It's a little after 8:30 on a Friday night in Green Bowl, 131 W. Beaver Ave., and the sound of the radio can be faintly heard over the conversation of diners and the sizzle of the flat-top grill.

A girl in multi-colored shorts spoons ingredients into one of the distinctive green bowls while a line of customers waits their turn. A waitress is passing out straws and delivering food -- just-cooked stir-fry dishes of beef, chicken, sauces and vegetables. There are about 20 customers, pretty typical for this time on a Friday, said manager Monica Gillen.

Cut to the next morning.

It's Saturday, around 10:40 a.m. There are only a few customers now, but what's interesting about the scene is what they're eating. Instead of stir-fry, they're dining on omelets, pancakes and bacon, all of which are on Green Bowl's breakfast menu, a recent addition to the restaurant's repertoire.

Green Bowl is now serving breakfast from 8 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The price is $8.49 for all-you-can-eat omelets, pancakes, breakfast wraps and French toast with a variety of toppings.

For co-owners and Penn State alumni Scott and Marley Wong (Scott's brother Jimmy is also an owner) the idea to serve breakfast has been a long time coming.

In 2006, right after the Wongs bought Green Bowl, a friend of Scott's suggested the restaurant offer late-night cheesesteaks, an idea Scott shot down.

"I told him, it doesn't make sense," he said. "It would change our brand."

But the idea for some kind of expansion stayed with the couple, and when they went honeymooning in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in May 2006, they saw something that piqued their interest -- a make-your-own-omelet bar, set up in a style similar to what Green Bowl was already doing for lunch and dinner.

When they saw it, Scott said, they thought, "Wow, that's our restaurant. That's something we can work with without changing our brand too much."

The Wongs did more research, gradually adding to the original concept and asking friends and employees for suggestions. A new baby delayed the opening, but breakfast was finally served to the public for the first time Aug. 16, a kick off to which they invited friends and family.

The dining system for breakfast mirrors the procedure for lunch and dinner. Diners pick up green bowls (the breakfast bowls are smaller than the lunch/dinner ones) and fill them with toppings. Then they pick a small plastic stick that signifies what kind of entrée they would like and the cooks use the toppings to create a dish.

During breakfast, diners can also pick up muffins, croissants and fruit for sides and choose between sausage or bacon for another side.

Right now, the breakfast menu lists 53 toppings in total: 20 savory toppings and 23 sweet ones. Savory toppings for omelets and breakfast wraps include bacon, ham, tofu, mushrooms, tomatoes, scallions, onions and other vegetables.

Sweet toppings are more whimsical. Some traditional sweet toppings, such as fruit and chocolate chips are available, and candy toppings, such as M&Ms, Gummie Bears, Andes Bites and chopped-up Kit-Kat bars are also options.

"It's different than what you would typically expect to find at breakfast," Marley said. "I think we can attract people who are looking for something a little bit more exciting, something a little bit different."

The staff has had to adapt to the new routine, learning what breakfast items the plastic sticks correspond to and troubleshooting the cooking process.

For example, during lunch and dinner, the grill is turned up as high as it can go, said Joe Hughes (senior-architectural engineering), who works mostly as a cook. But that doesn't work for breakfast. The heat on the grill is turned down, and cooks work on fewer dishes at a time.

At one point on Saturday, Hughes was working on four dishes at once -- two egg white omelets, a regular omelet and a breakfast wrap. For dinner, he said, he's worked on as many as 13 at a time.

"It's kind of a nice change of pace," he said, referring to the fact he has to keep track of fewer meals at once. "I really think breakfast here is going to be a good time."

The restaurant wasn't busy this past weekend, but Marley attributed this to the small in-town population and lack of advertising. She's confident the return of students and an advertising campaign will boost business.

Beate Brunow (graduate student-German) and Atia Sattar (graduate student-comparative literature) were two of the restaurant's patrons last Sunday. Both said they thoroughly enjoyed their meals.

On the day before classes began, Brunow reflected on the breakfast she had just eaten.

"It's a good way to start the semester," she said, pausing briefly before adding, "or end the summer."