MANTI—After closing due to COVID more than a year ago, the former Dirk’s Restaurant at 115 N. Main Street is open under new management, and with a new name: Grandma Berta’s Kitchen. They opened last Monday, Sept. 20.
Teresa Boylan of Manti and her husband Brent arrived at the decision when the Manti Temple closed for COVID. Teresa had worked for years at the temple cafeteria, and when it became obvious, even after the temple reopened that the cafeteria was not coming back, she decided to take the leap into culinary ownership.
“This is a challenge for me,” she said, “I have always loved to cook; and we felt Manti really needed again to have a nice sit-down restaurant with a friendly, homey atmosphere, so we approached Dirk Correnti about buying the business.”
The Boylans have lived in Manti since 1998. Their children: Jessica, Andrew, McKenna, Ambria, Tyler, Kyleena, Trace (deceased), and Lance are all behind them. Lance, the only child still at home, is helping with the adventure. Tyler is trying to set up live music on Fridays.
Teresa will run the cooking part of the business, and Brent, who is employed with the Management Group of the Church, is providing the technical know-how and will run bussing tables and customer management. Brent said, “This is exciting, but also overwhelming at the same time.”
The restaurant is named after Brent’s mother, who lives in Oregon. “We want to give back, so during Thanksgiving, a giving season, we will be accepting nominations for free meals, as well as offering gift certificates,” Brent said.
“We are looking for workers, and offer very flexible shifts, some as short as two or three hours,” Brent said. The Boylans visited the Manti City Council recently, and told the council, “We have three goals for our restaurant; we want the restaurant to feel homey, comfortable, and friendly; we want to give back to the community; and we want to train our employees to learn good work habits and have a happy, successful experience.”
Manti Councilman Jason Vernon said, “I just think it’s great to have that restaurant going again for the citizens. I like your focus.”
Councilman Jason Maylett said, “We wish you the best of success. See you down there.”
City Manager Kent Barton said, “I see you’re doing bakery items,” and Brent responded, “The cinnamon rolls and breads are all made fresh on site. We’ll expand that out as we get staff and probably add some more equipment. That’s where we’re headed.”
The restaurant offers a basic menu, which the Boylans plan to expand once they really get going. Breakfast features French toast, waffles, and omelets; lunch menus include pizza, ham and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches, along with green and specialty salads and soups of the day; and dinner specials include Santa Fe Chicken, Sweet Garlic Chicken, Smothered Chicken, Roast Beef, along with desserts and beverages, including Italian sodas.
Their phone number is 835-8300, and hours will be from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. “Feel free to call and place orders, or just come in, sit down and relax while we prepare your meal,” Teresa says.
Check their social media, facebook.com/GrandmaBertasKitchen for updates as the menu grows.
