The owner of Pure Country Family Dining, Kevin L. Nawrocki, 64 passed away on Sunday June 26, 2022.
He grew up and attended school in Michigan. When Kevin was 31, he married his lifelong partner, Tammy Tucker. They moved to Dodge Center, MN in October 2013. Soon after moving to Dodge Center, Kevin opened his restaurant, Pure Country Family Dining located on Main Street. Kevin spent most of his time tending to his restaurant. He had many years of experience in managing restaurants and always wanted to own a restaurant. When he reopened Pure Country Family Dining; he stated, “I was closed for 14 months for the pandemic, I feel very blessed that people are happy to have me back”. He truly loved serving a smile and great tasting food to the community.
His business neighbors located on Main Street will miss Kevin dearly. The Owner of Huckleberry Floral Design and Gift Shop expressed, “Kevin was a great neighbor and supportive of the other businesses. He was super funny and generous. And a heck of a cook. The Biscuits & Gravy, the Chicken Quesadillas, and His Cinnamon Swirl Bread was phenomenal. He made a huge impact on the community. She continued, “I watched people wait for him to open the doors in the morning. He had a great following.”
Larry Blood, a local resident; built a friendship with Kevin. Larry often stopped by his restaurant when Kevin and his brother were remodeling the building to open the restaurant. Larry wanted to share that Kevin was not only a fantastic cook, but also a skilled carpenter. He further explained, “All of my years in dealing with the public and retail operations, I’ve never met anyone who worked as hard as Kevin did. The quality of his food was always superb on his busiest days at the restaurant. I know Kevin experienced two hospital stays and subsequent health complications but that didn’t keep him down. He was dedicated to his customers and wanted those doors open everyday at 7am.”
Nadine Langworthy, the owner of The Annadine located on Main Street, politely interjected saying, “And he always had a smile. He would look up from the griddle and have a grin and a hello for ya. It’s like, he loved what he did. And did what he loved.”
Kevin would agree that life is meant to be lived with a smile and eating great food! A Celebration of Kevin’s life will be on July 16th 2022 at 1pm-5pm. This event will be held at The Annadine to honor the memories that were shared with Kevin and this community. This event is intended to share stories that help us all to remember the great times and friendly soul that Kevin was.
