Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill: Brand Name

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Big Things Cooking at Country Kitchen
A familiar restaurant in Alexandria has closed its doors

By Celeste Beam, Staff Reporter

But don’t despair, it will reopen in a few months with a new look – and a new name.

Whiskey Creek Franchise Systems, which is based in Kearney, Nebraska, recently sold its fifth Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill franchise to KC Hospitality of Alexandria.

KC Hospitality, owned by Kevin Cunningham and Connie Lee Stich-Cunningham, owns and operates Country Kitchen Family Restaurant on Highway 29 South.

Country Kitchen, which was opened in 1972, closed on Monday, August 20 and is set to reopen in November as Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill – the largest Nebraska-based steak restaurant chain.

Cunningham has owned Country Kitchen since 1987.

There are 14 other Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill restaurants, including seven in Nebraska, three in Kansas, two in Missouri and two in Florida. Alexandria is its first Minnesota location.

“We are both very honored to be a part of this restaurant chain,” said Kevin Cunningham. “We are both creative people and are excited that we will be able to express ourselves more creatively with this restaurant.”

The Alexandria Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill will be managed by Gini Velde, who has 20 years of management experience working with Cunningham. The rest of the management team will also stay on with the new restaurant, said Kevin. Other employees will have to go through the interview process, but he said most of them will be staying as well.

This restaurant will be Cunningham’s fifth endeavor, after owning three Country Kitchens and one independent restaurant.

Whisky Creek will feature grilled menu items cooked over a hardwood fire of oak and ash, according to restaurant officials. Items include steak, barbecue, pasta, sandwiches, burgers and salads. Another feature is the restaurants’ 50-plus flavors of margaritas.

Although the restaurant has a liquor license, Cunningham stressed that it will be a restaurant that serves alcohol, not a bar that serves food.

“You can’t get a bad meal at these restaurants,” both Kevin and Connie agreed. They explained that prior to purchasing the franchise, they visited a Whiskey Creek in Florida and tried “nearly every item on the menu.”

The Whiskey Creek restaurant chain was the first in the nation to introduce the Flat Iron Steak, which is a cut of beef developed in cooperation with the National Beef Council, the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida.

Featuring a unique and distinctive western décor, the new Whiskey Creek restaurant will seat approximately 177 guests. Cunningham also explained that the restaurant will feature memorabilia from his wife’s music career. Connie Lee Stich, now Stich-Cunningham, has had a long musical career, including time spent on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

Cunningham credits his wife for the decision to purchase the Whiskey Creek franchise. He said she was instrumental in the decision to go with this style of restaurant and not something different. She feels this restaurant is a perfect fit for the Alexandria area.

The Cunninghams said the restaurant will feature a casual atmosphere and will be known as a “great steak place.”

But Cunningham also noted that it won’t take away from other restaurants in the area. He believes it will only enhance the dining options for Alexandria and surrounding communities.

“It will be just one more dynamic place to eat,” he said.

Cunningham reflected briefly on Country Kitchen, which he noted was “the first of anything” to be built along the corridor leading out to Interstate 94.

He said it changed the whole dynamic of the area and soon numerous businesses started popping up left and right and the community just kept growing and growing, which it still is doing to this day.

The Cunninghams have both been in the restaurant business for a number of years – Kevin with Country Kitchen and Connie Lee with Cracker Barrel.

But both believe that they are not in the food business, but in the “business of people.”

Once he realized that, he said “business got a whole lot more fun!”

“To think that, at times, you can be a mentor to someone who is new to the food business just gives me goosebumps,” he continued.

Both Kevin and Connie Lee are proud of their team – or their family, as they call them. They said their team leads with passion and is dedicated to their work.

Passion – for life and for people – is what has kept both Connie Lee and Kevin in the restaurant business.

originally published in Alexandria Echo Press - 08/31/2007, By Celeste Beam

	...more Whiskey Creek headlines
	(February 15, 2008) DEERFIELD BEACH, FL — "Focus on America" to feature Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill Platinum Productions TV is pleased to announce that Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill will be featured on its innovative, educational television series, Focus on America. The organization will be showcased in a segment on “Be Your Own Boss” as part of the “Americas Best Franchise Opportunities” series
	(January 18, 2008) ROCHESTER, MN — Whiskey Creek Franchise Announcement Whiskey Creek Franchise Systems based in Kearney, Nebraska is proud to announce that the 9th Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill franchise has been sold to Blazin’ Beier Ranch, Inc. and is set to open July 28th, 2008 in Rochester, Minnesota. Whiskey Creek® is the largest Nebraska-based steak restaurant chain with 15 restaurants open, and four more under construction, in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Iowa. Rochester will be the 19th restaurant in the chain.
	(October 16, 2007) ALEXANDRIA, MN — Big Things Cooking at Country Kitchen: A familiar restaurant in Alexandria has closed its doors. But don’t despair, it will reopen in a few months with a new look – and a new name.
	(October 14, 2007) MASON CITY, IA — Country Kitchen to make way for Whiskey Creek MASON CITY — Jay Kvigne’s goal is to create what he calls “a whole new landmark” in the restaurant business in Mason City.
	(October 1, 2007) MASON CITY, IA — Whiskey Creek Franchise Announcement Whiskey Creek Franchise Systems based in Kearney, Nebraska is proud to announce that the 8th Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill franchise has been sold to Kvigne Enterprises, Inc and is set to open April 2008, in Mason City, Iowa.
	(August 9, 2007) KEARNEY, NE — Whiskey Creek Franchise Announcement Whiskey Creek Franchise Systems based in Kearney, NE is proud to announce that the fifth Whiskey Creek® Wood Fire Grill franchise has been sold to KC Hospitality, Inc and is set to open November 2007, in Alexandria, Minnesota, at the site of the Country Kitchen Family Restaurant..
	(July 19, 2007) PORT CHARLOTTE, FL — Eating with the Parrot, Chef Marc I enjoyed eating at Whiskey Creek Steak House on Tuesday in Port Charlotte Florida (for those of you from Texas we are on the other coast of the Gulf). This is an American family restaurant that serves a Great Steak.
	(April 9, 2007) KEARNEY, NE — Whiskey Creek Franchise Announcement Whiskey Creek Franchise Systems based in Kearney, Nebraska is proud to announce the opening of its third franchise store, set to open May 21, 2007 in Joplin, Missouri.
	(Mar 1, 2007) THE VILLAGES — Whiskey Creek Makes Mark on Villages Sheriff Bill Farmer knew he'd witnessed something special Thursday evening as he watched the hot branding iron burn the charred image of his family's ranch mark into the wooden pine bar. Careful hands guided the hot poker to the spot on the bar that now permanently bears the family brand — WOF — in the Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill restaurant in Lake Sumter Landing.
	(Feb 23, 2007) WHISKEY CREEK PLAN INCLUDES 35 FRANCHISES "We wanted controlled growth from the start, and we followed that business plan," said company President Jim Gardner. "Our goals have changed a bit. Now it's time to take some bigger steps toward growth." Although the Whiskey Creek chain grew to include 11 stores in four states, the restaurants remained company-owned until last year, when the first franchise store, the 12th overall, opened in Hays, Kan. The Kearney-based company now is in the early stages of an aggressive growth plan that will include at least five new store openings in 2007 and as many as 35 in the next five years.