By LANESSA MURPHY-SPAGNUOLO
News & Journal Staff Writer
A new eatery and ice cream parlor has opened in Worthington; Riverside R&R Eats & Treats is now serving up hot, delicious meals and cool, ice cream desserts.
The restaurant is owned and operated by Paul and Gloria Sandy and is located on Freedom Highway just before Thompson’s. Here you will find several delicious items on the menu to choose from like steak sandwiches, chicken strips, and their popular hot sausage sandwich.
“Folks love our hot sausage sandwich, burgers, and hot dogs,” Sandy explains. “My mom came up with the recipe for the hot dog sauce. Not to toot our own horns, but everyone brags on our food being so good.”
The restaurant uses fresh meat from Hydes Meat Packing in Enterprise.
For dessert, the Sandys say their raspberry ice cream and banana split treats are taking customers by storm among other desserts like milkshakes and blitzes. And if you are in for a real ice cream eating challenge, give their ‘Gut Buster’ a try. If you can eat their whopping 32-ounce cup of ice cream and toppings in less than 15 minutes, you might just walk out with a free t-shirt! The most recent challenger who broke the record in just over 4 minutes was Michael Oliverio.
Riverside R&R Eats and Treats has a full dining room inside. They also have a lot of outdoor seating which includes an open deck facing the river and a gazebo. The Sandys just installed a fish pond in the outdoor seating area last week, which is now home to gold fish for customers to watch and enjoy.
They even have free Wifi for their customers but sincerely hope ‘their customers will leave the stress of the outside world behind and enjoy each other for a while’.
Gloria Sandy says she wants folks to feel at home when they visit.
“People ask me what the R&R stands for. My mission is that when you come to Riverside R&R, I want you to rest, relax, restore, and renew each visit. I truly hope it has become and will continue to be a resting place,” she says.
They have a large room for parties and are hoping to schedule events on Sundays when the restaurant is closed to the public. In fact, they will be having their family reunion in September at the restaurant.
The restaurant has been in the works for the Sandys since last year. Their venture started when Gloria and Paul were going to Charleston for a real estate seminar. They returned home and took their new ideas and ran with them. They scanned newspapers and the internet for auctions and homes and land for sale to do a ‘property flip.’
“This was the very first sale after our trip and training and Paul won the bid,” she remarks. “We juggled around several ideas to come up with what we were going to do with our investment. My mom, dad, and brother have helped us financially to completely remodel this building and get the equipment and inventory we needed to get up and running.”
The Sandys’ faith has also been a huge factor in their journey to build their ice cream business.
“We wanted something positive for the community. I want folks to know that we are building our foundation on God first. I hope that all folks can feel the presence of God when they enter,” she says.
And with that, on June 19, their friends from the Otterbein United Methodist Church held a dedication/song service for the new business.
The Sandys have some upcoming events they welcome the community to as well. After the dedication, they decided to make the song service a monthly event. Their first one will be at the Riverside R&R Eats & Treats on Sunday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. and will continue on the fourth Sunday of each month.
Both Paul and their son Daniel are musicians and they are planning to have ‘picking and grinning’ on Tuesday nights from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays 7 p.m. – ? for those who love to pick and sing – or just listen.
“I want to thank God, utmost and foremost, as well as our customers, family, friends, and my UMWA family. A big ‘thank you’ for our wonderful group of girls – Amber, Gabby, Haley, Katelynn, Rachel, and Riley – because without all of them, we would not be able to do this. I am so overwhelmingly blessed,” concludes Gloria.
Stop by the Riverside R&R Eats & Treats for some family time and some tasty treats! They are open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dine in or carry out. Check them out on Facebook or call 304-694-1402 for more information.
