Up to the challenge

There may not be another restaurant in Manitoba that can say it has welcomed visitors from as many communities across the province and beyond as the Somerset Food Bar & Lounge has this summer.

In just over a two week span, visitors from more than 100 towns have come out to the family-owned restaurant tucked away in Somerset, a community of roughly 450 people in the Pembina Valley 130 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.

It started as a challenge, “60 Towns in 60 Days,” where the restaurant wanted to document how many different places they could reach, as it often sees people travelling across Canada stop at the restaurant. The goal was also to encourage people to make a drive they normally wouldn’t.

“The more we started sharing, the more people really started getting behind it, and it turned into this really big thing fairly quickly,” said Jay Friesen, restaurant manager.

Instead of taking 60 days, the restaurant reached its goal in 10. On the first day of the challenge on July 6 alone, customers represented 14 different towns.

The campaign has taken off online, with videos documenting the restaurant’s “60 Towns in 60 Days” challenge reaching more than 100,000 views across social media.

“It’s humbling. I think that’s the best word to say,” Friesen said. “We didn’t expect it to get this big and have such a great response.”

Now, Friesen said the team is hoping to see if it can reach 200 communities before summer ends.

While the restaurant is counting towns outside Manitoba as part of the challenge, Friesen said the majority of participants have been from the province.

The challenge has also attracted visitors from outside Canada, including a family from Belgium who stopped by while visiting relatives in Manitoba.

“Obviously, they’re not coming all the way just for the restaurant, but they’re coming to visit family, and then they hear the story, and they’re excited to come tell us where they’re from,” Friesen said.

Friesen said one of the most rewarding parts has been hearing the stories behind each visit.

“We’ve had people driving through from Niagara Falls and all the way to the other side in B.C. and Alberta,” he said.

One of the first long-distance trips made specifically because of the challenge came from Virden, Man., more than two hours from Somerset.

“Coming out just to try the restaurant because they’ve seen us on Facebook — that’s pretty crazy to hear for a little town of 400 people,” Friesen said.

The Somerset Food Bar & Lounge has been in Friesen’s family for nearly 50 years. He said the response has been meaningful at a time when many small-town businesses are facing challenges.

“It’s getting harder and harder nowadays,” Friesen said. “You always hear the stories of small-town businesses struggling against the bigger chains in the bigger cities.”

“It’s just good to see all the community support that everyone gets behind every single day.”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca