Services Return In-House Option

The lights are returning to favorite locations in Sidney. Those favorite hangouts offering the coffees, delectable delights, and conversations with wait staff that have been put on hold for weeks are beginning to return.

On April 24, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced easing of the Directed Health Measure (DHM) that suspended dine-in options restaurants. As of May 4, restaurants were allowed to seat up to 50 percent of their capacity.

Some Sidney businesses were quick to roll out the welcome mat while others are taking a more cautious approach.

On Monday, May 4, Dude's Steakhouse welcomed some of its typical breakfast crowd, as did Perkins. Tuesday more restaurants opened their doors to more than curbside and delivery, including Grandma Jo's at 12th and Illinois Street in Sidney. The challenge is some of the local establishments are not designed for carry-out service. Their menu is designed for interaction between staff and customers.

Roxanne "Roxie" Worster, owner of Grandma Jo's, is excited to see customers dining in.

"It's been great having customers here, someone to talk to," she said.

She said the return to dine-in service, even at 50 percent of capacity, brought in customers who had been purchasing carry-out orders. Those same customers were glad to eat inside with a cup of coffee, she said.

Della's, at the corner of 10th and Illinois Street, is continuing take-out only service.

The Silver Dollar is open for dine-in service, as is Sam & Louie's on north 10th and Perkins. McDonald's has kept the lobby open for carry-out only while continuing its drive-up window. Arbys and Runza have kept service to drive-through only.

Dairy Queen in Sidney is continuing drive-up and carry-out service only for the time. District manager Eric Packer said the decision is based in part on health of his staff.

"We have made the decision to keep our lobby closed for the time being. Because of interstate travel, we feel it is in the best interest of our employees and our guests to keep our lobby closed. My employees health is the most important thing to me and that is the driving force behind our decision," Packer said.

Beans and Steams, the coffee house located on Glover Road, has chosen to delay opening the lobby.

"Our drive through has been a special customer touch point since the first day we opened," said co-owner Pat Keane. "We see our drive through as a way to supply the same great customer service we can do inside. If we have cars in line, we try to go out and greet the next car in line to not only keep the line moving quickly, but also that we can give that personal interaction with our great customers. We want every chance we can get to make their day with our staff's smiling faces and great service."

He said he and his wife chose from the beginning not to use the "squawk box" as it is called.  They prefer meeting customers face to face. Therefore Beans and Steams has chosen to stay drive through-only for now as the directives call for service staff to wear masks, tape lines and more and for good reason. Keane said they are blessed to have a drive through; some do not have that choice and it is great they can open back up again. He said Beans and Steams serves "fun and comfort" and the staff is doing its best to achieve this.

"It just doesn't feel just right to us to open inside and have masks and tape lines everywhere at this point. We constantly wash our hands, sterilize pens and clip boards and more. We stay our distance in the drive through for the safety of our staff and customers," Keane said.

"We hope things continue to get better and we can open 'normally' soon. We talk and listen to our customers and we'll do whatever the majority of the community would like us to do and the feedback has been very supportive of our decision. If they change their mind, so will we. We hope the day we can see everyone's smiling faces inside comes soon!" Keane said.

Sidney's Applebee's location returned to curbside, pickup and take-out service recently. Dine-in service will return tomorrow, Thursday, May 14.

According to Melissa Hariri, Executive Director, Communications, Applebee's Grill & Bar, has locations already offering dine-in service. Restaurants in Sidney, North Platte, York and Scottsbluff will open for dine-in service on May 14. The Norfolk location is scheduled to reopen May 31.

The Cheyenne County Community Center announced May 5 it is open to the public. The Center has fitness classes scheduled for May, and is following the social distancing and 10-person limit in classes. Likewise, a maximum of 10 people are allowed in the weight room. Weight room clients are encouraged to clean every piece of equipment after use. Basketball and racquetball will remain closed until further notice.