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This week in Springfield food news, a deli brings fast, fresh food to north Springfield; another spot offers brunch and Springfield's second Olive Garden announces its opening date.

Deli focused on fresh, fast food opening in north Springfield

Big Dog Deli, 3459 W. Kearney St., is getting ready to open to the public. The deli had its soft opening June 5 and is aiming for a grand opening at the start of July, according to co-owner John Allen.

Allen, who is opening the shop with OzAir owner Mark Burgess, explained that the focus is on getting customers the freshest food as fast as possible. In addition to made-to-order breakfast items, salads and sandwiches, guests will also be able to walk in and grab pre-made items from a cooler. Menu items are named after dog breeds, as well as famous dogs like Snoopy, Toto and Scooby-Doo.

The shop does not have any seating, but it does have a drive-thru.

Big Dog Deli is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Brown Derby Deli now offering brunch

Brown Derby Wine Center and Marketplace, 2023 S. Glenstone Ave., is now serving up Sunday brunch.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays, Derby Deli is offering a menu "rooted in European tradition and built on quality ingredients, thoughtful preparation, and attention to detail," according to its website. No reservations are required.

The menu includes classic cocktails such as Bloody Marys and mimosas; espresso drinks and lattes; juices and teas; and entrees like biscuits and gravy, Croque Madame sandwiches, and a yogurt parfait.

Springfield's second Olive Garden opening soon

Craving soup, salad and breadsticks while in western Springfield? You won't have to wait much longer.

Olive Garden, 3370 W. Sunshine St., will open at 11 a.m. June 23, according to signage on the building.

The Sunshine Street restaurant is Springfield's second Olive Garden. The city's first is located at 3105 S. Glenstone Ave.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - An American Airlines flight headed to the Springfield-Branson National Airport landed Thursday after several attempts throughout the day.

The flight was scheduled to land around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It landed at several airports in the Midwest, waiting for the weather to clear. The flight finally landed in Springfield around noon on Thursday. Passengers say they were told it was because of cloud cover. However, other flights throughout that time landed without incident. It caused frustrations for passengers.

“There were Delta flights that came in last night at 11:30, there was a United flight that landed, so is this an American Airlines equipment issue, where they don’t have the right radar?” said Paulett McClintock, the wife of a passenger.

“I think we were all just really burnt out, really stressed out, we had no idea if we were going to be able to land,” said passenger Moriah Mallory. “I mean, I know that’s a hard situation, but we tried to land 7 times with two different pilots, and couldn’t. Until this time when we just got here.”

“I do know in cases where there are delays or decisions to divert, they’re done in the interest of safety by the pilot in command, they do that. That’s the main focus, but it does cause frustrations,” said Springfield-Branson National Airport Director of Aviation Brian Weiler.

American Airlines said the weather conditions diverted the flight. The airline also cited the unavailability of key equipment used for low-visibility landings.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - It’s been eight months since Cooper Roy from Fair Grove, Mo., almost lost his life in a deadly head-on crash on U.S. 65. On Thursday, Roy walked back into Mercy Hospital, where he spent over three months in recovery.

“Walking down the hallway, it was a bit of a take-back,” Roy said. “Once I got to see my nurses, it just warmed me up. I enjoyed seeing them a lot. It was like seeing family.”

Roy was greeted back with open arms. His nurse, Abbi Meier, calls his recovery ‘a miraculous gift from God.’

“In the medical world, it’s amazing to see something you probably thought couldn’t happen. Now he’s walking, now his wounds are healing, he’s talking, and eating. These are things that when he was here, he wasn’t doing,” Meier said.

Roy is still going through physical therapy and has more appointments and surgeries scheduled for the future, but he said he’s just thankful he can now walk and talk more normally.

“Getting those first words out was amazing. I remember sitting in the hospital bed and saying, ‘I just want to get in a wheelchair.’ “We got to that wheelchair, then I was like, ‘I just want to get to walking.’ ”Now we’re here walking. I’m almost going to lose the crutch, hopefully. It’s been an incredible journey and I’m thankful for it,” he said.

“You don’t see patients walk back in here who you weren’t even sure if they were going to walk in the first place, then him coming back up here and walking, you’re like, ‘Wow that’s pretty incredible,’” Meier said.

Roy said he’s going to continue sharing his testimony. He’s planning to speak at all three services at Crossway Baptist Church on Father’s Day.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

The earliest any decision about the future of Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled could come is August and, even then, it's unclear which way the state Board of Education will go.

New board members Michael Matousek,, Jon Otto and Kenneth "Brooks" Miller Jr. indicated they were not yet sold on a long range plan to close, consolidate and rebuild the state-operated schools scattered across Missouri. The plan was made public in mid-May, during their first meeting.

Missouri has a network of 34 state-operated schools serving students, typically ages 5-21, with severe developmental and learning disabilities. One of the largest, the Greene Valley State School, is located in Springfield.

A proposal calls for 12 of the schools to be permanently closed, including the buildings in Joplin and Columbia.

"If we had to vote on it today, I would vote now and ... it would be a pretty easy no vote for me," said Matousek, Kansas City, at the June 3 meeting in Jefferson City.

The state created the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled in 1957, years before a landmark federal law ensured students with disabilities had access to a free and appropriate education tailored to their individual needs within the least restrictive environment.

The result was a system unlike anywhere else in the U.S.

Alleging the current model is unsustainable, state officials started looking for solutions more than two years ago.

Consulting firms were hired to independently evaluate the network of schools: how they operate, where they are located, who they serve, and the quality of the education that is delivered. The input of stakeholders was also sought.

The result of all that lengthy work and feedback was presented in mid-May to the state board. It was the first meeting for Miller, Matousek and Otto.

Working with the consultants, the state looked a multiple options including closing all the schools — which would likely send students back to their home schools or, possibly, to private facilities — before proposing a plan in May to close a portion of the schools, renovate others, and construct new buildings in key locations.

The proposal was described as a first step in a long-range plan to improve the services provided to students who have severe disabilities or intense support needs.

In the June 3 meeting, Matousek said the May overview provided a "gloomy" picture of MSSD including deferred maintenance, inadequate facilities, staffing shortages, declining enrollment, and lengthy bus rides for students.

"It does kind of stick out to me that Missouri is the only state that has a state program like this," Matousek said. "I just wonder is this just ... slowing the bleeding a little bit more and five or 20 years from now (the state) is going to say we need to close more."

Miller, who spent many years in Springfield, said he would also be a "no" vote at this point. He noted there are a lot of moving parts and lingering questions.

"More than anything it's about the justification, about whether we should continue to operate this program or not," he said.

Miller urged state education officials to organize a "learning session" for new members to get up to speed on state-operated schools, noting any decision the governing body makes will impact the state for years.

"I would not have been prepared to vote yes or no today," said Otto, of Kansas City, at the June 3 meeting.

He said with every answer that was provided during the meeting, he had more questions.

"I don't know what we need to do in the interim before we decide on this but I think to get us, the newer board members up to speed, we need some sort of more information."

Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger said the work to reimagine the state-operated schools started a couple years ago with a broad analysis and has become more detailed.

"I understand absolutely that we have several new board members and I really appreciate the interest and the willingness to want to do the good work," she said.

Eslinger offered to schedule time with any board member that wants to discuss the proposal or the schools in more depth.

Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, of Pasadena Hills, said it's clear that change is needed.

"We have a fiduciary responsibility to govern and to act," she said. "Constitutionally, we are responsible for this age group of children so whether we outsource the solution or whether we in-source the solution or use a hybrid model where we partner with (districts) for some portion of that service delivery, we still own the governance and the oversight so there is no option where we are not responsible."

Proposal: Close 12 state-operated schools

One initial step in the proposal is to permanently close six of the schools that are shuttered on a temporary basis, including:

The state also wants to close six additional schools in 2026, which are currently operating. They include: