By CLAYTON PARK

Patty's Eggnest, a Wallingford restaurant that bills itself as "Home of the All-Day Breakfast," hopes to become known soon as a dinner place as well.

Beginning in early November, Patty's will extend its hours of operation, which are normally 8 a.m.-3 p.m., to remain open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The menu will be expanded on those evenings to include dinner entrees and specials of fresh in-season items. The restaurant will also begin serving beer and wine.

The Wallingford restaurant, located at 2202 N. 45th, is part of a small chain that also has locations in Lynnwood and Everett and over the years has earned numerous honors, including winning Seattle's "Best Breakfast Award" from the Washington State Egg Commission and KOMO-AM Radio, as well as winner of the National Golden Egg Award.

While Patty's serves a full array of standard breakfast and lunch items, it is especially known for its 3-egg frittata-style omelettes, which include some adventurous offerings such as a chili omelette complete with cheese and onions, a Gyros omelette, and a Hawaiian omelette with ham, pineapple and mozzarella cheese. "We put a little love in every omelette," says cook Matt Schroeder, who describes himself as "the Omelette Guy."

The first Patty's Eggnest was started in Greenwood in the early '90s by original owners Theo and Patty Papadopoulos, who eventually moved their restaurant to Snohomish County. The Chin family bought the business from the couple in August 1999 and opened the Wallingford location in January 2000.

Rick Ragudos, 28, has been manager of the Wallingford Patty's Eggnest since the beginning of the summer. He is a longtime employee of the chain who was hired five years ago by the Papadopouloses as a dishwasher at the Lynnwood restaurant and eventually promoted to cook and later kitchen manager.

Ragudos says he continues to keep in touch with the Papadopouloses, who now have a restaurant in Everett, noting that they recently dropped by the Wallingford Patty's Eggnest to see how things are going. He says he also gets along well with his current bosses, the Chins, adding that they have worked to maintain the high standards set by the Papadopouloses: serving good food in generous portions and creating an enjoyable atmosphere, both for patrons as well as the staff.

Working in a positive, upbeat environment is one of the reasons Ragudos has stayed with Patty's Eggnest and has even decided to make restaurant work his career. He has a degree in radiology and intended to work for the restaurant for a short while as an interim job after completing an 18-month stint as an "extern" at Stevens Hospital in Edmonds. At Patty's, "everybody's like family," says Ragudos. "We joke around all day (with each other and with customers). It helps the day go by faster. The cooks are also in the back singing and dancing. It's pretty fun to work here."

Ragudos said he enjoys being in the Wallingford neighborhood. "Everybody's real friendly," he says, adding that he got to meet a lot of locals when Patty's participated in the annual "What's Cooking in Wallingford" event this past summer.

When he's not busy overseeing things at Patty's, Ragudos works part-time as a personal fitness trainer at 24-Hour Fitness gym in Everett. (