New business coming to Country Club building

The building that was formerly home to the Four Winds Country Club, out by the golf course, has been bought by husband and wife, Mike and Kinnie Reuter and Brothers Mark and Justin Fornstrom. The plans for the building are to transform it into a bar and grill.

The entire group is very excited about their new endeavor, the restaurant they have named Windbreak Bar and Grill. However, even though the plan was always to get the building and have it be a restaurant, both the Reuters and the Fornstroms knew they didn't want to actually run the restaurant.

"We wanted to bring a restaurant here to town, but we didn't want to run it, we just want to eat at it," Mike Reuter said.

As funny as that might seem, it has allowed for them to bring in the teams behind Rock Ranch and Cafe 307, both of which are in Pine Bluffs. John and Kathy Brent, who run Rock Ranch, and Alvin Sutton, who runs Cafe 307, are very excited about the new restaurant.

"We really like the idea behind bringing a place to Kimball where people can come and sit down and enjoy a meal at a nice restaurant," Sutton said.

With the team's experience, the Windbreak is off to a good start. A menu is still being planned out, but they have confirmed that it will be lunch and dinner foods.

"The restaurant will open up at 11, so in time for the lunch crowds, and it will stay open through dinner. The food will be very Americana, burgers and fries. It'll be a bar and grill," John Brent said.

A lot has already been done to the building. Wood paneling has been removed, and the wall that separated the bar area from everything has been halved. This change alone has opened up the space, allowing the area to feel bigger and less claustrophobic.

The kitchen has been redone. New appliances have been installed to make the kitchen more efficient. Since the Windbreak will be serving the lunch crowd as well as the dinner crowd, the kitchen needed to be updated in order to accommodate getting food out in a timely fashion.

"No one wants to wait an hour for their meal. I don't care how good it is. So that's something we sort of pride ourselves on is that we want to make sure people are coming in and getting their food as quickly as possible," Sutton said.

The vision for the Windbreak is that it will be a place where people can go as a family, with co-workers for lunch or even on special occasions.

"We have a banquet hall that we will be allowing people to rent for private parties if they would like," Kathy Brent said.

Despite the Windbreak's ability to accommodate those who would like to have a more private event, the restaurant itself is welcoming to everyone.

"We can't stress enough that the Windbreak will be open to the public. In the past, I believe it was for members only, but we want to make sure everyone knows that it is open to the public," Kinnie Reuter said.

The building has undergone several changes, as mentioned before, although it will still be experiencing more. The lanterns which hang in the bar area and the hallway will be taken out and replaced with newer lighting fixtures. Carpet will be brought in to cover the currently tiled floors. New tables and chairs, enough to sit 80 people, are in the Windbreak's future. Along with all of the other changes a handicap accessible bathroom has been installed so that the restaurant is accommodating to all people.

The entire group involved with the Windbreak is so genuinely excited and can barely contain that excitement as they point out all the improvements that have been and will be made to the building. Part of their excitement is that they themselves are excited to be customers at the restaurant.

"When you do something like this, you want to make sure you're opening a place that you want to go to. You should want to be a patron at your own place," Justin Fornstrom said.

The Windbreak Bar and Grill does not have a opening date set yet, although they do know that it will be sometime after memorial day.

There is still quite a bit to handle and to take care of but everyone involved so far is doing it for the community. They conveyed that they want everyone to come to the Windbreak once it's open. Planning on serving the lunch crowd, they hope to get lunch hour visitors from Castronics due to their close proximity to the Windbreak.

Sutton and the Brents have expressed their confidence in being able to get people in and out quickly during the lunch hour.

"We understand the time constraints that people are under when they are on their lunch break. So we do our best to serve them quickly," Sutton said.

So once open, the Windbreak will be open to anyone who wants to enjoy a nice meal with family and friends. Whatever the occasion the Windbreak hopes to serve its patrons well.

"Whether you're in suits or work boots, you can come in for a nice meal," Mike Reuter said.