News & Events

It all started with a simple facebook post “We can‘t express our gratitude for your patronage any other way than by giving back to this awesome community”. 

Easter 2020 looked to be a pretty bleak holiday, no buffets or any in person dining, no church services in person, no egg hunts, no large family gatherings. The first holiday of the COVID–19 pandemic. 

Shut downs of schools and in person dining started on March 17 in Wisconsin. Many people were laid off or concerned that they would be. Tough times. For Jim and Jeff Nelsen of Sky Harbor 2 restaurant just north of Crivitz, it was a challenging time. No one knew if take out business would be enough to sustain their small family restaurant, no one knew if they would be completely shut down at some point. Thankfully, their menu translated well to all takeout and community folks were generous, adding a dessert or appetizer to their order and making a point to order out more often, in an attempt to keep one of their own in business. 

Jeff had the idea first and Jim agreed; they needed to give back. So, they put out that facebook post and offered free (yes, FREE) Easter dinner. All the fixin‘s–ham, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, dinner roll and dessert. The meal was to be served drive in style and reservations taken via phone. That phone rang off the wall! 

Distributors donated some food, people called to volunteer (they actually had to turn away volunteers), the local food pantry pitched in some vegetables, a local car dealer added bottled water and treat bags. The sheriff‘s department pitched in with traffic control since their highway 141 location could pose some issues. 

Easter Sunday started out with a blessing from the local priest, and then everyone got to work. The Nelsen brothers, their families, staff (who volunteered their time) and volunteers. Cooking, serving and running food out to the long line of cars coming thru the parking lot. In all, 500 meals were served. 500 meals in the little village of Crivitz, population 1000. Incredible! Many people pitched in money to tip the employees but they refused to accept it. $1524 collected, so the Nelsen‘s rounded that figure up to $1600 and that was divided between the four churches in town. Another Easter blessing! The local newspaper and TV station reported on the event. By 2pm, everyone was served and the only thing left was a mountain of dirty dishes and the great feeling that they did, indeed, do an amazing job of thanking the community that has gotten their small business thru a pandemic.