Ribbon Cut

TK’s Grill opens to the public at the Elks Club in Lincoln

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[April 05, 2019]  On Saturday morning TK’s Grill opened its doors to the public for the first time. Located at the Elks Club in Lincoln, the new restaurant is open daily to the public and offers lunch and dinner specials including a fried chicken meal that will be offered for lunch and dinner on Sundays.

The grill is owned by Travis Schleder and Matt Knight. Making up their management and support team are Heather Danley, Amy Wiedhunner, Nikki Schleder and Nolan Lesson.

The grill is located on the second floor of the Elks main building. Guests are encouraged to use the outside stairway to the front door where they will enter into the bar and grill area. Guests will be greeted by wait staff and encouraged to find a seat of their choice. Those seats may be in the front area, or if the diners wish, they may pass through the bar and grill into the formal dining area where they can enjoy panoramic views of the Elks Golf Course.

On Saturday a large crowd gathered to help Travis and Matt celebrate their grand opening and be a part of a ribbon cutting ceremony. With the weather being less than agreeable, the ribbon cut was held inside in the formal dining room.



Matt Knight was the designated cutter for the ribbon cut with Travis and Nikki Schleder standing to the right. On the left Matt was joined by Heather and Amy on the left, then Mayor Seth Goodman, and to Goodman’s left was Nolan Lesson. Also attending the cut were Logan County Board member Kevin Bateman, Lincoln City Clerk Peggy Bateman, Lincoln Alderman Ron Keller, Logan County Fair Queen Molly Schempp and a large number of supporters and well-wishers along with members of the wait staff for TK’s.

As an introduction to the ribbon cut, it was noted that the restaurant is open to the public, which the owners and Elks Club management wanted to stress. Many believe that the restaurant is designated for Elks members only, but that is not the case. Anyone who wishes to enjoy a really good meal at reasonable prices with excellent and relaxing views is encouraged to spend some time at TK’s.

The restaurant is the second such venture for Travis and Matt. Travis is the owner of Stag-R-Inn in Emden and his best friend Matt worked with Travis there as the kitchen manager. Now Matt will be taking the lead at the new restaurant with Travis balancing his time between this new venture and his place in Emden.

Matt Knight was the designated spokesperson for the owners and management. He began by saying that he wanted to thank everyone for coming. He noted, “This is way more than I expected,” as it appeared that there were more than fifty people present, many behind the ribbon, but several standing off to the side as well. “We have put in a lot of hard work over the last several months to get this place to look and operate as it is; so thank you all very much.”

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It was noted that the Elks Club is actually located in the county, not within city limits. However, it has a residual effect on the city and benefits both the county and city. Kevin Bateman spoke for the county. “On behalf of the county, this is a good opportunity to expand on the business they already own. This is another establishment in the county and let’s all support it.”

Goodman spoke next, “The Facebook comments and the attendance say a lot for what you guys have already done. Congratulations and welcome to Lincoln, we’re happy to have you in Lincoln and we’re excited for you.”

With the speakers all completed the group posed for a picture then participated in the traditional “three-two-one-snip,” Matt did the honors.



Many of the guests stayed for lunch at the new business. The Saturday specials included pulled pork and other great sandwich items. From the menu, guests had the opportunity for a large variety of sandwiches, salads and entrees. In addition, the restaurant has a pizza menu.

Guests took advantage of the pulled pork special and added homemade potato chips or fries, both of which were terrific. The fair queen enjoyed the pizza, which was too much for one meal, so she took home a doggie bag for later.

All around, the new location is really great. The décor has been updated and the atmosphere is wonderful.

Amy Weidhunner noted that the Grill had actually opened earlier in the week. For the soft opening, they encouraged Elk members to come out and enjoy a meal. She said that helped to get the membership reacquainted with the idea that there is now a good meal option at the club, and also gave the new wait and kitchen staff the opportunity to work through whatever issues might arise before they have large crowds at meal time.

As many may know, keeping a restaurant at the Elks has been difficult, but it may be because not everyone realizes that the restaurant is open to the public. The location is great, the service was very good on Saturday and so was the food. We encourage everyone to go out and welcome these young people to Lincoln and enjoy a very good meal.


[Nila Smith]

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