SHOPPING SMALL
SMALL business DALLAS SCHILLING, OWNER AND GENERAL MANAGER, SCHILLINGBRIDGE CORK & TAP HOUSE
Farm-to-Table
SCHILLINGBRIDGE CORK & TAP HOUSE After eyeing several options for a second location, SchillingBridge Cork & Tap House has had to hit pause. The restaurant, which opened in Lincoln’s Fallbrook development on the northwest edge of the city in 2014, has been battling the current talent crisis. The Cork & Tap has about 20 employees, but like many restaurants it is short-staffed. “Everyone’s feeling it,” President Kelly Bletscher said. “We decided to stay closed on Monday and Tuesday, which we started during the pandemic. We want to take care of the staff we have and make sure they have a solid two days off to spend with their families and aren’t overworked or stressed.” Last year The Cork & Tap received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which helped the firm give raises to its staff.
True Scratch Kitchen Almost everything on SchillingBridge’s menu is made in-house. “We cook with an infused wine and beer in almost all of our menu items,” Bletscher said. “French fries are the exception. We have a passion
for creating higher-end comfort foods, infusing them with beer and wine. Our beer cheese is one of our most popular things. We have beer bread and caramel beer bread pudding. We make our own caramel sauce with our Scottish ales.” All of the pork is farm-to-table. Bletscher and her husband, Mitch, live on a farm near Falls City where they raise purebred Berkshire hogs. The hogs are quartered and transported to the restaurant where they are broken down. “You can choose whether you want pork or beef on any of our burgers,” Bletscher said. “One of our most popular appetizers is drunken nachos. We make our own tortilla chips, then top them with either brisket or pulled pork, beer cheese, and our beer barbeque sauce.” The Cork & Tap is a spinoff and expansion of SchillingBridge Winery and Microbrewery in Pawnee City, which Bletscher’s parents, Mike and Sharon Schilliing, opened in 2005. “We planted a huge garden at the winery and were able to bring up a lot of fresh vegetables [to the restaurant] and that really decreased our cost for food and also created a better product,” Bletscher said.
Page 14 • January 28, 2022
