As the COVID-19 pandemic began its sudden and confusing squeeze on America’s heartland in March, locally-owned restaurants wrestled with how best to serve their customers with limited and sometimes conflicting guidance.

“Bogey’s has an open kitchen, so most are familiar with our set up. We, and many other fast food restaurants, were not designed to keep people in the kitchen six feet apart. We all have big dining rooms and very small kitchens. Stations are one or two feet apart. Not six feet,” said Tyler Davis, General Manager, Bogey’s. “ There were many ‘recommendations’ at first that weren't necessarily requirements, but we followed them. Telling my employees that they should disregard those recommendations did not feel like the responsible thing to do. We even had to close down for two weeks when one of our employees was possibly exposed. This was very early on, but it was the right thing to do.”

Bogey’s, one of several Reno County restaurants who recently received Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant funding from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, is familiar with trying to balance customer needs and expectations with better health practices. After all, a “burger and shake” place offering a salad bar and hummus with veggies on the menu is unique.

This commitment to community health not only was apparent in Bogey’s cautious approach to business practices after the pandemic began, but also in their efforts to support Reno County citizens in need. Thanks to some generous donors, Bogey’s was able to offer free kids meals for a time, and even gift cards for those struggling with food insecurity.

“We are trying our best to put food into the hands of people that are struggling. Our community has been great and through the support of many of our great long time customers, we had over $1,000 donated for families to use. It is times like this when we all come together. We here are determined to do our part. The restaurant industry is certainly competitive, but this disruption was beyond competition. Every single local place in Hutch is important to the community.”