Capacity limited to 50%, but owners glad to be back
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Justin Blase, owner of Banana Rams in Hordville, stands in front of a new beer garden bar which he, his father and brother built during the pandemic shutdown. Bars in the county were allowed to open their doors serving up to 50 percent capacity as of June 22. News-Register/Kurt Johnson
Last week’s shift to Phase 2 safety protocols opened the doors for bars in Hamilton County, with owners and patrons alike excited to be able to get together and relax with their favorite beverage.
Though occupancy is still limited to 50 percent capacity under Phase 2 guidelines, owners agree it was a huge step forward in getting back to business, while also providing a social outlet many said they have missed since the pandemic forced a mandatory last call for alcohol back in late March.
“The hard part for me was that I know people come here to relax and have a good time and I really wanted to be here for them,” said Justin Blase, owner of Banana Rams in Hordville. “I wanted to be here, but I also wanted to help get over this thing. My mental state after a couple of months was kind of diminishing because I didn’t have that structure, so I’m just glad to be back.”
Banana Rams doesn’t offer food on the menu, by design, thus the popular bar was not able to open when many others did back on June 1. Blase said he thought about using a small oven to offer pizzas and other snack items, but in the end decided against it, which meant he couldn’t open the doors until June 22.
“Looking around the state I know how some bars (not in the Central Health District) were getting around it serving lunchables, popcorn or pretzels, but we’re not a restaurant,” he said. “We never claimed to be and I never wanted to be. At the end of the day, I didn’t want to go down a different path than the one that has made Banana Rams successful.”
The Hordville bar, like many others around the county, kept somewhat busy with off-sale business, as well as pre-order deliveries. Several events on the calendar, however, including a street dance in late March and a major Fourth of July event, were cancelled.
“A lot of people have suggested that we do some things, but I’m going to wait until we get past all of this because I don’t want to put restrictions on it and I don’t want to get a group of people in here if it may be harmful to the public,” he said.
The Sit-N-Bull never did close its doors in Giltner, according to partner Sherri Zahm. The business is well known for its hand-made pizza, which remained a hot seller, even though patrons couldn’t order a beer or mixed drink to enjoy on site and until June 1 had to order food to go.
“Everything was to go,” Zahm said, noting that customers could come inside to get their food or have it delivered curb-side. “Our pizza and cheesy bread sales were phenomenal. The community and surrounding area were very 3 good supporting us through this and we appreciated that. We even had a lot of new people coming from Grand Island and the surrounding area.”
Now that the Sit-N-Bull is open, with capacity limited to 50 percent, Zahm said some customers wear masks, though a good percentage don’t.
“Are we going to live in fear for the rest of our lives?” she said. “If everybody is smart and doesn’t go out when they are sick we’ll be okay.
“I know there are some businesses that have taken a hit,” she continued. “That’s terrible. We’re doing pretty good as far as business, though it’s slowed down a bit now because it’s summertime. We’ll see how we do this fall when we can open back up to full capacity.”
Being closed for several weeks was a challenge, admitted Deb Kalkwarf, owner of the Grandview Cafe & Lounge in Aurora.
“It went from a normal day on Saturday to Monday barely bringing in $100,” she recalled. “It’s been stressful. I could just tell in myself that I’ve been a lot moodier and tired by not having things to keep me busy.”
The Grandview kept its full staff with help from the Payroll Protection Program, staying open from March 28 through June 1 with carry-out service only. Delivery service was offered, but for whatever reason she said that didn’t prove too popular. Kalkwarf said she averaged about $300 a day, thus she was encouraged last week when Hamilton County went into Phase 2, allowing 50 percent occupancy as long as tables remain six feet apart.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” she said. “We’re ready to go full blast. We’ve been ready since the day they closed us down.”
Randy and Debbie Beckman opened Scotty’s Bar & Grill last August, not expecting to face such a major challenge just seven months in to their business venture.
“We just followed the regulations and did what we were told to do and I’d say we’ve done really good,” Debbie said. “We completely closed on March 20th and opened up on June 2nd.”
The Beckmans used that time to make some improvements in the Marquette business, putting in some new tables and adding a few items on the menu.
“We revised our menu, adding some new specials during the weekdays, but other than that we just kind of shut ‘er down and watched to see what the governor would allow us to do,” she said. “A lot of people come in knowing what the regulations are and they are working within the guidelines so that’s been a blessing for all of us.
“I feel lucky to have people who care about our business to help us get through this,” she added. “Some people are still kind of leery about being out, but overall I’d say we’ve had a lot of support from the locals coming back. In due time, we’ll 3.5” x 2.5” | Maximum Font Size: get back to normalcy.”
Overtime Bar & Grill owner Stan Valasek said steps have been taken to open up the bowling alley and serve as many people as possible, though admitting it’s been a challenge.
“It’s a situation that nobody has ever dealt with so you try to do all the things needed to attract people back into your business,” he said. “Customers are leery at best because some don’t know if they want to come out of their houses to get the mail, let alone to have a meal.”
With every other bowling lane blocked off and tables kept six feet apart, Valasek said the business is doing all it can to keep people safe.
“We were totally shut down for 2-1/2 months and finally opened up June 1,” he said. “It’s a challenge, but we are just trying to put on our best face. That’s what being in the entertainment business is all about.”
Banana Rams addition
Back in Hordville, Blase said he used the unexpected break to tackle a major project he had envisioned for the future. With help from his father Rod, brother Travis and a few volunteers, they built a beer garden bar on the back side of Banana Rams which is expected to open in early July.
“I didn’t know when we were going to get around to it, but when the shutdown hit we decided this is what we’re going to do,” he explained.
The 25x25 foot structure will function as a full bar, and will also be licensed to serve food -- either from Banana Rams or on occasion from outside caterers. The initial plan is to open the beer garden bar on Fridays and Saturdays.
“I don’t want to make it a restaurant where people review my food,” he said. “It’s not about the food. It’s a supplement, and with the beer garden bar hopefully we’ll get a lot of that crowd outside.”
Once the new addition is open, Banana Rams will have a capacity to seat 120 customers inside and 150 outside. Blase also owns the lot to the north of the bar, though he has 30 pt no immediate plans to use that space just yet.
“I think we’ll be fine with 50 percent capacity, but I don’t want to try to overdue it and try to promote a band just yet,” he said. “We’ll be shifting some of our equipment out to the beer garden and I think it will make our customers happier and will be more user friendly for our staff.”
‘It’s definitely a step in the right direction. We’re ready to go full blast. We’ve been ready since the day they closed us down.’
Deb Kalkwarf, The Grandview Cafe & Lounge
