On The Green Celebrates Community
Chef Pam Oldes takes on the challenge of the mechanical bull at Sunday’s Grand Opening.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Small businesses are often an exhausting and thankless job, but the owners of On The Green took time to thank all of those people who have helped to make their time in Oskaloosa successful.
Chef Pam Oldes is the culinary creator behind many of the dishes at On The Green, and she’s not afraid to take her turn at a mechanical bull.
“We’ve just really enjoyed this year,” says Oldes. The purpose of the day was to pay-it-forward and give back to the community explained Oldes. “We just wanted to let everybody else celebrate with us.”
On The Green came to Oskaloosa via the Iowa Best Bite Challenge, after being selected in that competition’s 2nd round. The decision to enter the competition came after the lights went out at the former Dr. Salami’s. That distinction has helped to brand the restaurant says Oldes. “We’re just really happy to be part of the Iowa’s Best Bite family as well as Osky,” Oldes said.
No one ever doubts the hours and amount of dedication needed by those who work in the food service industry. Countless hours are spent by owners and managers of any such establishment. The feeling of family and the closeness Oldes has developed with those who are part of On the Green squad, “not only them [employees] but our guests who come in that we now know.
Continuing to grow and being a part of the community is a hope for On The Green, says Oldes. Oldes points out the downstairs at On The Green, that was just recently opened to customers, as an example of continuing to provide what customers want. Oldes sees the addition of the downstairs facility as a positive step in providing the needed space to host fun community events.
“We are just really excited to see what next year brings,” says Oldes. “This year blew us away.”
Bryan Schultz of Opposable Thumbs, and the marketing mastermind of the Iowa Bestbite Challenge, was on hand to help the group from On The Green celebrate their accomplishments of the past year. Schultz and his competition have helped 3 communities land new restaurants. West Liberty and The Copper Penny will soon be joining Grinnell’s Prairie Canary and Oskaloosa’s On The Green as restaurants making a different in their communities.
Schultz said Sunday, and the celebration that was going on, was a really good day to reflect on the past year and all that went into the process of On The Green arriving in Oskaloosa. “On The Green is what Iowa’s Best Bite should be,” says Schultz. “The quality of the food from scratch at a price you would get at a chain where they are serving frozen food off a truck in a town this size is really unusual. It’s incredibly difficult to pull off, and they’ve done a great job.”
“This year has been an incredible amount of work for them [Owners & Managers] but it’s really starting to pay off. The building’s shining, the service is great, the foods incredible,” says Schultz. “So if we had to pick a poster child of Iowa’s Best Bite, it would be On The Green.”
You can learn more about On The Green by visiting them on their Facebook page HERE or their website HERE.
