Business Solutions for Summer 2020

4 S U MM E R 2 0 2 0 BUSINESS spotlight Brenda McEnery said, “Our children grew up at the business; it was truly a second home. Today, the Country Inn Café & Motel is a meeting place for folks who may live alone. Our customers are like an extended family. You’ll often hear them refer to Country Inn as their ‘home away from home.’” Family-Friendly Menu and Rooms The Café is well known for its many homemade items—including desserts, soups, and daily specials—as well as hearty breakfasts, fried chicken, and the 1/2-pound Big Bob Burger. As one cus- tomer put it, “If you leave here hungry, it’s your fault.” The Motel offers affordable rates for clean, cozy rooms with air condition- ing and Wi-Fi, and each room receives one free breakfast at the Café in the morning. In addition, mini-storage units are available on the property. All of these services are delivered by the friendly staff at the Country Inn Café & Motel, who treat every customer like family. This business philosophy has been especially evident since the pandemic began. Adjusting to the Pandemic “The pandemic has been challenging for everyone, but we wanted to be a place where people felt safe. We’ve been for- tunate to remain open for our regular business hours, initially offering only to-go orders. More recently, we added outdoor dining. Some good friends helped us get a tent and put it up. We’re so lucky to have these special people in our lives. We’ve been blessed with a lot of local support from the surrounding communities,” said McEnery. She added, “In these unprecedented times, our outlook has been that we’re all in this together. We were determined to provide a safe place for our Country Inn family to dine together, and our customers have been very respectful of the extra pandemic-related guidelines. It’s been a learning Country Inn Café & Motel Customers refer to it as their “home away from home” The Country Inn Café & Motel in Livingston has proudly served travelers and local residents like family since it was built in 1976 by Richard Meyer and Jack Frandsen. In 1992, the year they got married, Brenda and Robert McEnery bought the business and continued its family-friendly tradition.