“We had a mess’: Crete restaurant rebuilding community staple after kitchen fire in 2024

CRETE, Neb. (KLKN) – The owners of a popular restaurant in Crete are breathing life back into the original location that was damaged in a fire last year.

The kitchen fire caused the Old Main Bar and Grill to temporarily shut down in 2024.  The restaurant eventually moved to a local country club for the time being.

But now, work is underway to improve the original location.

“We had a mess. From all the water, the fire damage, the soot, the smoke,” said co-owner Greg Mach.

Mach, along with co-owner Pat Reed, said the move to the country club helped retain staff and customers, while making plans to restore the original location.

“Well, I grew up here,” Mach said. “I still farm full time, went to Crete, went to Doane, my kids went to the community schools here as well.”

In the plans for the updated restaurant, both Mach and Reed are including their expertise in raising cattle.

“We always talked about having a steak restaurant, and to do other things with it for the community,” Mach said.

The first floor of the renovated building will be a steak restaurant, which will use beef sourced from local farms.

Mach said he has big plans to make the second floor a more casual spot for the community.

“The upstairs will be a sports bar atmosphere, we’ll have golf simulators, beer wall slash pool tables and we’ve created some space so that we can rent stuff out,” he said.

Mach explained that there will be something for everyone at any time of the year, adding that they will keep up construction until they’re in an ideal position to open.

“We put a lot of time into this restaurant and rebuilding this thing, and in this world, it seems like things take a little longer than before,” he said.