Downtown Hays will have a new restaurant. Aaron White, Executive Director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development, told Hays Post that Terry Kinderknecht is opening up TK’s Smokehaus at 110 W 11th Street, the former location of Café Semolino. Kinderknecht has been operating Terry’s Backyard Barbecue, a BBQ meats and sides catering business, throughout the community since 2006.
Earlier this year, the coalition conducted a community survey to determine what types of businesses area residents wanted to see brought to town. For restaurants, the overwhelming response what that people felt the community lacked a barbecue establishment. White said he has been reaching out to local vendors to meet that demand, and Terry’s Backyard Barbecue was a great fit.
“It was recommended that I call and talk to him by several people in the community about doing barbecue on a bigger scale. We’ve been working with him on potential financing sources, looking at potential sites. When we looked at Semolino’s we helped him arrange a number of walk-throughs. Just a lot of support we provided.”
White added that while the coalition helped coordinate meetings and options, Kinderknecht didn’t receive incentives or financial assistance from the city in exchange for opening the restaurant.
White said his understanding is that TK’s Smokehaus will serve barbecue food as well as gourmet hamburgers and German dishes, and the goal is to be operational some time in December. Right now Kinderknecht is working to incorporate the elements that made his catering service popular into a stationary setting, such as the slow-cooked meat and the attention to quality. White said that at this time it looks like the best of Terry’s will still be available at TK’s.
“He’ll oversee the kitchen part is his plan. He will look to hire an experienced front person to manage the front end of the restaurant. That’s one area where he’s always said that he knows he’d be better off finding someone who has the experience and background to do that part for him and he would just focus on what he does best which is the kitchen.”