TEXARKANA, Ark. - One of Texarkana's oldest restaurants used the COVID-19 shutdown to make some changes.
"We did some remodeling work while shut down, mostly ceiling lights and the floor tiling one of our dining rooms," said owner Cash Oliver. "That's done now, and now we are opened back up."
Cattleman's Steakhouse has been a local tradition for 53 years. While they could have opened earlier when other restaurants did, they opted to stay closed longer and finish some of the projects they started while shut down.
They did offer curbside service for a time during the pandemic, but decided it didn't make sense to do so. Plus, the way unemployment benefits worked during the coronavirus crisis, management decided to let their crew take advantage of that.
"Curbside does not really work for our concept," said Oliver. "However, we needed our crew back when looking at reopening. Not only were they all rehired, they were really ready to get back to work."
Since they reopened, some things have changed, while something have stayed the same.
"Our menu is the same classic menu our long-time customers have come to expect from Cattleman's," said Oliver. "All of our old favorites are still in place and the bar is open."
However, their hours have changed.
"We are opening earlier now, 5 p.m. rather that 5:30, Tuesday through Saturday," he said. "However, we close earlier now, 9 p.m. rather than 10. Our primary audience goes to bed a little earlier, so we decided to tailor our hours a bit more around them."
In February, Cattleman's was announced as an inductee into the Department of Arkansas Heritage's Food Hall of Fame.
The restaurant was established by Joe Oliver and remains a family tradition. He said in an interview earlier this year that "we've cooked our steaks the same way since the beginning. "
(Cattleman's is located at 4018 N. State Line Ave.)