A classic Cranston diner got a fresh start last week with a large crowd gathering to celebrate the sign-lighting of local treasure Wein-O-Rama after its shuttering last summer.

New owners Eric Beaune, who is also owner of Garden Hills Fruit and Deli, and Chris Tasca, Fly Alliance’s president and co-founder, purchased the local hotspot at 1009 Oaklawn Ave. last year when it closed after 62 years in business.

Tuesday’s sign lighting announced a new era of Wein-O-Rama and celebrated the sign restoration done by City Councilman Richard Campopiano.

Campopiano said he got a text from the contractors on the remodel, his friends Russell Henry and Chris DiFilippo of Oak & Pallet Tile & Design.

“I’ve been restoring things since I was a teenager,” Campopiano said. “Cars, furniture, clocks, everything. It’s been a dream of mine to restore that sign for years.”

Campopiano said the sign was brought to him in January. He said it had a lot of damage and rot from the many years it was up.

He said he had to take it all apart; he sandblasted everything and fabricated new panels. He said the sign’s internal electric components were all rusted out and needed to be replaced.

Campopiano got a hand from his daughter Deanna, a graphic designer, who helped picked the colors and hand-painted the “1962” on the sign.

According to Campopiano, all the new neon bulbs were handmade by neon artist Nick McKnight, owner and operator of Night Light Neon, a Providence studio.

City and state officials came out to support the new sign and the imminent reopening of Wein-O-Rama, including Mayor Kenneth Hopkins, Planning Commission member and former City Councilwoman Nicole Renzulli, City Councilman Chris Buonanno, School Committee member Anthony Melillo and District 15 Cranston state Rep. Chris Paplauskas.

Founder Mike Sotirakos opened Wein-O-Rama in 1962. It was taken over by his sons George and Ernie when he retired, and it stayed in the family until it closed late last summer.

  Last year, both Tasca and Beaune said there are no plans to change the menu or the winning wiener formula.

At the sign-lighting, Hopkins thanked the Sotirakoses for establishing what he called an iconic place for people in Cranston to go and celebrate.

During his speech, Tasca shared how personal this endeavor is for him and how emotional he became when he found out Wein-O-Rama was closed. He said it reminded him of his childhood and most importantly the time he spent there with his late father, who died 11 years ago.

“I can remember walking into Wein-O-Rama with my Little League cleats on,” Tasca said. “I remember the sound the cleats made, but most importantly the meal that came together. And that’s what this place is about.”

For both owners, Tasca said having Wein-O-Rama continue as a place that brings people from all over the world in the door in Western Cranston is what’s most important to them.

“This isn’t just about owning a business,” he said to the Cranston Herald last year. “It’s more of a legacy project.”

Tasca and Beaune say the diner will be open in a few weeks, after they complete an upcoming inspection.