Food and fun at Elk Creek’s Village Tavern

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The community of Elk Creek turns out in large numbers for wing night on Wednesdays at the Village Tavern.

We caught up with the owner, Trent Tegtmeier, to talk about the establishment’s popularity. “I’ve had this business for about a year,” Tegtmeier said. “We are a tavern and a restaurant. We also like to promote entertainment. On the menu, we have beef and buffalo from Tegtmeier Farms. We also have many other items, such as salads, onion rings, and burgers. Our biggest sellers are prime rib on Friday nights and chicken wings on Wednesday nights.”

“When I bought the business a year ago, I was impressed with wing night,” Tegtmeier said. “I told myself, I can’t screw this up, so I’ve got to keep this right. We will serve up to 600 chicken wings in one night. We get people from Kansas, Pawnee City, Tecumseh, Beatrice, and obviously the village of Elk Creek.”

Tegtmeier says it’s nice to have a vibrant business on main street, and it helps with building the community. “The minister up the street at the church, he comes down for coffee on Wednesdays and opens the place up,” Tegtmeier said. “I think I have keys out to eight or nine locals who come down here. We do birthday parties here, and it’s just a good place for people to gather.”

The Village Tavern seems to be gaining in popularity. One reason may be the locally-sourced beef and bison that is found on the menu. “My family raises the bison and the cattle, and we use that right here in the operation,” Tegtmeier said. What’s the best thing on the menu? For Tegtmeier, it’s hard to say, as there are many choices. “It’s nice to have bison, you don’t get that everywhere,” Tegtmeier said. “People also like the prime rib, and it’s hard to turn people away from the chicken wings. It seems the small town bars really like their chicken wings.”

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