Dream becomes a reality for McCoy

Casey McCoy is getting his life in order since mistakenly being quarantined and retained in Togo, West Africa for 35 days this past December and January.
Since his return to his home in South Dakota in mid-January, McCoy's life has been gaining positive momentum.
For one thing, the 2007 Minneota graduate, and his longtime girlfriend, Lacie Packard, are expecting a baby boy in November.
McCoy has been an agent with Globe Life Family Heritage in South Dakota for the past five years, but he has always had a dream of owning his own restaurant.
Since being a chef was his first love, McCoy enrolled at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York where famous chef Anthony Bourdain attended. Eventually, McCoy had a hand in the opening of 15 restaurants across the Midwest.
He switched gears and went into the insurance business with one eye still on the restaurant business.
Recently, that dream became a reality when McCoy purchased a popular restaurant/bowling alley that was up for sale in Dell Rapids, where he and Lacie live with Casey's daughter, Ellie, 11. Lacie is a real estate agent.
"I am so excited," McCoy said, who is expected to be open for business in early September. "It's something I have wanted for a long time."
The business is called "Pinz" and includes an eight-lane bowling alley, arcade and seating for 54 in the restaurant. He also owns the building that houses a cosmetology business, as well as three empty lots. He has plans to one day add a patio for the restaurant in one of the lots and also to add a video lottery.
McCoy is going to continue working for Globe Life Family Heritage while also running the restaurant/bowling alley.
"I feel I owe it to my clients," McCoy said. "I'm going to do what is necessary to stay with Globe Life. I made a promise to so many people that I can't fathom not continuing to help them."
McCoy will have a staff of 24 in his new business venture, four employees strictly for the bowling alley and the others for the restaurant.
"All of the staff agreed to stay on," McCoy said.
His daughter is also excited to work at her father's restaurant.
"She loves money and she loves to spend money," McCoy laughed. "She will be a dishwasher and bus tables."
McCoy will continue to serve many of the items from the previous owners' menu, while also adding some items of his choice.
"I'm going to add some appetizers that were quite popular at restaurants that I helped open," he said. "We will continue to have burgers and sandwiches, but I am going to add two cuts of steaks, a smothered chicken and a poor man's lobster to the menu."
McCoy heard about the opening of the restaurant from a neighbor, who is the mother-in-law of the owner. He was mowing his lawn one day and some garbage blew out his mower and into the ditch. When he got off the mower to retrieve the garbage, this neighbor stopped to make sure everything was okay when he saw him in the ditch.
After they chatted a few minutes, the neighbor told McCoy about the restaurant for sale.
"I knew it had been for sale but this made me think more about it," he said. "I talked it over with Lacie and decided to 'go for it'. I think this was God's way of lining everything up the way it's supposed to be."