(Photo by Trey Spaulding). Debbie King welcomes diners to her new restaurant the Ranch House Grill & Saloon.

SOUTH FORK – During a time when restaurants nationwide are struggling, applying for Payroll Protection Program grants and just trying to keep the lights on; one local restauranteur is not deterred. If you live in South Fork, you may have noticed the parking lot being painted and the lights on inside the old Hungry Logger restaurant.

For seven years the Hungry Logger has been shuttered. On July 2, Del Norte native Dallas King and her silent partner opened the Ranch House Grill & Saloon which the restaurant is now called. King worked as a waitress at the Hungry Logger before it closed. They had hoped to have the restaurant open before the tourist season, but for the past three and a half months they have been repairing and renovating seven years of shuttered neglect inside and outside of the restaurant.

Currently only the restaurant is open in the 7,000 plus square foot space. The saloon, which seats 200 people and has a stage, dance floor, pool tables and a 40-foot Lshaped bar is closed due to bars in Colorado being closed per Governor Polis’ order and the state is not processing liquor licenses. King says that she hopes to have the saloon open in September and the plan is to have live music each weekend. But King does not plan to stop there.

She plans to expand and construct a banquet room for large groups and holiday parties. The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days per week and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For breakfast you can order a classic breakfast with eggs, hash browns and toast; or biscuits and gravy, breakfast burritos, or French toast. For lunch and dinner, you can order a BLT, cheeseburger, chicken-fried steak or a New York, T-Bone, or ribeye steak cooked to order. In case you do not know, the restaurant is located at 11 Vista Street in South Fork.