Mannies from "the dirtiest place in the world'' to a new clean establishment.

Antonello Fadda, who took over the business in March, proudly showed off the new decor and said: "We changed everything. This was the dirtiest place in the world.

"This place is much improved with marble floors, new grills and I'm putting in two new display units which will help speed up the lunch-time service.'' Before he took over Mannies, Mr. Fadda had worked as the manager of the Trattoria shop, also in the Washington Lane. His expertise translated well and sales more than doubled, he said, after he took over Mannies.

A well established spot for local fare, Mr. Fadda stressed he planned to continue the 52-year tradition.

Mannies gets clean new look "We will continue to feature Bermuda food like cassava pies, peas & rice, codfish and potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and food like this,'' he said.

The shop only closed its doors two days to carry out the renovations. As a result of the overhaul, service was sometimes a bit slow and customers sometimes faced dust.

"I really want to thank my customers for enduring these types of situations,'' Mr. Fadda said, "We have very good customers here. They keep coming.'' The refurbished eatery will operate as a coffee shop and lunch take-out service with extended hours to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"We will close the grill at 3 p.m. and after that offer desserts and coffee until 5 p.m.'' he said.

CLEAN, LEAN AND RARIN' TO GO!