BIG SANDY — It has always been Mike and Shawnda Ruesch's dream to own a restaurant. That dream became reality September 15, 2017 with 'Mike's Pizza & Pasta' in Winona.
"The six days that we were open you know was just enough of a taste of you know our dream to let us know that yeah we can do it, it's fun working together," Mike said.
That's how Mike felt when the restaurant opened, but the dream quickly turned into a tragedy.
"I was in shock the first few days you know we worked so hard, put so much into the other place to get it to open and then all of a sudden it was gone," Mike said.
The Ruesch's lost not only their business, but their home and belongings after a car crashed into the building and it burned down a year ago. The two people inside the vehicle died.
"To me it's a burial site but at least I have a place to say good-bye to," Shawnda said. "You find out how strong you are and how strong your family is coming back from something like that."
The couple had used savings and borrowed money in order to open their restaurant. They didn't let this stop them though.
'Uncle Mike's Italian Cafe' opened in Big Sandy in December only three months after the fire.
"Things just worked out that we could get into this place you know with the timing and everything just fell into place for us to get opened up here and get going again," Mike said.
The new restaurant has been open for 9 months and Mike said things are looking up.