What do you get when you combine bicycle repair with a coffee house and a tavern? A pretty cool place to hang out, and Method Cycles & Craft House at 416 S. 11th St. is just that.
With Cottonwood closing last month, Method, located just a block north on 11th Street, is gaining in popularity.
“We’re getting more traffic during the lunch hour,†said Brooke Lehman, Method’s social media manager and barista.â€We don’t have the full menu like Cottonwood, but people are discovering us since they closed.â€
What diners are finding at Method is homemade soup and focaccia bread, gourmet coffees and craft beers and cocktails.
Founded by Jason Brummels and owned by his mother-in-law Deborah Stephen, Method opened in June 2015, taking the spot where Screen Ink. used to be before it moved to 1827 O St.
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Brummels turned Method into one of Lincoln’s most attractive bars, with exposed brick walls, concrete floors and dark, heavy wood. The tables and stools are custom-made with IntoMetal stamping Method’s logo into them. There’s also a nifty metal sign hanging above the walkway between the bike repair shop at the back and bar at the front.
His menu is simple, mainly to compliment the beverage service. It features a daily soup; appetizer plates with olives, cheeses and charcuterie; Le Quartier pastries; and on Saturday and Sundays, Liege waffles ($7), which are sweeter than the traditional Belgian waffles.
The daily soups are vegetarian, with this past week’s lineup featuring a spicy bean-and-corn chili (Monday), broccoli and cheddar (Tuesday), tomato basil (Wednesday), curry lentil (Thursday) and white bean and kale (Friday). Soup is served in a cup ($3) or bowl ($5) with a homemade rosemary focaccia bread. Monday’s chili came with a Le Quartier cinnamon roll.
Like Lincoln’s other craft houses, Method rotates its beer, tapping a new flavor when one is finished. The bar has 14 taps, including two nitro (currently an Odell porter and a Surly Scottish ale). Beers are served as 5-, 10- and 16-ounce pours and range from $2 to $11.
The craft cocktails include traditional (Manhattan, martini and old fashioned) and nontraditional such as a Lavender Collins made with Hendricks and Lavender simple. Drinks range from $6 to $8.
Method uses Archetype Coffee from Omaha for its drip and gourmet beverages ($2.75 to $5). The bar also has eight organic teas and five housemade sodas, including an orange blossom and vanilla ($2.75 to $4.65).
Method offers once-a-month live entertainment — singer-songwriter Bobby Smalley will perform Feb. 17 — and is part of the First Friday Gallery Walk, featuring a local artist each month on its exposed brick walls. Method also has hosted pop-up kitchens in the past.
“It seems like we just opened yesterday,†Lehman said. “We’re adding new things and hiring new people just to keep up with the pace.â€
Reach the writer at 402-473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSjeffkorbelik.
Jeff Korbelik
Features editor
