BROKEN BOW, Neb.— The Secret Garden officially celebrated the opening of its new Broken Bow location with a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Broken Bow Chamber on Wednesday.
The new location on the east end of Broken Bow on Highway 2 shares the former McDonald’s building with The Secret Oasis. At the back of the building is The Secret Garden’s drive thru and walk up service windows for food and drinks, while the front of the building is home to The Secret Oasis and its several wellness offerings either already in motion or soon to be.
Owner Kelly Safranek said that the Broken Bow location is separate from both the original Secret Garden location near Merna and the company’s mobile food and drink trailer.
The Secret Garden has operated for 23 years and is well known in the area for the Merna location’s offering of a greenhouse, antiques, home decor, and more in addition to the food trailer that goes to community events, festivals, and even the Nebraska State Fair annually.
Safranek shared how she would have never dreamed that the idea of creating the Secret Garden would have turned into what it is today.
“I never dreamt it was gonna be this. I was a school teacher and a volleyball coach. I remember me even trying to think of the name and one of my assistant coaches was like why wouldn’t you call it the secret garden Kelly? Because your shrubs were twelve foot tall and you chopped them down and nobody even knew that you had a garden back there. I’m like, oh very good name. And then other people asked me about starting a small business and I said don’t think you’re gonna have everything right when you start it you just grow into it.”
Customers visiting the Broken Bow location will find breakfast options available throughout the day, including the Oasis Quiche, hot breakfast pitas with scrambled eggs and sausage, cranberry white chocolate scones, and yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola.
Lunch offerings include hot pita melts, Oasis wraps, chicken salad croissants, and taco lettuce wraps available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Grab-and-go snacks, nuts, treats, and sparkling drinks are also available.
Safranek said many menu items are made from scratch and several gluten-free options are available.
Specialty beverages include blended cream smoothies, 100 percent fruit smoothies, hot or iced coffee drinks, cold brew coffee, chai lattes, teas, and Kool-Aid slushies. Customers can also customize many of the drinks with additional flavors and ingredients.
In addition to the drive thru, customers can order from a walk-up window and enjoy food and drinks on the outdoor patio behind the building.
“We’ve tried to create a little bit of an oasis feel,” Safranek said. “Hopefully you can sit outside and enjoy the nice summer weather, or you can drive through and order on the road.”
She said in a recent interview with KCNI/KBBN that the business has focused on keeping affordable menu items available despite rising costs.
“My goal is to keep that price low,” she said. “We’re trying to keep our prices down low. It’s tough. It’s small business, it’s all tough all the way around.”
The new Secret Garden location in Broken Bow is open Monday thru Friday 7:30 – 6:30 and Saturday from 8:30 – 2. Follow them on Facebook by searching The Secret Garden.
