For a long as he can remember, TJ Olson has had one dream: owning and operating Round the Bend Steakhouse.

His father had purchased the business in 1995, and TJ grew up alongside it, watching customers fill the dining room and helping wherever he was needed. He saw the warmth and joy a steakhouse in rural Nebraska could bring to others. Even as a teenager, he talked about one day taking the reins himself.

But dreams are one thing, making them reality is another.

In the aftermath of the 2008 recession, the business climate was uncertain. Taking over the family restaurant meant significant risk, and TJ and his wife, Tifini, didn’t want to move forward unless they were certain they were headed in the right direction.

So, he asked the only One whose opinion mattered.

“I sat in this very dining room and said, ‘God, I want to buy this. I want to do this … but I don’t want to do it without You,’” TJ recalls. “If You want it to work, kick the door down and show me the way, because I’m one of Your dumb kids and I need guidance. Or slam it shut, and I’ll move on to do something else.”

In the weeks that followed, doors began opening.

“It was amazing to see the things that came down the pipe in the next 30 or 60 days,” TJ says. “We could really, really see that God stepped in and showed us the way.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

But long before they became restaurant owners, TJ and Tifini were just two middle-schoolers with a bit of a crush.

Tifini still remembers meeting TJ for the first time, spotting something different about the way he treated others.

“I got the courage up and wrote him a note and said, ‘Do you want to be my boyfriend?’” she remembers. “And he looked at me and he said, ‘Let me get back to you on that.’”

TJ says he was having a bit of an internal freak-out when she posed that question, but he eventually said yes. The two were on again, off again throughout middle school and high school, but God eventually led the two back to each other for good.

Through every stage of their relationship, Tifini says there was one constant.

Round the Bend

“I have notes from high school of his big pipe dreams for Round the Bend Steakhouse,” she said. “He was going to take it over. He was going to franchise it. He knew even in eighth grade that he wanted this to be his life.”

The restaurant often competed for TJ’s attention as a teenager. While other high school couples were spending Friday nights together, TJ was frequently working shifts or helping wherever he was needed around the family business.

While Tifini admits the constant pull of the business did make a relationship difficult, she always admired TJ’s passion for the restaurant.

“It was awesome to hear his visions,” she says. “I’m the kind of person who says, ‘You tell me your dream, you tell me your vision, and I’m going to be the one who wants to be the muscle behind it to help bring it to fruition.’”

To TJ and his family, all the sacrifices made sense to everyone because Round the Bend was never just another restaurant.

The business traces its roots back more than 30 years, to when TJ’s father purchased what was then a small-town watering hole. Built on a straightforward philosophy of good food and good company, the restaurant quickly developed a loyal following among local farmers, ranchers and families looking for a place to gather.

“The original building would fit inside of the room we’re in right now,” TJ says. “It’s about 1,200, 1,300 square feet — that was it.”

Core Values

What started as a modest neighborhood bar evolved into a destination restaurant and event venue, welcoming guests from across eastern Nebraska. Their staff has grown from about 15 employees to nearly 60, and their current space covers about 20,000 square feet.

Despite the growth, TJ says the heart of the business has remained remarkably simple.

“We’re a ‘KISS’ method type family, which is ‘keep it simple, stupid,’” he says with a laugh. “We just let the meat speak for itself.”

From the time patrons walk into the restaurant until the second they leave, TJ and Tifini hope they feel one thing: like family.

“As customers leave here, what we really want them to feel is that they were valued,” TJ says. “We exist to create quality time gathered around our table.”

At Round the Bend, the goal is for people to enjoy their food, yes, but it’s arguably more about the experience.

“I think customer service is kind of becoming a lost art anymore,” TJ explains. “We work really hard to make sure we bring in the right people that want to be here and appreciate the customers coming in, because without our customers, we are nothing.”

City on a Hill

That mindset becomes evident almost as soon as guests walk through the doors of Round the Bend, as scripture adorns the walls alongside reminders of faith, family and gratitude.

Bills still have to be paid, but for TJ and Tifini, the chance to love on the people they serve has always meant more than profits.

As Tifini puts it, “This restaurant is more than just steak and potatoes.”

Over the years, the Olsons have watched guests celebrate milestone anniversaries, gather for wedding receptions, share first dates and come together to honor loved ones after a loss. They became a place woven into the fabric of the lives around them. 

Those moments eventually gave language to the couple’s shared purpose for the restaurant.

Drawing inspiration from the restaurant’s location atop the highest point in Cass County, Tifini began referring to Round the Bend as a “city on a hill.”

“We’re a light that’s attracting people for more than just the steak and potatoes,” she explains. “People are having core memories here, and we just hope that even if they don’t know that it was God a part of it, that at some point they’ll be like, that’s why that memory is so special.”

For TJ, the concept is rooted in the same faith that guided his prayer years earlier.

“To get through the hard times, you have to have a why,” he says. “The why is just I know this is where God wants us to be. We’re serving God by serving others.”

A service mindset can be hard to maintain, but it’s something the Olsons have never once wavered on.

“There’s such a bigger picture to what we do,” TJ explains. “It’s our mission to be able to bless other people, and through the money that’s brought in through [the restaurant], bless other families locally and nationally.”

A standard of quality

That mindset extends beyond the guests who walk through Round the Bend’s doors each day. As a steakhouse owner, TJ has always understood that the quality of his restaurant depends on the quality of the people raising the cattle behind it. That’s one reason Certified Angus Beef ^® (CAB) has become such an important part of Round the Bend’s story.

TJ was first introduced to CAB by one of his chefs, who had experienced it at another restaurant and was impressed by the product.

“We transitioned our sirloin first and saw the difference right away,” TJ says. “The quality, it’s consistent. The sizing is consistent, which is huge for restaurants. And then we thought, well, if the sirloins are that good, the ribeyes have to be even better.”

Today, every steak served at Round the Bend carries the Certified Angus Beef  brand, a commitment TJ says goes beyond flavor alone.

“It’s about the story of Certified Angus Beef and what it means,” he explains.

Over the years, CAB connected the Olsons with the farm and ranch families responsible for producing the beef they serve. Through conferences and industry events, TJ and Tifini met ranchers whose dedication mirrored their own.

“There is a 36-month story that’s told from the time that calf drops to the time it hits our table,” TJ says. “The families are just as important that raise these cattle, as us who prepare it and put it out to our customers.”

Those relationships left a lasting impression on Tifini.

“The first conference we went to was when we were really introduced to the ranchers,” she recalls. “I had just told TJ, ‘We have to get some kind of messaging across to our customers that this is not a microwave world. This takes months and months and months, and there’s sacrifice.’”

The experience reminded her of the commitment she, TJ and their staff pour into the restaurant every day. To explain the value of the people who make their restaurant possible, a few Nebraska Angus ranchers now have their stories told across the walls in Round the Bend.

“They need their faces put out there. They need their stories put out there,” Tifini says. “These people are so important.”

Restaurant owners and ranchers live very different lives, but both invest long hours, make sacrifices and place their faith in something bigger than themselves — all in pursuit of serving others.

“Without the producers, we don’t exist,” TJ says. “They pour blood, sweat and tears into their work every single day, just like we do.”

At Round the Bend, every steak tells a story, but those stories don’t end when the plates are cleared.

Some continue in The Ball Room (yes, that’s two words on purpose), where couples begin new chapters together. Others unfold during family reunions, birthday celebrations and community events. Still more are made during the annual Testicle Festival, a tradition that has grown from a local gathering into a Nebraska institution.

In every case, the goal remains the same as it was when TJ first dreamed of owning Round the Bend; creating a place where people feel welcome.

“We’ve got the best group of staff and leadership here that allows me to be a dad and a husband and a champion of my family as well,” TJ shares. “This place is just about making memories.”

Ashland, Neb., feels a bit like the middle of nowhere. But as the sign on the wall inside puts it, they’re in the middle of everywhere — a place where cattle producers, city commuters, longtime regulars and first-time visitors all find a seat at the same table.

So next time you’re driving through rural Nebraska, stop on by and see what TJ and Tifini have built. It’s their city on a hill. It’s proudly serving CAB. It’s just Round the Bend.