Impact: Restaurants
Hope Persists in Response to Restaurants’ Healthier Food Options
Old habits die hard.
Restaurant owners in Hutchinson and Reno County have been reminded of that as they have introduced healthy eating options to their menus in an effort to help residents improve their health.
Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, an initiative of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, awarded grants to a half-dozen restaurants in Reno County who were eager to increase healthier eating options for their customers. The results showed promise – but also reflected much more work needs to be done.
“I'd say the initial response was great, but as we have done it longer, I have seen more customers defaulting back to their original menu choices,” said Tyler Davis, owner of Bogey’s, which over the course of more than 30 years has become an icon of Hutchinson.
Bogey’s is best known for offering burgers and more than 100 varieties of shakes, but Tyler wanted to add healthier menu options.
He purchased additional refrigeration with the grant money awarded to Bogey’s and used the grant to offset the cost of providing healthier choices into meals. That included non-soda options, fruits, vegetables and hummus.
With interest in the healthier options fading, “it becomes hard to keep the healthier produce on hand without having concerns about spoilage,” Tyler said. “There is a reason that many local restaurants are unable to offer a lot of fresh produce. It simply doesn't have a shelf life that allows for a lot to be kept on hand.”
Restaurants could choose to keep less fresh produce on hand so they’re not throwing out a lot of expired product, he said, but then they run the risk of running out and frustrating customers.
Above: A hamburger and milkshake joint wouldn’t seem like a likely place to find healthy choices, but Bogey’s is committed to offering fresh options for their customers, like their salad bar.
Changing perceptions
Gina Emel, an owner of The Traveling Bowl food truck, used the grant she was awarded to add healthier food options to her regular menu.
She serves three items a day for the whole week, and thanks to the grant, she made one of those three choices a healthier option such as a salad. She was also able to purchase some equipment, as well as a new line of bowls for soups and salads.
Response has generally been good, Gina said, though there are occasional reminders that old eating habits can be hard to break. Of the nearly 70 customers she had on that day, only one bought the “Feelin’ Good” veggie salad. Another five bought salads to go with the soup of the day.
On days she makes her southwest steak salad, she said, she’ll sell nearly 20.
“There’s people that have already written us off – ‘Oh, they’re a meat and potatoes truck,’” she said.
Indeed, one customer approached, looked at the daily specials, and when he learned she was already out of the Hawaiian beef teriyaki over rice asked, simply, “What else do you have with beef?”
Fortunately, she had meatloaf on offer to go with cheesy hash browns.
“A lot of my customers that were already customers, they have stuck with me” even after the changes, Gina said. “And most days reflect a growing interest in eating healthy among my customers.”
Since the grant, Gina and her partner have expanded and increased their purchasing of produce.
“We try to buy all ingredients on the healthy side as often as possible. We strive for our food to be high quality and purchase our meat from local butcher shops and farmers.”
With additional advertising, she’s convinced she could get more people to try her healthier menu. She can easily create keto, low-carb, gluten-free and vegetarian options for many of her offerings, she said, and she’s starting to see more people make an effort to improve their diets.
“It’s slowly happening in Hutch,” she said. “You can feel it.”
But if she runs out of food and wants to go somewhere else in town for a healthy meal, she said, it’s a challenge.
“I had a heck of a time tracking down a salad that made me feel good,” she said. “The options are slim in town, I’ll tell you that.”
She said she understands it if someone says they’re frustrated with local eating options.
“It does not feel like I could leave and go and get myself a healthy meal,” she said. “I’ve got to work for it.”
Above: A food truck part of the year, and inside the train station during the colder months, the Traveling Bowl is known for comfort food, which now includes many healthy options.
Grant changed mindset, increased sales
It may seem hard to believe, but something as simple as printing new menus with color photos led to a significant increase in sales for healthier food options.
That’s what happened at the Mustard Seed in Buhler, which used its grant to produce new menus.
“Having pictures in our menus have made people more aware of what we have, leading to an increase in customers choosing those options,” Mustard Seed owner Karla Knechtel said. “It has changed our mindset, looking for ways to add healthier options.”
One of those options was to add unsweetened applesauce to the kids menu, she said, and that’s become a hit. The new menus have also been well-received.
“The healthier options have become more and more popular,” Karla said.
She adds that customers wanting healthier options should ask for them.
“If consumers don’t let restaurants or businesses know that they desire those options, it is difficult to fill that need.”
Above: The Mustard Seed in Buhler, Kansas, is bringing many fresh options to the table, like this house made mango salsa.
(Photo courtesy The Mustard Seed.)
New signs to signal new era
Bluebird Books & Cafe received a Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant and plans to use it to update signage both outside and inside the store to remind the public about the café inside.
“Our signage has never really reflected that we have healthy options on our menu, or even that we have a café,” owner Melanie Green said. “That’s something that people need to be made aware of.”
While many around Hutchinson know about the café within Bluebird, many don’t. “Someone might be here from out of town or just here for the day,” Melanie said. “Once they’re inside the store, they learn about it, but they have to be here. We definitely want to be able to spread the word about what we do offer to people near and far.”
The café’s menu has always been fairly healthy, she said, with gluten-free and vegan options available on all that it offers--and she feels Hutchinson’s awareness about the importance of healthy eating and healthy habits is growing.
“We have a number of customers looking specifically for our gluten-free items,” she said. “They always sell out and they’re always at the top of our list for requests. There’s always a learning curve for new things, but opportunities to inform and educate residents should be embraced.”
Above: Healthy, fresh, local ingredients are on the menu at Bluebird Books & Cafe, and customers are also treated to free cups of fruit infused water.
Sensing potential, expanding options
Linda Chaffin wasn’t sure what to expect when she began selling salads out of her Comfort & Joy food truck, but she’s been pleasantly surprised.
“I sell out of salads a lot of times,” she said. “The response has been great.”
She offers tossed salad, egg salad, chicken salad and hard-boiled eggs.
“I’m going to keep having some available until they don’t want them anymore for winter,” she said. “We’ll just see how that goes. And keto is a big thing. I’m going to try to offer some keto options and probably expand more into vegetarian options.”
She uses a local grower for a lot of her produce, particularly tomatoes. Grant participants sense potential in their efforts, and are looking for ways to continue offering healthier options on their menus. A new grant would help them all with increasing awareness of their healthier offerings.
Despite the muted response at Bogey’s, Tyler said “I want to continue providing healthier alternatives for customers that want them.”
Karla already knows what she would add to Mustard Seed if she landed another grant or other funding source.
“We would love to be able to offer a ‘Grab and Go’ selection of our salads and fruit cups in a small reach-in fridge,” she said. “There are several other things we would like to look into doing to provide a greater selection of healthy options.”
Linda intends to build on what she’s started and vows to keep prices low.
“I’ve had people comment that my prices are reasonable – ‘You could sell that for more,’” she said. “I’m still making money on it, so why would I sell it for more? I want people to come get it. There’s a lot of fast food here in Hutch,” she added. “I know low-income people gravitate toward the fast food because they can’t afford much more.”
By keeping her prices reasonable, she said, she hopes to attract those on limited budgets so they can eat healthy, too.
“There are more options out there,” she said. “I think we’re trying.”
Above: Fresh salads and other healthy options are now available at Comfort & Joy Food Truck, which have been well received by customers.
• Bogey’s
• Mustard Seed
• Comfort & Joy
• The Traveling Bowl
• Bluebird Books & Cafe
© HEAL Reno County - Live Happy. Live Healthy.
