Getting the remodel done in roughly three and a half days was no easy task, but it came together in the end and Perkins is left with a store in nearly brand-new condition.

The renovation included new carpets, tearing down the old wallpaper and repainting the walls, putting up new woodwork, putting up dividers in the dining room, new tile and bakery case up front and new rock pillars on the exterior as well as a new logo and canopy.

The Minot Perkins has been a family-owned business in town for about 35 years. Jesse Zwak, owner and operator of the Minot Perkins, said, “At Perkins, we always like to serve it fresh and it was just a good time.” He emphasized the Minot location is one of the only in the nation to be locally owned and operated. He takes pride in staying current and updating the store as time goes on.

In addition to the store remodel, Zwak updated the uniforms for the hosts as well as the kitchen staff to a black Perkins uniform with an American flag on the sleeve. He said it’s a nice tie in to the Minot Air Force Base and the flag that they have outside of the restaurant.

Ashton Gerard/MDN New dividers in the dining room were added in the most recent Perkins remodel. New carpets, woodwork and paint helped to freshen up the space inside as well.

Since the Minot Perkins opened, Zwak said the store has done about three to four remodels, with this most recent one the only company-mandated one. Before, the Minot store took it upon itself to update and stay current.

On their own accord, the Minot Perkins has taken a lot of pride in continuously freshening up the store for their customers.

“It’s also cool, too, that we’ve been in this community for so long now that we’re working on our third generation of customers,” Zwak.

He emphasized that the Minot Perkins is 100 percent regular based. The regular traffic, he says, is what really pays the bills week in and week out.

“This is our second home. We know our employees as well as we know family members,” Zwak said. He stresses that their business being family owned and operated is what keeps customers coming back and employees at the store.

Renee Schmidt, a server at Perkins, has been working at the store since it opened.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes in 35 years,” Schmidt said. “It’s been good, I take a lot of pride in my job.”

She said the store was due for a change and she loves the way the remodel turned out.

Zwak said that the Minot Perkins is dedicated to the community and likes to give back as much as possible. Recently, he went around to the schools in the area and dropped off coupons and packages to teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day on May 8.

“We heavily contribute to the public schools systems, to a lot of the service groups here in town, and we’ve been a big part of the community for the last 35 years,” Zwak said.

Giving back, Zwak says, is just part of the community in Minot. He says it’s important for the store to be a positive partner in the community and to give them the dining experience they deserve.

“We’re here, we’re interacting with the customers,” Zwak said. “We’re trying to give the best Perkins experience you can possibly have. That’s important to us that you have that experience. You worked really hard for your money and you decided out of all the competition in Minot to come share that money with us and we respect that a great deal.”

The Minot Perkins is open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is located at 405 20th Avenue SW.