You can now get a bite of food as well as beer any day at Crosstown Brewing Company.
The brewery at 1264 Concourse Avenue at Crosstown Concourse recently added a menu that includes smash burgers, Memphis-style honey gold wings, and other fare from their new kitchen, says Clark Ortkiese, who founded the brewery with co-owner Will Goodwin in 2018.
They originally had snacks, like chips and dip and popcorn, plus food trucks on the grounds when they were available. But “nothing that was made here on-site,” Ortkiese says.
When thinking about a menu, he and Goodwin “wanted food that was accessible” and items that were “not overly complicated to make.”
They also wanted to put as much effort into the food as they do into their craft beer. “Quality is a major driver for us,” Ortkiese says.
He and Goodwin began talking about serving their own food about two years ago. They visited a lot of taprooms to see what kind of food was served. They noticed locally there weren’t many operating with a restaurant, Ortkiese says.
They decided to finally start serving their own food because “fewer and fewer” food trucks were available. They also wanted their customers to stay longer. Most people were visiting the brewery between 2 and 5 p.m. each day. “They come after lunch and leave. We really wanted to change that.”
Food from their own kitchen served until an hour before they close gives people a reason to stay longer. It also makes their events, including their live music shows, more entertaining. “You know you can get a bite to eat.”
In addition to smash burgers, wings, and pizza, the brewery also serves a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. But instead of “hitting it with Cheez Whiz” after it’s prepared, they use cheese made with their Siren Blonde Ale. The ale is “really clean, simple, refreshing, lightly hopped,” Ortkiese says. “It’s an easy drinker.”
Siren Blonde Ale, “a blend of a couple of different spices and the beer,” works well with the cheese. “The beer itself has little floral characteristics. And I think that combines with the cheese flavors really well. The subtlety of the beer flavor brings it a richness that ties all the flavors together.’
They also use their Siren Blonde Ale in their popular macaroni-and-cheese, which is topped with candied bacon.
For now, Siren Blonde Ale is the only one of their products they use in their cuisine, Ortkiese says. They plan to work others into recipes as new beers come in and they “find out what works and what doesn’t.”
Also on the menu are pizzas, like “The Fun Guy” mushroom pizza and the “Memphis Style” barbecue chicken pizza, and their giant pretzels that hang vertically from a hook on a plate are a popular as well as unusual item. The hook “makes the presentation so nice. It’s boring if you lay it flat.”
Since expanding their menu to include more than snacks, Mark Goldsmith, who was one of their taproom managers, has become kitchen manager. Goldsmith, whose restaurant experience includes managing Central BBQ’s food truck, works in recipe development, runs prep, helps Ortkiese manage the business, and helps cook “through the rush.”
Native Memphians, Ortkiese and Goodwin have known each other since elementary school. Both Christian Brothers High School graduates, they each began home brewing their own beer, which they would enter in contests. “We were obsessed with beer,” Ortkiese says. “We used to be hyper-competitive. I would win a gold and he would win a gold.”
They then began sharing equipment and information. “Which,” Ortkiese adds, “led to a shared mindset.”
Ortkiese, who also has a bartending background, worked in restaurants from the time he was 18 until he was 28. He graduated with a psychology degree from the University of Mississippi at Oxford.
He and Goodwin went into other businesses before they opened the brewery. “Will has a manufacturing background and [I have] a sales and marketing background. We still divide our responsibilities that way.”
Including Siren Blonde Ale, they carry five beers year round: Lucky Chompers Helles Lager, Animal Frequency Hazy IPA, Vision Board Mixed Berry Sour, and Traffic, which is an IPA. Forager Honey Rye Ale is their current seasonal. They rotate their core beers in Kroger and Walmart stores.
Ortkiese describes their beer as “dry, drinkable, clean. We don’t really like to wallop people over the head even with our biggest double IPAs and stouts.”
Future plans for Crosstown Brewing Company include “more beverage options,” Ortkiese says.
He’d also like to hold a special event in the Concourse central atrium. “We would simulate an outdoor barbecue party indoors with a beer garden and outdoor games.”
Ortkiese has seen a change at Crosstown Brewing Company since they added a kitchen. “I’ve been in this room almost every day of my life for the last six and a half years, and, to see the difference, there’s an energy to the space that was not here before.”
He’s noticed “a rumble through the crowd when they’re eating and drinking.”
“There’s a hum around here now that wasn’t here before,” Ortkiese adds. “And it’s great.”
Bianca Phillips