The Ohio Veterans Home is serving up a new approach that sounds a lot like the slogan at Burger King: Have it your way.

The dining room in the dormitory wing has booted its buffet line and cafeteria-style kitchen, replacing it with menus and made-to-order meals to serve about 160 residents who live there.

The 427-bed nursing home side is still set up the way it has been for years, but it will offer an expanded menu soon.

Resident suggestions and a changing philosophy at the home helped spur the changes, said NyCola Darnold, resident services director.

"Our motto is serving those who served, and we want to serve them in as many ways as we can," she said. "This is a more person-centered service than running them through a chow line."

With funds from a volunteer advisory committee that collects donations from staff, residents' families and other veterans' organizations, the veterans home spruced up the dining hall with new flooring and modern furniture.

Staff started offering table-side service last week, then began offering "open dining" hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Instead of eating their meals only at designated times, residents can come down whenever they want and avoid the crowds.

On Thursday afternoon, the lunch menu featured six types of chicken sandwiches, six varieties of hot dogs and six specialty burgers like the spicy "Hellfire," as well as sandwiches and wraps with cold cuts.

There were also five specialty salads, including a "Steakhouse" salad with strips of meat and fried onions, and a "build your own" option.

Air Force veteran Ken Lessam, 66, who ate a mushroom-and-swiss burger from the grill Thursday afternoon, said the food tastes fresh because it's made to order.

"The quality is as good as any restaurant," he said.

He'd still like to see a bigger selection of entrees -- something he thought was nice about the old buffet line.

Some said the new menu was a little heavy on the hot dogs and hamburgers, and they wanted something else.

Others said they really liked being waited on, rather than waiting in line.

"Some of us have a hard time getting around," said Chuck Pavelka, 64, a U.S. Army veteran who walks with a cane. "You don't have to schlep your tray around anymore. We'd have people with scooters trying to come through the line, and at least once a week, someone would drop their food."

Staff said they've had to adjust to a new workload now that they're spending more time catering to the residents' requests and less time making food in bulk.

The veterans home hasn't added any employees, but it shuffled some workers' responsibilities to help with the transition.

"It takes more time to learn the menus, train people on the grill," said Sarah Oldaker. "Someone has to be out here all the time, and that cuts down on your prep time. But it's been good -- as long as the residents are happy."

Support service manager Craig Selka said it's too early to tell if the new approach will save money or amount to higher food costs.

The veterans home has spent more money on food than it typically does. But the staff has also noticed they're throwing away a lot less.

Residents also have more control over their portions when they're ordering a meal, as opposed to picking whatever looks good and plopping it on their plate.

"It's better for them," Darnold said. "And it's more like a warm, home-style environment."