A Cut Above: Round The Bend Steakhouse Carves Unique Path With A Compass Of Faith

What started with the purchase of a small town watering hole and a family’s dream, TJ and Tifini Olson, owners of Round the Bend Steakhouse of rural Ashland, Neb., find immeasurable value in the Good Lord, good people and good beef.

Today, the steakhouse exclusively serves Certified Angus Beef, has a 10,000 sq. ft. event space, and is home to the annual Testicle Festival, which recently celebrated its 30th year.

First owned by TJ’s parents, TJ and Tifini bought the business in 2012, and soon found that learning to pivot would be a part of the everyday operation.

The first curveball came only one month after purchasing the business when their daughter was born 13 weeks premature and spent 60 days in the hospital before coming home.

The following months and first few years, TJ Olson explains, was focused on finding the new normal and finding the right people to work alongside them. 

“We got a ton of people around us that are a lot better at our jobs than we are,” Olson says. “I surround myself with people that are smarter than me and better at my job than I am. That's what makes us look good—the people around us.”

While finding help is still one of his greatest challenges, Olson says their crew has been instrumental in the success of the business.

Especially when the COVID-19 pandemic riddled the globe—the second curveball—the business needed to innovate.

“It was a Tuesday. I met with Jacob, our business consultant that helped us get the business bought. He said, ‘If the government shuts you down, you’ve only got 28 days until you’re bankrupt,’” Olson recalls.

Sitting down with his team to share the news, Olson says everyone from the 15-year-old hostess to the general manager started throwing out ideas to keep the dream alive.

Olson explains, “Every day was a pivot. That was our word. Our battle cry was pivot. If we thought it would work, we'd give it a shot.”

Forced to close the restaurant side, the business shifted to providing high-quality beef for consumers in their homes. Cut and packaged in house, their meat bundles with 20 burger patties, 20 steaks and two rolls of toilet paper sold out in just seven minutes.

Then, as restrictions began to lift, the restaurant took the 50% capacity rule and flipped it on it’s head—moving the dining space to the banquet hall—which nearly doubled the capacity of the regular dining room.

In addition, the restaurant’s location—a 20-acre plot on the outskirts of a cornfield—served as an outdoor space for local families to find joy and normalcy despite the current situation.

Following the pandemic, the restaurant returned to the dining room side and Olson says, “We just kept rolling.”

Today, Olson says the volatility of the beef market presents its own challenges.

“We are solely dedicated to beef,” Olson explains. “We don’t have an extensive menu with seafood and other things we can diversity into, and we don’t want to.”

While this leads to challenges in pricing at the restaurant, Olson understands the long process of raising beef cattle and the hardships also faced by ranchers.

“Certified Angus Beef has been a great asset to our business,” Olson explains. “We know that Certified Angus Beef is just the brand behind the families that raise beef.”

While attending the 2022 CAB Conference, the Olsons had the opportunity to visit with cattle producers.

“It hit us like a Mack truck,” Olson explains. “These are the families that give us the ability to do what we do.” 
Understanding the close-knit relationship between the producers raising beef and restaurants that promote and sell beef has given the Olsons a refreshed perspective on their business. 

“The ribeye that family’s come to enjoy at Round the Bend Steakhouse is awesome, but there is a long process that leads up to that steak hitting their plate,” Olson notes. “That story needs told, and we’re excited to tell that story.”