Spring Valley in Oregon installs drive thru, new menu amid COVID-19

Mat Ajvazi wants customers to choose Spring Valley Restaurant in Oregon because of better food, service and value — not because he isn’t following current health regulations as an owner.

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven Ajvazi to change his business and pursue something that’s been completely foreign to him and family in the past—fast food.

The restaurant, located on Illinois 64, in east Oregon, now has a new drive thru and a new broasted chicken-based menu. The moves were made to stay in line with pandemic guidelines that currently prohibit indoor dining.

Ajvazi is one of the few area restaurant owners who continues to adhere to the indoor dining ban.

“We feel it’s the right thing to do,” Ajvazi said. “It’s to keep the community and employees safe. It’s a family business and we’re tight with the community. Even if everyone isn’t doing it, we want to take that next step because we care. If we can stop one death or case, it’s worth it.”

A grand re-opening will be held this Friday.

Ajvazi has watched as other restaurants defy the Ogle County Health Department and state mitigations and continue with indoor dining during the pandemic. He believes that’s unfair.

When businesses feel they have to defy the state order to compete with others, it makes for a tough choice, Ajvazi said.

“When they’re going against the order, it disrupts the fair marketplace,” Ajvazi said. “The best usually rises to the top. We’re going to reinvent the restaurant and try to adapt with the times instead of fighting against it.”

Ajvazi’s parents, Amy and Jeff, have owned the restaurant for 20 years and he took over ownership shortly before the pandemic. While he believes they perfected the sit down, local restaurant style, it’s time for a change.

Ajvazi’s parents are now less-involved, but they support his changes.

“I think most local restaurants and even us, you only know one thing,” Ajvazi said. “It’s hard to throw that out the window. It’s not easy to reinvent it. It’s something you have to do. The person who adapts the quickest is who will stay around the longest. I want to be here for the next 20 years.”

Ajvazi plans to keep the drive thru around after the pandemic. He feels there’s a permanent demand for food to go. And the dining room will be back when possible. The drive thru could be open late in the future.

Spring Valley’s new broasted chicken menu will feature fresh, marinated overnight chicken breaded in a proprietary blend of ingredients pressure fried in a patented machine from a new company it’s partnering with.

A digital menu board has been installed with a speaker system to use with its current pickup window.

There will be half chicken boxes, chicken tenders, sandwiches, family dinner boxes and wings with sides made in-house. Later on, Spring Valley’s traditional items like gyros and Italian beefs will be added, as well as breakfast.

“It’s definitely a risk, but I feel confident,” Ajvazi said. “If the drive thru doesn’t work out, we’ll still have the traditional model when this is all over.”