The breakfast menu Friday mornings at the Tooky Diner includes pancakes, scrambled eggs and a dash of Dean Martin.

Visit the Contoocook restaurant at the right time, around 10 a.m., and you might hear owner Steve Dubaniewicz and customer Ken Wilson break out their version of "That's Amore," made famous by Martin in the 1950s.

"He comes in here with gusto for life," Dubaniewicz said yesterday. "He brings a lot of cheer in here. He's our public-relations man."

Wilson, 25, has Down syndrome. He also has a sense of humor, an easy laugh and a busy life. He works part-time at the Shaw's near his home in Hillsboro. He volunteers at the Friends of Forgotten Children's food pantry in Concord. He plays bingo out with his mom, Mary, on Thursday nights.

And he eats breakfast at the Tooky Diner on Fridays, ordering an egg-and-sausage sandwich and home fries each time. Wilson doesn't need a menu, saying, "It's all up here," as he places his index finger on his temple.

The diner has become Wilson's version of Cheers, a place where everybody knows his name. He sits at the counter with his escort, Hopkinton's Kate Mertz, a caretaker for Community Bridges. He also sits with some of the regulars, like Bob Ward, a burly retired machinist with a sharp white beard.

"He's a hell of a guy, pleasant," said Ward, sitting on a corner stool at the counter and reading his morning newspaper. "He's really sociable. He's fun to be around. He can joke around."

Wilson is hard to miss. His straw cowboy hat, glasses and red tie with mosaic patterns are as closely associated with him as "Amore" is with Martin.

"Tell him why you wear a tie," Dubaniewicz said.

"For the ladies," Wilson answered. "Howdy ma'am."

The scenes play out each Friday morning, with Dubaniewicz high-fiving and singing with Wilson, and regulars chatting with him about the weather, politics, fly fishing, whatever. It's a routine he looks forward to.

"Kenny likes to have structure in his life," said his mother, Mary, a payroll specialist at Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center. "He's always been the type of person that always likes to make people happy. . . . He's got quite the sense of humor. He just amazes the diner community over there with the regulars that go in."

He's made his mark at Shaw's as well. Wilson takes pride in his work there. He bags groceries and will carry them out to your car if you'd like. He says he's fast, and he was named employee of the month in August. His picture hangs on the wall.

Mertz plays a vital role in Wilson's rich life, filling in nicely while his parents work. She's been with Community Bridges for 3½ years and with Wilson the past year. She picks him up twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays at 9 a.m. She drives him to Shaw's for his 1-5 p.m. shift.

She also volunteers with Wilson on Mondays at the Friends of Forgotten Children. "He came to me last Christmas and said he wanted to help his community more," Mertz said. "He wanted to know what he could do."

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