Angie Cook and Ben DeSmidt have owned and operated Union Park Tavern since February 2017.
Angie grew up in the business and wanted to find a place where she could put all of her experience in the industry to use. When they took over the business they knew they looked to make some changes, but also knew not to mess with some traditions from the former business, Pete’s Place. Especially Pete’s famous fish fry, they knew to keep that just like it was – and it continues to be voted the #1 Fish Fry in town. The former business had a good reputation for great food and a clean kitchen, so Angie and Ben took their business model and expanded onto it. They have expanded their menu, now offering lunch and dinner seven days a week, 11am-7pm (although the famous Fish Fry is Fridays only!). They also offer a late-risers’ breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings – like all their food delicacies, they use the highest-quality and freshest ingredients. Even a simple side such as the hash browns are grated right there in the kitchen. Some popular items they added over the years include everyday items like chicken sandwiches, pork schnitzel and burgers, as well as daily specials like broasted chicken and meatloaf. And it’s not just great food at Union Park Tavern. Angie and Ben offer up a special atmosphere with delicious specialty drinks including Angie’s famous Bloody Mary and their incredible brandy old-fashioned. If you love live music, then stick around after dinner and there will probably be someone setting up. They offer live music more nights than not with some of the greatest blues, bluegrass, rock, and avant-garde artists in the area. Tuesday is karaoke night, Wednesday is Kenosha’s longest running open mic hosted by Mark Paffrath, andy Cy Constabile plays the keys for Sunday afternoon piano jams.
Ben DeSmidt joins us for this exclusive Q&A.
Q. How did you get into the restaurant business?
A. When we were looking to enter the bar business, Angie and I thought that it would be very important to offer food as well as drinks. We wanted to follow more in the tradition of the Wisconsin tavern and be more than just a shot-and-a-beer bar. A bar business can be a lot more versatile that way. You can do really interesting and high quality food and drinks without losing a comfortable ambiance.
Q. What is your favorite part about owning/running a restaurant?
A. There are a lot of different ways to be creative with food—drinks, too—but when you think of how many different types of cuisine there are in the world the possibilities are really limitless. Of course, we love our staples like meatloaf, fish fry, and breakfasts, but we have started adding more and more specials to our everyday menu such as deep-fried ribs on Saturday night.
Q. What is the most challenging part of your job?
A. The hours are probably the most challenging. Angie and I are here every day usually longer than 12 hours, and we’re open seven days a week. On the other hand, there’s always something going on and never time to be bored, so we’re not complaining. It’s so much better to always have something to do.
Q. With the challenges of the current economy, what steps have you taken to continue to drive your business forward?
A. The same day we were forced to shut down, we shifted to curbside carryout. We had tons of corned beef for St. Patrick’s day, and we were lucky to be able to sell out by the end of that night. It was very sudden, and we were given no notice at all. We also did what we could to offer drink setups to go, such as brandy old fashioneds, bloody marys, and margaritas. We still offer all those services, but now that we are able to be open at limited capacity and with social distancing, people have started coming back for in-person dining. It’s slow, but we’ve noticed a steady increase of customers dining inside. For as long as we could, we also emphasized our outdoor space for dining and musical performances. It’s more challenging indoors, but we’re trying to keep offering all the same services to our customers.
Q. How often do you eat at your own restaurant? And what’s your favorite dish?
A. We eat here frequently, which I think is actually important for quality control, especially when you have several cooks. We like to try everything out. Most of the menu is made up of Angie’s and my favorites, so we cycle around the whole menu. I love our tenderloin steak sandwich that we hand cut here and our burgers, all served on Cardinali’s bread. Angie loves our salads and omelets off the breakfast menu and the Broasted chicken.
Q. What makes your restaurant stand out from others, what is something particularly unique?
A. For the size of our kitchen, we somehow manage to have a lot of variety. We don’t just think one way about things, and we still keep a focus on quality and detail.
Q. How do you cope with the everyday pressure of restaurant life?
A. We have a really great, very reliable staff that believes in what we’re trying to do here, and everyone is willing to go the extra mile to make sure that things are done right. That’s especially important now, when cleanliness is more important than ever.
Q. What advice would you give other entrepreneurs that are starting out in the restaurant business or small business?
A. Initially folks have a dream and they want that every detail of that dream to happen instantly. It takes time, so “slow and steady” is the best motto. Don’t bite off too much to chew and don’t make sudden changes unless you absolutely have to do so.
Q. What is your restaurant’s signature menu item?
A. Our fish fry is definitely the signature. We’ve been best in Kenosha for the last ten years.
Q. How long have you owned & operated Union Park Tavern?
A. We have owned and operated Union Park Tavern since February 2017.
Q. What made you want to own a bar?
A. Angie grew up in the business and wanted to find a place where she could put all of her experience in the industry to use. We looked around for a number of years before we found a place that felt right, and once we found it we jumped at the opportunity. Ben loves the tradition of food in Wisconsin taverns, not just fish fry, but a full menu with aspects that are also a lot like you find in a Supper Club. That made the old Pete’s Place a great choice, because it had a well-respected kitchen already and provided a great foundation to build on. Union park tavern does it all. First off tell us about your #1 voted Fish Frys We knew when we took over the business that we wanted to keep the Pete’s Place fish fry just like it was. We use the same recipes and many of the same staff still work every Friday night and during the week getting things prepped. Pete and Brenda, the former owners, always ran a very clean kitchen and great operation, so we didn’t have to make any big changes. We’ve also made some additions, such as cheesecake and soup and a deep-fried ear of corn on the cob that a customer suggested to us.
Q. What else is on the menu?
A. We’ve added a full lunch and dinner menu Saturday-Thursday from 11AM-9PM that includes Broasted Chicken, Burgers, Steaks, Pork Schnitzel, a Crispy Chicken Sandwich on a Biscuit or Belgian Waffle, and Salads. We also offer a late-risers’ breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Q. Who comes up with the menu ideas?
A. Ben usually comes up with the menu items, such as adding the Pork Schnitzel or developing our Biscuit or Potato Pancake recipes, but Angie also makes additions like the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which is a big hit. We also do special dinners by reservation and for private events, and theme food specials such as Meatloaf Monday, Taco Tuesday, Half-Priced Chicken on Wednesdays and a German special on Thursdays.
Q. You also serve one of the best breakfasts in the area, what’s the secret?
A. I think a good breakfast depends on high quality ingredients, such as good thick-cut bacon. Our biscuits are always made fresh from scratch, just like our gravy and pancakes. We don’t use anything out of the box. We use real buttermilk, whole milk, and butter, and for other specialty items like our Farmer’s Potatoes we use Bacon Grease for the cooking. Another big difference is that we grate our hash browns from potatoes we cook here. It’s time consuming, but we don’t buy them pre-made and raw, as most places do.
Q. What are some of your specialty drinks?
A. We serve an incredible Brandy Old-Fashioned and Bloody Mary, which is a recipe Angie has developed over the years. They have been very popular. We also have an incredible selection of tap and can beer, including many German beers that no one else serves.
Q. You have very lively weeknights with lots of entertainment, tell our readers what you have going on?
A. We love all live music and book everything. We love Blues, Bluegrass, Rock and solo artists that play our open mics. Tuesday is Karaoke with Tony and Gina of TnT Entertainment, Wednesday night is Kenosha’s longest running open mic hosted by Mark Paffrath, Thursday is an open jam with Pat Garrett on the first of the month and the Rhythm Dogs every other Thursday, and we can’t forget Cy Costabile’s long-running Piano Jams on Sunday afternoons. We also have bands on Friday and Saturday nights. We hope to continue to draw in more musicians from the region, but it can be difficult, for instance, to get Madison-, Chicago-based, or musicians from farther afield, because of travel and cost. But we’re always working on it.
Q. What makes Union Park Tavern different than any other bar/restaurant?
A. We don’t think there’s many other bars with as large a mix of people of different ages and backgrounds as we have here. We think that music has a lot to do with that, because music is such a great way to bring people together and level the social playing field. When a room is filled with people locked into a great show, it feels like there’s a solid unit there not separate individuals.
Q. You have probably the best beer garden in town, how are you utilizing that?
A. In summer we have bands outside and host private events and have many tables for outside dining. We also have an outside bar that we open for special events.
Q. Whats in store for your annual German fest weekend?
A. Every year at the end of September, we co-host an Oktoberfest event with MGV Harmonia Kenosha German Men’s Choir, who cook all the food. You may remember their cooking for many years at the Kemper Center Octoberfest. The choir always sings a few songs as well and we also have the German Choir’s house band, the Hungry Five, play some music. It’s quite a celebration!
Q. What is an average day like for you at Union park Tavern?
A. It starts early and ends late, for sure, but we’re really lucky to have such a great staff to work with us, especially through the really difficult last few months. We’re also very fortunate to have such loyal customers, who supported us when we were only able to offer curbside carryout service. And those customers were very generous with their tips for the servers who I know really appreciated the extra support throughout this difficult time.
Q. How many beers do you serve?
A. Our lineup changes pretty regularly, but we normally have 50 to choose from. On tap we favor German brews–how can you mess with 500 or more years of tradition there–but we always have one or two IPAs and something unusual. Union park has a bit of German Heritage to it, where does that come from? I’m a member of MGV Harmonia, Kenosha’s German-American male choir, that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and I’ve always been a huge fan of German food. I’ve learned a lot about cooking and throwing big parties from the club members. They make incredible potato salad, sauerkraut, and they’re shown me how to make other specialties like Rouladen and Potato Pancakes, which we serve as specials at UPT. Of course, they’ve also taught me a lot about Jägermeister and a German gin they call rocket fuel, which we serve at the bar.
Union Park Tavern is located at 4520 8th Avenue.
unionparktavern.com
Follow UPT on Facebook & Instagram
Q&A & concept by Donny Stancato
Edited by Jason Hedman
Photos by Donny Stancato & from the UPT social media
