A family meal, local roots and a love for community – that is the recipe behind Gregg and Ramona Nelson’s newest restaurant.
Located in downtown Seward, the Pasta Barn is a family-oriented restaurant that specializes in pasta and more. It opened in May, and Ramona said the community has not only been excited to have a new restaurant in town but also to have a dining option that is not fast food.
Prior to venturing into the restaurant business, the Nelsons owned a general contracting business for many years. Gregg said they built numerous bars and restaurants, fell in love with the industry and decided to go for it themselves.
They opened Alchemy, a cocktail bar in Lincoln’s Haymarket, in 2017. In 2018, they acquired and revamped Rue 6 in Seward, Gregg’s hometown. They sold Alchemy in 2020, opened Squire Ward’s Public House in 2021 and moved to Seward the same year.
Rue 6 is a high-end bistro, and Squire Ward’s Public House is a sports/dive bar. The Nelsons are in the process of moving both establishments to new locations in Seward.
The couple wanted to open a more family-oriented establishment this time around and knew that pasta is a common family meal many people enjoy growing up. Gregg said that when he was a kid, his mother often made pasta for him and his brothers.
“Pasta was just a good way to feed the family, so that’s kind of the root of it all,” he said. “And, there wasn’t anywhere in town to get something with a little more of an Italian theme.”
The Nelsons said they enjoy that The Pasta Barn has a relatively simple concept and menu.
It serves noodles with eight different house-made sauces and has a salad bar. A few months ago, it added soups and sandwiches to the menu. The Nelsons plan to add baked pasta options, including lasagna and baked ziti, soon.
“We have a fabulous salad bar, and I think it’s one of the best ones in Seward,” Ramona said. “Something we hear every day is the soup and the salad bar is something that they appreciate being able to have in Seward.”
Gregg said, nowadays, it often costs about $100 for a family of four to go out to dinner and for the parents to have a drink with their meal. He and Ramona wanted to create a place where families can have a nice meal together without breaking the bank.
“We wanted to give people an option for a family meal that’s $50 or $60 or something by the time they get out the door, and just kind of encourage them to go out,” he said. “We think it’s important for kids to socialize and learn to eat in a restaurant, and it’s fun to have the families together.”
Ramona said she loves hearing comments about the restaurant from its customers. Many of them take their lunch breaks at The Pasta Barn, because they can order the lunch special and often get in and out in just 20 minutes.
As restaurant owners, the Nelsons are involved in community happenings and have a platform for local philanthropy.
They donate to Blue River Pet Rescue, the Bluejay Booster Club and the local Make-a-Wish chapter. They give leftover food from catering to Foodnet in Seward and the Lincoln People’s City Mission.
“It’s something I think we hope more of the people in our industry follow through with,” Gregg said. “They’re very, very, very grateful for donations.”
The couple cherishes that, as with all of their restaurants, owning The Pasta Barn has helped them get to know more people in town.
“With The Pasta Barn, we like having a chance to get to know a lot of the younger families around town, because we tend to get a lot of sort of multi-generational customers,” Gregg said. “Grandparents will come in with their kids and grandkids, and we’ll just pull a bunch of tables together and they can have a big family dinner, and that’s great to see.”
