LAURINBURG — The time many residents and possibly neighboring areas have waited for is finally happening.

Wooly McDuff’s Neighborhood Grille has finally re-opened.

“We will open this evening for to-go orders only,” said David McLamb, owner of McDuff’s. “Then, next week starting Monday we will open for dine-in and reconvene our normal business hours which are Monday through Saturday 5 p.m. until 10 p.m.”

McLamb also stated that the patio and bar area will be open to customers as well.

“We are limited on seating due to guidelines,” said McLamb. “Due to this, we will also not be taking reservations at this time.”

Those dining at McDuff’s may notice a few changes, but according to McLamb, they will be minor.

“We took a few items off of the menu while we are only taking to-go orders,” said McLamb, “but this is only temporary because some items do not transport well. When we start dine in, the only things that will have changed is the removal of some items that were not as popular and replacing them with better, new selections.”

McLamb also wants residents to know there has not been much change in his staff either.

“All key staff positions, such as cooking staff is still the same,” said McLamb. “90% of my staff is back. The biggest question I have been asked is if my cooks will remain the same. That is a yes, all of our main cooking staff are still here.”

McDuff’s closed down originally due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but staying closed was determined by other circumstances.

“We decided to stay closed because the meat prices went through the ceiling,” said McLamb. “I can say I easily saw a 50% increase in the price of beef because the virus was in the plants before they had the knowledge on how to keep it out.

“I didn’t believe residents in this area were ready for the prices I would have had to charge and I refused to change the quality of what we offered.”

McLamb further stressed that once the prices leveled out, the meat was larger and not what he felt met the standards of McDuff’s.

“With the larger meat, I would have had to slice thinner pieces and again I didn’t want to threaten the quality of food we serve,” said McLamb. “I believe now that we have weathered all of this, we can hopefully put it behind us and move forward.“

McDuff’s is located at 1705 US-401 in Laurinburg.

“I am really looking forward to being back and seeing all the faces we have missed,” said McLamb.

The menu can be found at www.woolymcduffs.com.

JJ Melton can be reached at jmelton@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com. To support The Laurinburg Exchange, subscribe here: https://laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com/subscribe.