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Coronavirus pandemic forces St. Peters businessman to reinvent his restaurant

"It's been tough. There's been a lot of smiles and a lot of tears."

ST. PETERS, Mo. — For the past eight years, Kyle and Kelly Dent have enjoyed running their own business in St. Peters. And their Shamrock's Pub and Grill has become a pretty popular spot.

"We have great food. We call it American food with an Irish attitude. We've had great success," Kyle Dent said.

The 37-year-old entrepreneur admits it hasn't always been easy.

"We've had our troubles and tribulations. We had a fire in our second year. We overcame that," Dent said.

Now, Dent is doing everything he can to overcome a new foe: The coronarvirus pandemic.

"It's been tough. There's been a lot of smiles and a lot of tears. I think as a local restaurant and an independent you always have to evolve and find new ways to make money," Dent said.

He's put a new twist on his new business. Shamrock's Pub and Grill is temporarily called "Sham and Save".

Like so many business owners, Dent had to close his restaurant to the public as a safety precaution.

"Our sales are down about 85, 90 percent. That really hurts not having 100 people in the dining room or sitting at the bar," Dent said.

He also cut his 40-member staff significantly.

"I'm down to six people working with my wife and me. You know telling most of your staff you have to let them go for a time period really is tough," Dent said.

And that's why Dent is now selling produce, sliced meats, bread and other foods at this pub, which he says is more like a market during these COVID-19 times.

"It's like going to a market and buying things there. It took us about a week to really get into the swing of things, but now that we've got it, we've got a great system going, sot it's become easier," Dent said.

"We're still optimistic that when this coronavirus thing gets under control, and we don't know when that will be, but we hope to open our doors as soon as possible. We are close-knit and we're like a family," Dent said.

If you'd like to find out more about Dent's new business venture, go to www.shamrocks-pubandgrill.com.

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