Coming Home: Family Returns To Take Over Orchard Store

Stephanie Cleveland is often asked what it’s like moving from upstate New York to small town Orchard, Neb. And people are often surprised by her response.

“People are people. It’s really not that different," said Cleveland, who moved to Orchard in July with her husband, Dustin. “I grew up in a town of 8-10,000 people, so it wasn’t that big.”

For Dustin, it was a move home. He grew up in Orchard and graduated from Orchard Public School. Dustin and Stephanie have two children - Samantha is 18 and attends the University of Northern Iowa and Brenden is 16 and a sophomore at Clearwater-Orchard.

The couple is finalizing of purchasing RS’ Carryout from his parents, Rodger and Sylvia Cleveland. Dustin and Stephanie are now running the convenience store, which already bares the sign of the new owners - Dusty’s.

Stephanie has been working as a consultant for law firms on their legal software and can be located nearly anywhere, and Dustin has spent most of the last 10 years as a superintendent at a golf course.

“Dustin’s been talking about coming back for a long time,” Stephanie said. “This was the right time to move back.”

Stephanie said her father-in-law has been battling health issues for several years and both parents are near retirement age. She said the move is an opportunity to be near her husband’s family. After all, they’ve spent the last 10 years near hers in New York.

So just how does a New Yorker fall in love with a Nebraska boy? At college - just like Stephanie’s parents. Her father came to Doane College from New York and met Stephanie’s mother, who grew up in Crete. After college, they made New York their home.

Stephanie said she spent many vacations in Nebraska, so when it was time for college, Doane was definitely a top consideration. She ended up attending college there and met Dustin. The two married in 1997 and moved to New York in 2003.

RS’ Carryout has been the family business the entire time Stephanie has known Dustin. The Clevelands have owned the business for 20 years and have made many improvements and expansions over that time period.

Dusty’s isn’t just a convenience store and gas station, Stephanie said. They have a kitchen that’s open Monday-Friday for lunch from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. with daily specials. They recently added pizza and wing specials on Fridays and Saturdays from 5-10 p.m.

“We have people who call in orders and those who stop in to eat. We have limited seating (for 17), and we’ve had lots of days when we’re full because of our great specials,” she said.

Whether it’s their chicken fried steak or hot beef, Stephanie said people have enjoyed having another option in Orchard.  

“We’ve had a lot of very positive comments about our pizza and wings. In New York, there was pizza at every sporting event and on every corner. It was always our go-to, so we wanted that to be available here,” she said.

Dusty’s currently has three part-time employees; Dustin and Stephanie also work at the store. The location also sells beer, liquor, soda, energy drinks, camping items, paper goods and other miscellaneous items and offers propane exchange.

"It's been a great move for us," Stephanie said. "We're really glad to be back in Orchard."

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