Restaurant Owners In Sidney Working Together To Survive COVID-19

Dealing with the crisis of the Coronavirus, restaurant owners are working together and coming up with new ideas in order to survive while dealing with the current challenges.

One example is the owners of Footers Restaurant, Jerry and Robin Watson.

"We're trying to brainstorm different ideas back and forth," Jerry said of himself and other restaurant owners. "The Moms and Pops aren't trying to hide any secrets. We all want to come through this strong."

Jerry noted that Jennifer Moore, owner of Pizza House, provided Footers with some supplies last week when Footers was waiting for a shipment to arrive.

"We want to see each other still open after all of this is done," Jerry said.

In addition, the Watsons came up with the idea to hand out free oranges to customers. Moore liked the thought and might start the same practice at Pizza House.

Along with the restaurant's well-known incredible sub sandwiches, Footers has added "family packs" to their menu. For about $25, you can get two pizzas, breadsticks and drinks, or two subs with chips and drinks.

Taking precautions isn't anything new at Footers. "We've always used the gloves, hand sanitizer and always have wiped things down," Robin said. "The cleaning procedures that everybody is doing now, we've been doing all along."

Footers isn't the only Sidney restaurant changing things up. The Ranger Lounge, for example, is offering a full menu seven days a week.

The Ranger has created family bundles including a Chicken Fried Steak Family Meal for $48. The package features four breaded chicken fried steaks, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy and salads. The Carnivore Kit for $66 includes two 8-ounce sirloin steaks, two 16-ounce ribeyes, baked potatoes, vegetables, garlic toast and salads.

"We've been saying it's for a family of four, but we can do it for a family of 10 or just for two people," Ranger Lounge owner Shadd Cullinan said. "We will be switching up the types of meals as we go. They have been going over pretty well."

Cullinan added that the Ranger is rotating specials. For example, they had a Taco Tuesday. They are planning seafood specials and maybe a pretend it's Monday Night Football special of wings, fries and appetizers. The Ranger offers prime rib on Saturdays. The Ranger also delivers liquor products.

One special is a free drink to health care workers, first responders and law enforcement. "If they want to after their shift, we will give them a free drink with their order," Cullinan said.

The South 40 has announced a new menu and expanded is delivery service.

"It's a more condensed menu so we can get the food that the customer wants in a shorter amount of time," Kelly Dey of South 40 said.

The updated menu is available on South 40's Facebook page or http://www.south40sidney.com.

Because customers can't currently go through South 40's famous soup and salad bar line because of current state regulations, business managers Ray and Heather Johnson needed to come up with a new plan. Soup isn't currently available, but there's still plenty of fresh produce for salad lovers.

"We now have a custom salad bar for you," Dey said. "People can request certain items that they want put on their salad."

South 40's menu features many favorites such as prime rib, char prime and hot beef sandwiches along with other burgers and sandwiches. Every day, there will be a special during South 40's delivery time of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Other menu items include ribeye steak, flat iron steak, halibut strips, chicken strips, chicken fried steak, BLTs, French dip, Wrangler wrap, a club and a variety of salads. Liquor service is available in accordance with the state's regulations.

Dey urges people to also order something for their parents or grandparents or neighbors who are self isolating right now.