Hallam Steakhouse closing its doors on Friday’s due to understaffing

HALLAM, Neb. (KLKN) – A small town restaurant known for their comfort food is cutting back as they experience staffing shortages.

The Hallam Steakhouse and Bar announced that they will be closing the restaurant on Friday’s, indefinitely.

The decision was made after one of their two cooks on staff made the decision to leave.

Karen Grothen-Neff has owned the restaurant for the past 13 years and said she is confident they will get through this hardship like they’ve done in the past.

“It’s hard to find staff for restaurants, it’s just a fact of life right now,” said Grothen-Neff. “When someone leaves and you try to find someone else, it’s almost impossible. Nobody really wants to do this kind of a job anymore.”

Grothen-Neff usually cooks all the meals herself during the week but has another cook helping on the weekends.

When the weekend cook decided to leave, she said she understood, but needed to brainstorm quickly on how she would handle the nearly 170 guests that can visit in one day.

“We discussed what we could do and what we couldn’t do,” she said. “It was a hard decision because it affects everybody here.”

Grothen-Neff explained that since she will be the only one in the kitchen on Friday’s, she would not be able to handle the anticipated crowds alone.

Although she does not know how long this weekly closure will endure, she says she has faith the community will help her pull through, like they did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All the people in town, they rallied, they came in, they took take out,” she said. “They are a great bunch of people. They supported us very well, we’re very lucky.”

Grothen-Neff says she’s employed many community members and has also received recruitment help from her current staff.

“Everybody in town is asking people. We put it on Facebook…We will be fine,” she said.

Brimming with optimism, Grothen-Neff’s message to other business owners who may also be in her position, “It always works out. It’s not worth anything to fret, because you know, it’s not going to change anything.”

She says the restaurant is hoping to find a candidate for their weekend cook position who will not only be reliable but be a pro with cooking steaks too since that’s their specialty.