Gud n Free
3120 Floyd Blvd
Sioux City, IA 51108
712-226-3733
A little over five weeks ago, the first 100% Gluten Free restaurant opened in Sioux City, Iowa! This restaurant has been sorely needed in this area. Not only is it Gluten Free, but it is also Nut Free, Fish Free and has Dairy and Soy Free options, as well. The food is not only a hit with Celiacs, people with Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity and people with other food allergies, but with non-gluten free people, also! If you haven't been there, yet, what are you waiting for?? This restaurant is definitely not "fast food" - it is so much more and better than that!! I've had the privilege of having several conversations with the owners, Mike and Brenda Orlando. Recently, I asked Brenda to tell me their story. Here is that conversation:
Siouxland Celiac: What led up to you learning about your oldest daughter having Celiac Disease and how long did it take to get a correct diagnosis. Many Celiacs, including myself, take years of misdiagnosis and wrong treatments before finally getting a correct diagnosis.
Brenda: Our youngest daughter had several symptoms if not all of them at age 2. We believe looking back her symptoms started as an infant with reflux. The Dr. that assisted us in getting Alyssa diagnosed was super amazing, we are forever thankful for her help. We were so relieved to have an answer. When she was diagnosed Mike and I and our oldest daughter all got tested. That is then we found out our oldest had asymptomatic celiac disease. They are 19 months apart and they had less than 2% difference in damage. We were in shock. We had a 2 and almost 4 year old with celiac disease. What do we feed them and how to we teach others to care for them? Through support of family, we figured it out. Our lives now are much better 5 years later. We have learned so much and we are still learning everyday about the gluten free life style. Our girls are very good at following their diet. We are very proud of them and their ability to care for their health.
Mike Orlando helping a customer
Brenda: We do not have any identified family members in our immediate families with celiac disease. We have a couple of distant family members with celiac.
SC: I was diagnosed as an adult and know how hard living GF and with Celiac can be for an adult, but I can't imagine what a child goes through. How does having Celiac Disease affect your daughters at school and with their friends? I'd guess they are very well educated about their health issues - more than most would be at their ages.
Brenda: Our daughters take all their own food to school each day. Honestly, they do a wonderful job at remembering given their young ages. We have only had to take a forgotten lunch box up to school a couple times over the years. They also don’t use public drinking fountains. They take their own water bottles to ensure safety of cross contamination (suggested by their school). We provide all their snacks at school and when it comes to birthday treats and specials at school. We have had some wonderful teachers over the years that have gotten snacks after consulting with us. Snack time and birthdays is how we began making our own cupcakes. We wanted our girls to be included and have a safe treat. Cake was always so hard for others to provide gluten free without cross contamination. Many of their classmate’s parents to do check with us and provide gluten free snacks. We are grateful for anyone that thinks of our girls.
Fresh Fruit Cup
SC: Besides two of your daughters having been diagnosed and your family living gluten free, what other motivation did you have for opening Gud n Free?
Brenda: We both enjoy helping others. We have felt this struggle for the past 5 years. We just wanted to have options for ourselves and to create options for others. We wanted to have crispy chicken, sub sandwiches, cupcakes, etc. Things we weren’t readily available here in Siouxland. We are grateful for the couple of safe options we found in the area, we know how difficult it is to create options free of cross contamination when you serve gluten. That is why we wanted our place to be free of gluten completely!
Sioux City Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting
Brenda: About a year ago, Mike and I seriously started talking about it and we began to research. We had discussed it off and on for the past 2-3 years. We just kept thinking there have to be other people out there that think and feel like we do. If there was such a place that existed others would come.
House Burger with Cheese Balls and Marinara
Chicken Strips
SC: How have your children reacted to having a 100% safe restaurant at which to be able to dine out?
Brenda: They love it! They are very proud of their parents. Both of them made homemade cards for us on the first day of business.
SC: What has been their favorite food (or foods) from the Gud n Free menu?
Brenda: The girls love chicken strips, the fresh fruit cup and cupcakes! I love the Cobb Salad, chicken strips, and new vegan falafel! Mike enjoys the Crispy chicken sandwich and cheeseballs.
Cobb Salad
Mushroom Falafel
SC: You are also serious about being as free from other common food allergens as possible, not just gluten. What else do you offer for people who have other food sensitivities or allergies?
Brenda: We do not have any nuts, tree nuts, fish or shell fish in our facility. We also have soy and dairy free options. We have separate fryer and grill for dairy items. We do not use soybean oil in our fryers to stay soy free there. We have recently created a couple of vegan/vegetarian options as well. We have been thinking of ways to make egg free options happen very soon. We want to be able to cater to other specific dietary needs such as grain free, low carb and low sugar. It will take time. We want to provide quality safe foods and we can’t do everything at once. Our goal is to serve as many as we can. We also welcome those without allergies or intolerances to enjoy are tasty food. We have gotten great reviews across the board.
SC: How has the response been, so far, from the local Celiac and food allergy community as well as overall?
Brenda: Amazing! We did not know that there were so many celiacs, gluten free folks and those with food allergies here in Siouxland. It has been truly amazing to witness people eating safe foods that they have never eaten or have not eaten since being diagnosed. We have seen smiles and tears of joy! We love it!
Crispy Chicken Sandwich
House Burger on a lettuce wrap
SC: What has been your most popular menu item so far? My vote is the amazing cheese balls and marinara and my non-GF husband would definitely say the chicken strips. He says they are the best he's ever had! Have younger Celiacs been drawn to any one particular item over the others because they can't get it anywhere else or because they've never been able to have that food safely before?
Brenda: Well so far our cheeseballs is our top seller with, cupcakes and house burger on a bun falling close behind. It has been our experience that it is so hard to find these types of items when dining out.
SC: What would you like people to know about Gud n Free and what you have to offer here?
Brenda: Gud n Free is here for the people. We want to provide for our community. We are a business and we want to thrive. Everyone that visits our establishment is helping those that have allergies and intolerances have Gud n Free as a safe option. We have seen people travel near and far, from in state to out of state as well as make their travel plans around being able to stop and eat at Gud n Free. All to experience safe allergy free dining. Mike and I know firsthand that food plays a huge role in our daily lives, from nurturing our bodies to socializing while dining out with friends and family. We make it safe for those will allergies and intolerances to do this.
Gud n Free's owners, Mike & Brenda Orlando and their girls
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