The dinner time buzz of vehicles darting in and out of parking spaces, and customers coming and going on 7th Street in Gretna, has gone silent.
The kitchen and dining room at Nora's Diner went dark earlier this year when COVID-19 public health restrictions forced the temporary closure of the popular small town restaurant. Now, the dining hotspot is permanently closed after years of service to the community and surrounding area that spanned just over a decade.
"Even if they came out and said now we can have one hundred per cent capacity but we have to keep that six foot distance between tables, according to our square footage that leaves us with five tables. How could we ever survive?," explained Kathy.
"It's very disheartening to watch ten years of your hard work slowly basically burn down in front of you, and it's not your decision. That's the real kick in the teeth" said Jeff.
Jeff, a Red Seal Journeyman Chef, was born in Gretna but moved with his family to northern Alberta in the 1960's. He, along with his mom, Nora, had dreamed of moving back to Gretna one day, laughing and joking with each other about the idea throughout the years. Then in 2002, Nora passed away before that dream could become reality. However, Jeff's hope of one day returning to his hometown was shared by his wife Kathy, who had first visited the small border community early in their marriage in the 1990's.
In 2007, their dream was realized and the pair moved to Gretna. Two years later in 2009, the husband and wife team, who both had years of experience of working in the restaurant business, sealed the deal on the historic A.C. Nickel Tin Smith and Hardware Store and embarked on an on-going journey to bring their vision of a local diner to life. They named the new enterprise after Jeff's mom and called it Nora's Diner in an effort to bring a piece of her home as well. From that sprung the restaurant's catch phrase, "Welcome Home", which Jeff says also encouraged patrons to feel at home when they visited.
Known for its elevated comfort dishes and uncomplicated atmosphere, it was also a high level of hospitality that helped put Nora's Diner on the map. The small town joint quickly gained notoriety in the area and attracted customers from across southern Manitoba and into North Dakota. Typical Friday and Saturday dinners consisted of two seatings per night.
Always making a point to visit with customers at the table, Jeff believed in standing by the product he was putting out and that it was being served properly. According to the chef, every item on the menu was designed for the customer based on their feedback. There were times when Jeff says he would get bored of a certain menu item and try to push the envelope by introducing something new, posting it as a feature item in order to test the waters among patrons. However, not all of the new ideas were a hit, and so Jeff says they never made it on to the full list of offerings.
"You don't say 'I'm going to show you what good food is.' You say 'What do you want to eat and I'll make it for you'," he explained, adding this is the one point that gets missed in a lot of restaurants. "You have to create this theatre that everybody is special."
However, Jeff and Kathy say COVID-19 restrictions have also removed the hospitality element from the industry by keeping people from mingling when they go out to eat. 
"You can't run a restaurant like this. This is not a hospitality industry anymore. What's the point? " said Jeff, noting this is what brought such a positive energy and atmosphere to Nora's Diner.
"We would have this place rocking on a Friday or Saturday night and this person is yelling that person back in that corner...everybody is mingling and it's like a house party in here," added Kathy.
The cozy eatery also served as the backdrop for countless celebrations like anniversaries, birthdays and even marriage proposals.
"We would do whatever we could to make magic happen," said Kathy.
The pair also shared this memorable moment.
"I had a lot of fun organizing that particular event because I got to meet some people I never met before," added Jeff. "We made somebody happy and everyone was willing to pitch in and it just came together so brilliantly, and that's not just on us, that's on everybody that was involved."
"You only get one chance at first impressions and you have to always pay it forward, you have to think of the other person," he noted. "We always had that in the back of our heads. What can we do to make it happen? And then we'd bust our hump to make it happen," said Jeff.
When the doors to Nora's Diner swung open just over 10 years ago, the Dycks say they never imagined it would become such a popular food destination. Instead, the pair says they wanted to see how far they could take it working together.
"We're proud of what we accomplished here...we'll miss this," added Kathy. "We've had a lot of fun moments."
Meantime, the future is unknown for the couple who are left to rebuild their lives from scratch, which they say is daunting but carries a small element of excitement.
"We're not afraid of the abilities that we have, and we know what we are capable of doing so we've got that in our back pocket," said Jeff.
"I say we spin the globe, stick a pin in it and whatever happens, happens," added Kathy.
Jeff and Kathy offered this parting message.
Mon, May 6, 9:00 AM
Hourly, Administrative, Entry-Level, Healthcare, Retail, Sales
Featured
