by Garrick Moritz, Editor
New Year’s Day was a big day for O So Good and Garretson in general as the restaurant was featured on Diners Drive Ins & Dives on the Food Network. We talked with owner and star chef Omar Thornton on the Monday after the weekend rush at his restaurant.
“I’ve still got goosebumps on my goosebumps,” he said. “Oh man! Garretson is now a part of Flavortown, USA! Me and Renee made the call to be open that Friday night as usual. We have three big TV’s now at O’s and we had them all on the Food Network and turned up full blast, but you could still barely hear it with all the cheering and laughing and clapping going on. We were full, we were so busy! Lots of celebrating that night and we were 100 percent full. Saturday we were open for lunch and dinner we were 100 percent full all day. Sunday lunch, usually a little slower, was ninety percent full.”
“We did take a few walk ins, but I told people that unless you have a reservation, we can’t guarantee you a seat. We did have folks who waited over an hour and a half to get seated, and we had to turn some away. I didn’t want to do that, I never want to do that, but that’s the reality. Only thing I can do is ask for patience, and please come see us again. As for the amazing number of customers we did serve, well we made a lot of new friends and got to know a lot more families that we’ re going to love to see again.”
“We sold out of our cornbread, and we’ d made more than usual because we knew there would be a response, but I don’t think we truly understood how much of a response that would be until it dropped right into our laps. So, we made double, triple, quadruple the amount we normally make going into the weekend. Our staff was going at 130 miles per hour. I’ m proud of them, and they held it together, but they are tired out. I told them that right now, this is 100 percent hype. Things will calm down again, but if we can do what we’ve done and impress this influx of new customers, then we’ ll have repeat business we can bank on. We’ve still got the worst of this winter’s weather to get through and the pandemic is still going on, so we’ve got those things to worry about. We were already talking about hiring new positions, before the episode aired and now for sure we need to be hiring and training some new people, and that’s something we will most certainly be doing going forward.”
The Triple D TV filming and interview is literally a dream come true for Omar Thornton. Guy Fieri is truly one of his heroes, and one of the reasons that he was inspired to open his own restaurant in the first place.
“Chops and the Triple D are two of my favorite TV shows period,” Thornton said. “My daughter and I would watch Chops together, pause the show when they presented the challenge to the chefs, and we would make our own lists of what we would do if we had the chance, and then we’d unpause and see who we’d be the closest to in their selections. Triple D, man, when that show started, I loved to watch these chefs and how they do things in their kitchens. You’ve got every kind of skill level, from professionally school trained chefs to people who were hobby chefs with signature dishes who just wanted to start their own businesses. I loved to watch it for the ideas, the tricks and tips. I see somebody do something in their kitchen that I think is cool, then I want to try it in my own kitchen. Several menu items on my regular menu are inspired by things I saw on Triple D.”
Fieri made South Dakota his 50th state, and some might say he saved the best for last. Garretson was the finale of the new episode and the town looked great on camera. Interviews and comments were done with Cathi Bottelberghe, Kris Frerk, Tamie & Shannon Nordstrom, Bruce Brown, and many other local people were featured during the episode, all saying how much they enjoyed the richly flavorful food and the personality Omar brings to the table. (You can even see shots of the staff of this newspaper enjoying their food on camera.)
“I was star struck,” said Omar. “I kind of wondered how I was going to get through it. I’m a huge fan of Guy, he was a huge inspiration for me and for getting this restaurant started and now he’s right here in my restaurant, in my kitchen!”
And Fieri, quite literally, ate it up. He loved the grub, saying things like, “Am I dreaming, because this is an amazing food dream I’m having right now.”
“He really paid me a lot of nice complements, both on camera and off it,” said Omar. “I love in the show how they captured the moment of his general awe of the crazy ambiance of the restaurant. That short clip of him looking around and wondering, what is going on with this funky décor, really took him about three to five minutes of just looking around going, what is that, what is that, what is that? He loved it, and after sitting down and talking with me and Renee, he was like, ‘I get it, this is all you guys. It’s weird, and crazy and fun and it works.’ And after we filmed the kitchen interview, and he tried the food, and the cameras had stopped rolling he took me aside and said. ‘Omar... you’ve really got something special here and if people in the area don’t realize it, they need to. And we’re gonna show ‘em. Keep doing what you’re doing.’ This is a personal hero of mine telling me this... and I just don’t know what to say. Heck, I was still star struck. The only thing I could manage was, ‘thank you’.”
Aside from the restaurant being extraordinarily busy, Omar said that he’s received an outpouring of congratulations in the form of calls, text messages, emails and congratulatory messages on social media outlets. In addition to all the public attention, he’s still going full speed ahead on his involvement on the local Meals on Wheels program which we featured in a recent issue of the Gazette. Little did these lucky seniors know that they were getting food from a restaurant that’s now been featured on national TV!
“Now is when the work begins,” Omar said. “When you build something, you want it to be successful of course. My wife and I, and our great staff have worked hard and had some very real successes, but we never dreamed it might actually go this far. It’s a dream come true. Now we work to make it last, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a little terrified, but we’re only just getting started, and we’re going to go forward with our best effort.”
The best way to conclude, is the restaurant summary written on the Triple D official website: “Easily one of our favorite family style restaurants which defined the definition of Seafood and Comfort food with a Southern Flair. When in the beautiful town of Garretson, this is without question one of the best spots to grab a great meal with super friendly service. This is that spot that you've always dreamed of when it comes to freshly prepared comfort style foods. Everything is packed full of flavors and scrumptious with each bite. Don't come here to stress over your daily macros, no, instead enjoy food as it was meant to be enjoyed. From the moment you arrive, you'll be greeted and seated with a smile. This sets the tone for a great dining experience which South Dakota is known, world famous for. They have an open kitchen concept so you actually have the chance to witness the master chef at work. There is nothing to hide and you can observe for yourself what made-from-scratch and with love is truly all about. Eclectic and whimsical surroundings, O So Good is a joint which you won't soon forget. And how about that title right? It describes the restaurant perfectly in our many experiences here. Roughly 20 miles from the other popular city of Sioux Falls, it's a wonderful stop on an adventure through the state. The local beer on tap is also a winner and as we often suggest, do save room for the dessert as it's out of this world. Be sure to ask for daily specials and ask the Chef for his recommendations they will never steer you wrong. We must say that the mouth-watering creative menu items here are surely to please from the young to old with plenty of choices for today's picky eaters as well. As you may have already guessed, O So Good is ABSOLUTELY worth the drive!”
