Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
Bringing together local businesses and neighbor of the Tri-Cities region. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Skip Mauney helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around The Tri-Cities.
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Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
EP# 153: Exploring the Craft Beer Scene: Nick Stickley’s Community Vision at South Fork Tap House
What makes Nick Stickley with South Fork Taphouse a good neighbor?
Craving an adventure for your taste buds? Join us as we sit down with Nick Stickley, the passionate owner of South Fork Tap House, who offers a feast of flavors from IPAs and ambers to ciders and dark porters. Nick champions a bold philosophy of encouraging patrons to wander out of their usual beer-drinking paths by offering complimentary samples, rather than traditional flights. In our engaging chat, we trace Nick’s journey into the tap house business, fueled by his desire to brew community spirit in Bluff City. We also capture the inviting, family-friendly atmosphere of South Fork Tap House, where the clinking of glasses is accompanied by laughter and games.
Our conversation with Nick takes a deeper dive into the art of running a successful local enterprise, where he shares the challenges and the joys that come along with it. We celebrate Nick’s leadership and his dedication to nurturing the local business landscape. As the episode unfolds, we extend an open invitation for Nick to return whenever there are new milestones or updates in his journey. Wrapping up, we encourage listeners to celebrate their favorite local businesses by nominating them for future episodes of the Good Neighbor Podcast, strengthening the community ties that bind us all.
To learn more about South Fork Taphouse go to:
https://www.facebook.com/SouthForkTapHouse/
South Fork Tap House
(423) 330-7825
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of the Tri-Cities. So if you are as big a fan of beer as I am, you're going to be thrilled with our guest on the show today, because today I have the distinct pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, mr Nick Stickley, who is the owner operator of South Fork Tap House. Nick, how you doing.
Speaker 3:I'm doing pretty good, Skip how are you?
Speaker 2:I'm doing just fine. I hope you're having a good day. Yes, sir, all right, very good. Well, like I said, I'm a big fan of beer man, and probably a little bit too much, but I'm sure a lot of our listeners are as well, and we've actually talked to some other breweries in the region, so I'm sure they're excited to learn all about you and your business. So, if you don't mind, why don't you start us off by telling us about what you do?
Speaker 3:Well, we have a tap house here in Bluff City and we have 12 or 16 taps rather, and we try to carry a little bit of everything. Ipas are still probably the most popular style uh, so we have three or four of those, and we have ciders and we have uh ambers and uh seltzers and uh sours and whatnot. So we try to get a good mix uh to kind of satisfy everybody's uh inclinations. Um, then we also carry a whole host of uh and bottled products, including, again, ciders, hard sodas, we have some non-alcoholic options and domestics and whatnot. So we just try to have everything, a little bit of everything, for everybody.
Speaker 2:Awesome, I love to hear you say the word amber. I'm an amber guy. I love you know anything from Dos Equis to you know? Oh gosh, I guess Dos Equis is probably my favorite. There's several that I love, but I like trying new ones and, unfortunately, the last few tap houses that I've visited in the region nobody this time of year, I guess it's seasonal has ambers, you know, it's all IPAs and stouts and creamy stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, the cream ale has kind of gotten popular and I feel like stouts are kind of making a comeback, which I like, because I would probably say that's my personal favorite style. And you're right, you know the thing you said earlier you like trying new things and sometimes you know, folks really haven't got out of their comfort zone and tried things that they might like. And, for instance, you know, my favorite that we have currently is a porter, and typically folks probably wouldn't drink a beer that dark, but I've had folks that only drink domestics and they've tried that and they really tried that and they really loved it. So it's a good opportunity for people to get out here and maybe sample something they wouldn't ordinarily think they might enjoy.
Speaker 2:Do you guys do flights where you can try different ones?
Speaker 3:No, and I went back and forth on that but I settled on, you know, like if somebody wants to try something, we just let them try it, and then you know they can go through a few of those and they kind of determine which one they want to go with.
Speaker 2:So Very good, very good. Well, I like I said I'm, I'm an Amber guy and but I like trying different things. I like porters too. I like dark beer, love dark beer. They're just. You know, it's kind of like a oh gosh. What's the most famous Guinness? Stout Guinness. Yeah, guinness is like. The first one is kind of rough, the second one's better, the third one's great. You know, it's like by the time you get to three, they're really good.
Speaker 3:Anyway anyway, so, nick, how did you get into this business? Well, kind of a funny story, there was a tap house here prior and I was actually a big fan of theirs and I ended up moving over here to Bluff City. I've been in the area all my life, but not this side of Bluff City, and honestly, part of the reason I moved over here, you know, was the things that Bluff City has, you know, going on. Now they have a little coffee shop over here and a tap house and a new pizzeria, and you know, I just want to kind of be a part of, you know, the development of Bluff City. And a couple months after I moved in, I guess, the tap house kind of decided they didn't want to operate this location anymore.
Speaker 2:And you know, I always, actually always wanted a tap house and so I thought, well, it's my opportunity, and so I just kind of just jumped on the chance to open my own and kind of do something a little different that this area probably hasn't seen much of Very good. Well, I know exactly what you're talking about there's a fly shop there too. Right, there is. I've actually done an interview with Tailwater's fly shop, and I've also talked to the South Fork Coffee Company too.
Speaker 2:Y'all got some awesome stuff going on here, and I've also talked to the South Fork Coffee Company too. Oh really, yeah, great folks, y'all got some awesome stuff going on here. Well, let me ask you this, nick, if in the tap house beer brewery kind of business, are there some myths or misconceptions that people have?
Speaker 3:You know I don't know if there are None that come to mind immediately Uh, now this one in particular, just where it's situated. Um, you know, we're right across from the lake and right across from the uh, some of the ball fields and whatnot, and uh, so we, we try to make it kind of a family friendly environment and maybe some folks don't realize that's a possibility. We have cardboard games and such that families come in here and just get about to eat and play games and such.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's definitely. I would agree with that. I would think a lot of some people would say oh no, I don't want to take my child into a tap house yeah. I mean, it can be a family oriented.
Speaker 3:I've taken my child into a tap house before, Well and you know it's a very relaxed atmosphere and in fact, one of the things I want to do differently is, you know, I've always been big on nostalgia and I love like a retro and vintage vibe, and so the interior in here is very like 70s, kind of like people my age and older grew up with, kind of looks like your grandma's living room probably, and I just want to make it really cozy, and so it's not a place where folks are getting rowdy and whatnot. So it's a yeah again. It's a good place for, you know, for folks to bring their children and whatnot Awesome. It's a yeah again. It's a good place for you know, for folks to bring their children and whatnot Awesome.
Speaker 2:What about food? Do you guys serve food?
Speaker 3:We do. We have a great menu, we have a great chef, we're always trying to come up with new things that maybe don't even exist yet and you throw spaghetti on the wall and see, see what sticks. But we have sandwiches and wraps and soups and salads, a handful of appetizers. We got nanner pudding, uh, for dessert oh nice, nice it's a pretty solid menu.
Speaker 3:Uh, one thing we invented, uh we call the spinzilla and it's a quesadilla, and we put our spinach artichoke dip on it, uh, with bacon, jalapenos and mozzarella cheese. And then we have an in-house chipotle ranch dressing we made and you dip it in that and it's one of my favorite things to eat period.
Speaker 2:And you call it the Spinzilla. Yeah, spinzilla. Nice, I will have to check that out. That sounds really good. I haven't had lunch, by the way. So you're making me hungry. So, outside of work, Nick, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:Well, I've had to kind of put a pause in all that really. I mean it's the tap house takes a lot of my time but you know I enjoy going to festivals and kind of getting out and supporting the local community here and, just you know, trying to get into trying new things and whatnot.
Speaker 2:Very good. I was hoping you'd say and I get it Starting a business like this is a lot of work and it takes a lot of time. Eventually it pays off. But I totally get it. I was hoping you were going to say you like to. You're right there at the lake and the river that you uh like to like to fish. I'm a fly fisherman, so I, you're in a great spot, you're in a great spot. Yeah, I, I head that way, a lot and fish to south holston anyway. Um, but let's, uh, let's switch gears. For second, can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you've overcome, either professionally or personally, and when you came out the other side of it, you were better off and stronger for it?
Speaker 3:Gosh, I can't speak to any particular one major event, I would say, but just, you know, opening up an enterprise and this is, you know, my second or third you know you're faced with a lot of little micro challenges and it can. You know the cumulative effects of all that can wear on you and sometimes it feels daunting and like it's going to be hard to overcome, you know, but you just kind of have to. You know work through the problem or the problems, and you know, eventually, you know you find your way and you know, after it's all said and done, you feel better and you feel like you've you learned something, um, and you're ready to face the next set of challenges very good, I couldn't agree more?
Speaker 2:uh, totally. This is a small business for me and I, you know, and when you first start, one man, it's, it's a challenge, it's a challenge, and but when you come out the other side, um, you're definitely more prepared to. If you're going to do it again, you know what you're doing. Well, if, if you could think of one thing, nick, that you would like our listeners to remember about the South Fork Tap House, what would that?
Speaker 3:be. You know, I would say that it's just, uh, I would, I would imagine, one of the coziest, vibiest uh places in general around town. Um, places in general around town. We have great food, good atmosphere and also just a great clientele, like all the folks that come here are almost like family and a lot of the folks they grew up around here. So when everybody comes in, everybody knows everybody and even folks that don't know. Those people get plugged in pretty quick and you know, it's just like one big family. Uh, I, I, I love that idea, you know, and uh, yeah, I would encourage folks to come try it out and and meet some new folks and enjoy some good beers I imagine you have a norm kind of guy we have a few norms.
Speaker 2:They come in and everybody yells their name out. I'm sure that's right. I'm sure Very good. Well, it sounds awesome, man, and if any of our listeners are interested in coming and checking it out, how can they learn more about the Tap House?
Speaker 3:Well, of course, currently the web address directs to our Facebook page. But you can go to South Fork Tap House dot com and it'll take you to our Facebook page. But you can go to South Fork, uh tap housecom and it'll take it to our Facebook page. And, uh, there, we try to keep everything updated and folks have apprised, uh, of the goings on at the tap house. Uh, so that's probably the best bet. All right, Very good.
Speaker 2:Well, I appreciate, uh, you taking time out of your busy schedule, Nick, because I know it's. You know you're running the show there and doing a great job, and so I really appreciate you taking time out to be here and to talk to our listeners, and we wish you and your family and your business all the best living forward.
Speaker 3:Well, thanks so much, and I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and maybe we can have you back one day when you got a big event or something going on.
Speaker 3:Sounds great, brother All right man.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.