"How's it taste guys?" Dave Lyman, owner of the recently opened Frank's Coney Island, asks.

Kelly Walsh students Travis Lewarchik and Nick Glover give their "Slaw Dogs" thumbs ups.

Glover has been coming to Lyman's business at 12th and Beverly a couple times a week, and Lewarchik expects to be a frequent patron as well.

"Oh yeah, for sure," he says. "It's good stuff."

Frank's Coney Island is a stripped-down eatery, absent the frills of showy places. As Lyman says, no "foo-foo" stuff and water features. "This is like a glorified hot dog stand."

The menu is just as straight-forward as the surroundings, as perhaps befits a retired Casper cop who put in 21 years on the force and describes himself as a "law enforcement-mechanic type guy."

There is the Coney Island, a hot dog with onions, mustard and a special sauce. Another favorite is the Slaw Dog. Or perhaps a corned beef on rye or smoked brisket on rye would be more to your liking, both of which include a helping of homemade cole slaw served inside the sandwich.

"If you've never had a corned beef sandwich with cole slaw before, you don't know what you're missing," Lyman says.

There are also baked beans, an Indian Pudding served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and pan potatoes. Little hamburger "sliders" are coming soon.

But the marquee item is the Coney Island-style hot dog.

"What makes a Coney Island a Coney Island is the sauce that goes on top of the hot dog," Lyman says.

Wikipedia, the online dictionary, says there are two different types of Coney Island hot dogs.

The variety served by Lyman - with a meat sauce, onions and mustard - is thought to have been invented in Michigan. The other, associated with central and western New York, is stronger and more spicy than a traditional pork hot dog. It is usually served bare or with mustard only.

As it happens, Lyman grew up in Michigan, where Coney Island hot dogs were readily available. When he returned for visits, one of his first stops would be to a Coney Island place.

But in Casper, Coney Islands were as scarce as elk steaks in Arkansas, a culinary circumstance Lyman set out to change.

Lyman experimented with sauces, came up with his own secret recipe and tested his creation on a group of human "guinea pigs," who responded favorably. So he decided to go into business.

The place is named Frank's, and not Dave's, after a family member who inspired Dave to take the entrepreneurial plunge.

So far, Lyman says business has been brisk. A towing company called one day and ordered 20 Coney Islands for four workers.

"I had one girl say, 'Okay, what kind of drugs you putting in this. I can't get enough of this stuff,' " he laughs.

The posted business hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m, Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

This is Lyman's first food service venture, but his customers don't seem to notice.

"People walk in the door and they go, 'Wow, it smells good in here," he says.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574.