“Sometimes you want to go…”

“…Where everybody knows your name

And they’re always glad you came

You want to be where you can see 

Our troubles are all the same

You want to be where everybody knows your name”

Written by Kari Sundberg, Eagle Editor

Now that I’ve got the theme song from Cheers stuck in your head (go ahead, sing the famous line one more time: “Where everybody knows your naaaaaaaame…..”), we can make the perfect transition from Cheers to Diamonds!

By, now you’ve maybe ventured back into Diamond’s Bar & Grill in Grygla as it officially reopened on Halloween of this year. Operating under the same name, the new owners, Randy and Lori Stephan, welcome you to come in, sit down, and stay awhile. That welcoming vibe is evident from the moment you walk in the doors. The bar is bright, the fire place is warm and the Stephans’ smiles are even warmer. 

“It’s so important to us that you feel welcome when you come in here. We want you here. It’s our goal to make you feel that way and be that place you can come to and stay for as long as you’d like,” the Wannaska couple expressed.

Randy and Lori have lived in the area for six years now. They moved here from Lodi, California, when Randy took a job with Polaris. He later switched companies and was most recently the night shift supervisor at Machinewell, Inc., in Grygla, for the last year. Before moving to the area, Lori worked as Neonatal/Intensive Care RN, and also was employed at Shopko before this new venture as a business owner.

Before Diamonds had closed, the Stephans tossed around the idea of buying the bar. They had a great relationship with the previous owners and kept the idea on the back burner, as it wasn’t in the cards at the time.

Well, that idea soon became real. Officially becoming the new owners on September 30th, the Stephans have spent the days since then making Diamonds their own.

With some of the same decor up, the familiarity of the local joint is still there, but improvements have been made here and there.

All new bar stools, under-bar lighting and purse/coat hooks are in place. New toilets and sink fixtures have been installed, another pool table added, along with four TV’s up and running, including a 65” in the back room for those exciting football games! 

And exciting changes are still to come. Diamond’s has a great starter menu for their customers right now, but plans are being made to expand the dinner choices to include rib eye, steak and prime rib, along with the possibility of smoked meats.

The back room of the bar will also be getting updated a bit. Randy plans to put up hooks on the back wall for snowmobilers to hang up their riding gear. A new dance floor and carpet are also in the near-future plans.

Randy and Lori have four sons. Joshua still lives in California; he is 26 years old. Then there’s Jacob (22), Justin (17, a Roseau Senior) and Johnathan (11, a Roseau Sixth Grader). Along with Randy and Lori, their three youngest sons are also helping out at the bar. They’ve hired a couple of high schoolers, a couple of cooks and bartenders, as well.

Business hours

Diamond’s is open 7 days a week with the hours being 11am-1am Monday through Saturday, and then 11am-10pm on Sundays. Offsale is also available on site.

A few parties have already been booked in the back room of Diamond’s, pull tabs are coming sometime in January and musical entertainment will be on the schedule, occasionally, too! Things are off to a great start, for sure.

Randy added in, “The bar has been what I expected so far. We’ve had some pretty good crowds in here. Now the community support...that has been far more than I ever could have expected.”

Swing in, say hello and check the place out.

(And may I personally suggest ordering the Patty Melt? It’s, hands down, one of the best in the area! Go sink your teeth right into that sourdough bread and wash it down with a cold one.)