Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill: Brand Name

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HAYS, Kan (May 5, 2006) - A new Hays restaurant will have a familiar touch of home to the many farmers and ranchers who packed Whiskey Creek on Thursday evening at 3203 N. Vine.

The finishing touch was put on the decor with a bar-branding party. More than 1,000 invitations were sent out to members of the Kansas Cattlemen's Association encouraging them to bring their branding irons and have their mark burned into the bar.

Glen and and Nancy Stramel, Hays, were among the many people who turned out with their branding irons and got a taste of hamburgers and hot dogs cooked on the restaurant's wood-fire grill. The Stramels weren't responding to a letter, though. “We know employees,” Glen Stramel said. The Stramels brought two branding irons. One belonged to Nancy Stramel's grandfather, who raised cattle near Wamego. His brand was the J-bar. They also brought their own branding iron, which Nancy Stramel's father had made for them when they bought a cabin in southwest Colorado. That one is the Lazy S Bar Nothing. The cabin itself is branded with it, Nancy Stramel said. As she stood behind tape strung up to keep observers out of harm's way while employees carried in the heated branding irons and pressed them to the top of the bar, Nancy Stramel admired the other brands being burned into the wood surface. “What's neat is, some of these are really pretty,” she said.

On the north side of the restaurant, about 10 workers — trainers from other Whiskey Creek restaurants — heated the brands in a specially built propane-fired pit used just for branding parties. When the irons were hot, they carried them inside, calling “hot brand” as they walked to the bar and found the right place to sear the mark onto the wood. Some of the irons were so hot flames sprang to life as they were pressed to the wood. Others merely raised lots of smoke as they scorched into the surface. The owners of the brands were called to move in close and watch their marks get burned into the bar.

The Hays Whiskey Creek is the first franchise restaurant in the chain. The other 11 restaurants are company-owned and located in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Florida.

The three principal owners are Shannon Gnad, Tom Lovewell and Gary Weatherbee. Several others, including Gnad family members and associates of Weatherbee's primary business, Commercial Builders, are also investors.

Lovewell is a familiar face to Hays diners, having formerly managed the Golden Corral. He will be general manager of the restaurant. Lovewell will be assisted by Rick Patrick. Patrick was the general manager of the Hays ALCO store for 10 years and the finance manager of Lewis Chrysler for the last three years.

Extensive renovation was done throughout the building, which formerly housed Country Kitchen, to create the western ambience of Whiskey Creek. Gnad said the partners invested more than $1 million in the endeavor, considering the purchase of the franchise, the building, equipment and furnishings and renovation work.

Whiskey Creek will open its doors for business at 10 a.m. Monday. The menu includes sandwiches, soups, salads, steaks, chicken, shrimp and pasta. Meal prices range from $6.79 for a hamburger and side to $21.99 for a 20-ounce porterhouse steak with two sides.

Last summer, the partners operated House of Fire barbecue and catering. Whiskey Creek soon will offer catering services.

Reporter Phyllis Zorn can be reached at (785) 628-1081, ext. 137, or by e-mail at phylz@dailynews.net.

originally published in Hays Daily News, 5-5-06, By PHYLLIS J. ZORN

	...more Whiskey Creek headlines
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