Owner makes COVID-19 changes
By Greg Seubert
COVID-19 has taken a toll on restaurants and other businesses throughout Wisconsin.
That’s not the case with the Wega Drive-In, however.
The popular restaurant at 417 W. Main St. in Weyauwega has seen a steady stream of customers since opening its doors for the 2020 season in late March.
That’s exactly what Georgia Tews, who bought the restaurant three years ago from Lisa and Adam Alix, likes to see.
“We were super-busy right off the bat,” she said. “People always have about a six-month wait without eating here and they come right when we open. We have a line no matter what. I started working here when I was 15. It was always fun to work opening weekend because you had your regular customers that raced to be the first and you’d get to see all their faces again.
“A lot of people enjoy coming here,” she said. “I love all the local businesses in Weyauwega and I hope they continue to survive as well.”
While the drive-in’s menu – which includes hamburgers, fish, chicken, french fries, shakes, ice cream and homemade root beer – is the same, customers will notice a few changes.
They are asked to wait in their vehicle for their order and food and beverages can’t be consumed on the property.
“They’re coming up to the window and they have to keep the 6-foot distance,” Tews said. “It’s more confusing if people don’t know what’s going on. Unfortunately, we have a lot of people that are confused as to why our picnic tables aren’t up. It is confusing when they can’t sit down at a picnic table, have to wait in their car for their food and can’t just wait by the window like they used to. We were prepared to do vehicle carhops and if worst came to worst, we had certain measures in place to do delivery. The majority of people are super-understanding.”
Customers can place an order by calling 920-867-3050.
“Our call-ins have increased significantly since you can’t sit and order at the window and take your time with a big group of people,” Tews said. “Our phone has been ringing a lot more. They place their order and it’s typically seven to 10 minutes for an order depending on how busy we are.”
Tews is also cutting back on the drive-in’s hours.
“We’re closing at 6, vs. 8 or 9,” she said. “That way, my staff and I have extra time to sanitize and clean everything properly. There is still the chance that we could get shut down. We don’t know how bad it’s going to get. If we get shut down, that worries me a lot. I’m always here cleaning and doing extra sanitizing, so it takes away from my family as well. I’m here every day all day.”
Tews had to plan and budget for cleaning materials for the restaurant and her staff.
“Cleaning materials are hard to get right now because there are limits on everything and gloves are hard to get,” she said. “I had to cut my staff, so that was a hard decision. We had a meeting and they had to make sure that they were OK working a full eight-hour shift without going home. Our shifts are usually four hours, so it’s a lot different than what they’re used to. They talked to their families and their families are comfortable with it.”
Tews usually has at least 10 employees, but that has been cut to four.
“I’m keeping my more seasoned employees on duty right now just because they’re more trained on cleaning and I’m not training any new staff,” she said. “I can be certain that everything is being done correctly. My employees up front are wearing gloves and masks and my employees in the back that aren’t in person-to-person contact, I give them the choice if they want to wear their mask. They absolutely have gloves. They roll with the punches just like I do. I’m thankful I have good staff.”
She’s not sure what will happen as the weather warms and the number of customers increases.
“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” she said. “I’m really hoping it’s over by then and we can get back to normal. If it doesn’t get back to normal by summer, we’ll have to make more signs. We’ll get groups of people that are going swimming. I don’t want to get in trouble with crowd control.”
Tews was in North Carolina at the same time COVID-19 first started making headlines in Wisconsin.
“Everything was closing down there and I was like, ‘Oh boy, I better get home to open up the shop,’” she said. “When we got home, everything was starting to close. I was really crossing my fingers when they did the briefing on essential businesses and said this is one of them.”
Tews’ biggest worry at the moment is having to close the restaurant.
“This business is what supports my family and I don’t know what I would do,” she said. “I’m just thankful for the community support. This is what puts a roof over our heads.”