LA VISTA, Neb. (KMTV) — If you're looking for a good neighborhood bar with good food, Ref's Sports Bar & Grill in La Vista is open.
"People love our club sandwich, because it's huge," said owner Angie Froelich. "Everything is made fresh to order. We don't pre-cook anything, ever. It's all about consistency, and we want to have good food. We want people to come back for our food."
They just reopened after closing mid March because of the pandemic.
"We closed at 6 o'clock that night," said Froelich. "Had a staff meeting - sent a bunch of food home with the staff that we weren't going to be able to use, like all the corn beef we had cooked for Patty's Day. We sent them home and encouraged them to file for unemployment, because we didn't know how long this was going to be. We didn't know if this was going to be a two week thing or a two month thing. So we wanted to make sure they were taken care of."
They were closed for six weeks and unlike other restaurants weren't even open for takeout during that time.
"We started takeout May 1 when a lot of restaurants were reopening," said Froelich. "We decided to start doing takeout. We had taken that time when we were closed to do a deep clean, do some touch ups, reconfigure tables, figure out what we were going to do to make it work."
"We didn't know how long to stay closed, so after about six weeks, we decided we can't stay closed indefinitely," said Froelich. "We've got to get back into it."
After two weeks of takeout, they opened their dine-in option on May 15.
"We're still wearing masks when we are waiting on customers, and that's kind of our safe place back there," said Froelich. "We can take our masks off and breathe. Bar seating is still six-feet apart, and there's no eating at the bar."
Besides losing their regular bar and restaurant income for several weeks, several parties that were meant to be hosted there were canceled.
Now, their food product prices have also increased.
"We use Omaha Steaks for all of our beef steaks, and their prices have been crazy, and we've had to raise our beef prices," said Froelich. "Our hamburgers had to go up, steaks had to go up. We had to reassess. We're all about consistency, so that wasn't something we were willing to change out product on, so we just had to pass the price onto the customer. And when those prices go down, mine will go down. I'm not making any extra money off of them, I'm just trying not to lose."
So if you're thinking of ordering takeout or dining in, Ref's Sports Bar and Grill is a good option, even if there aren't currently any new sporting events.
"Hopefully, some of these sports open back up, and if nobody is in the stands, maybe that'll drive them here,"said Froelich. "Because they're not out at sporting events, and they can be out here watching them on TV, but again it's a day to day basis."
"We don't know what's coming, we don't know what directives will be coming out as they slowly start to reopen things," said Froelich.
Ref's Sports Bar & Grill
LOCATION:
9725 Giles Rd. La Vista, NE 68128
HOURS:
Monday - Wednesday: 11AM - 1PM | Kitchen open 11AM - 10PM
Thursday - Saturday: 11AM - 2AM | Kitchen open 11AM - 11PM
Sunday: 11AM - 11PM | Kitchen open 11AM - 8PM
SERVICES:
Takeout, dine-in
CONTACT:
402-932-5002
