Bradsky get the restaurant up and running.

His family helped out, as well. The menu features a photo of Bradsky's nine children, all decked out in '50s garb. "They had a blast," he said.

Arnold's is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information, call 721-9452.

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or at dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com.