Behind the Scenes at Yo-Hawn’s Bar & Grill

When you head into Yo-Hawn’s Bar and Grill in Grygla it’s easy to see what’s happening. People are eating, drinking and (hopefully) being merry. But what goes on BEHIND THE SCENES? That’s what we really want to know….

Between preparing numerous items from scratch, placing multiple orders a week and getting as many as 10 gallons of homemade salads ready weekly, it’s safe to say that owners, Darell and Karen Severts, have their hands full at Yo-Hawn’s.

“It’s like having a graduation party every week,” Karen laughed!

Let’s dive right in. A typical Thursday, which is the day I spent with Karen, involves a few different things. First, the bar opens at 10am, however, it’s not uncommon for Darell to arrive around 6am. Meat needs to be prepared and those buns aren’t going to cook themselves! Karen heads in about 9am. Thursdays are her day to prepare homemade salads so they are fresh for Friday’s Fish Fry! (Have you been? If not, you should. The Fish Fry is every Friday from 5:30-9:30pm – ALL YOU CAN EAT and it’s delicious!) Anyway, Karen makes 6-10 gallons of salads every week. In addition to the salads, all the dressings, croutons and garlic toast are also homemade. 

Yo-Hawn is busy in the back cooking; the lunch crowd shuffles in about 11:30am. Between taking orders and preparing food behind the scenes, Karen also oversees the delivery, which comes weekly. Every other Thursday, Northwest Beverage, out of Thief River Falls, delivers beer. Every other Wednesday, McKinnon, out of Grand Forks, also delivers beer. It’s set up on a schedule where the beer delivery happens weekly. The bar orders groceries from two different companies that also come in weekly – Food Services out of Fargo and Henry’s out of Alexandria. They will also purchase some supplies locally.

Right now, the help is a bit shorthanded and Karen says it’s hard to find people that are willing to work – a problem a lot of bars have to deal with, unfortunately. The staff at Yo-Hawn’s includes Darell and another cook (ideally 1 more would be great), 2 dishwashers and 8 part-time workers between the bar and dining room.

This fall marks 13 years since the Severts have owned Yo-Hawn’s. It’s currently for sale, but until that time comes, the two just keep on keepin’ on. With Sunday and Monday being their only days off, it doesn’t leave the couple much time to spend at their cabin on Island Lake, which is where they’d one day like to retire.

Yo-Hawn’s is open every Sunday from 12-8pm. They are currently closed Mondays. Tuesday-Saturday the hours are 10am-1am with the kitchen closing at 9:30pm.

Between the two back rooms, there is seating for about 160 people. The dining room alone is always set for 62 people. In addition to the bar patrons, and the fish fry frequenters, Yo-Hawn’s also hosts wedding receptions, retirement parties, birthday & anniversary parties, graduation celebrations and meetings galore! They also do off-site catering and take special orders from businesses and individuals, including setting up their bar for wedding dances off site. 

When it comes to running the business, the most profitable part of owning the bar is the on-sale, Karen offered. “Having food isn’t as profitable, but it’s just a nice bonus for our customers,” she said. Speaking of the food, when I was visiting last Thursday, the soups of the day were: Vegetable Beef Dumpling, Chili and Chicken Tortilla – all homemade. Yo-Hawn also concocted a new homemade sauce that sounds excellent – a horseradish garlic mayo! He is also the one who decides the daily specials. Karen said there are people who would like to see desserts offered on the menu, but there just isn’t the time (or help) to take on another homemade item.

When it comes to on-sale alcohol, though, a piece of information I thought you’d be interested in knowing is which beer is the most popular! Karen says it’s a tie between Busch Light, Coors Light, Bud Light and Michelob Golden Light. But when it comes to off-sale, Busch Light wins by a long shot!

Do you have a favorite beer or menu item at Yo-Hawn’s? I definitely do and I’ll let you in on the secret. It’s Darell’s homemade Tomato Bisque soup. If you’ve tried a bowl, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Head in for a bowl or whatever floats your boat and I hope you enjoyed this “Behind the Scenes” look at one of our local hot spots. Next week, I head to Motel 89...