The Cork Tucson on East Tanque Verde Road is gaining a gastropub sibling this week when owners Glenn Murphy and Sally Shamrell-Murphy open UnCork’d Kitchen & Bar.
The restaurant is in the former Saddlehorn Saloon at 6300 E. Tanque Verde Road, next door to The Cork.
Sally Shamrell-Murphy pulls curtains out of a box as her husband, Glenn Murphy, hangs them as they prepare for Friday’s opening of UnCork’d Kitchen & Bar, 6300 E. Tanque Verde Road.
The country-themed bar had been in business nearly 40 years before closing last November. That’s when the Murphys bought the building and began an extensive buildout that included new plumbing and electric, new flooring and roof repairs.
They also redid the restrooms and rebuilt the kitchen in what Murphy estimated cost them a couple hundred thousand dollars.
“A lot of work went into it,” he said. “It was almost a gut job.”
The new venture comes two years after the Murphys took over Jonathan’s Cork at 6320 E. Tanque Verde Road and redubbed it The Cork Tucson. Aside from a few back-of-house changes including all new kitchen equipment and adding new bar and patio furniture, the upscale steakhouse that has anchored Tucson’s former restaurant row since 1966 remains the same.
Murphy said he has tweaked The Cork’s menu with Executive Chef Matt Kraiss a few times in the past two years, including upgrading the locally sourced meat program and introducing wild-caught fish. They also added a taste of Murphy’s native Australia with the introduction of kangaroo meat, which Murphy said tastes like a “real good lean steak.”
Shamrell-Murphy said the idea to open UnCork’d was inspired by The Cork’s popular happy hours. The bar was so busy that they couldn’t fit everybody in. Some customers suggested extending the existing bar area, but “that would change the flow” of the space, she said.
When the Saddlehorn building opportunity arose, they jumped, Murphy said.
UnCork’d’s gastropub menu, helmed by head chef Noah Tellez and overseen by Kraiss, corporate chef over both restaurants, includes a handful of starters from Truffle Tots, tater tots drizzled with truffle oil and parmesan foam; to the vegan Big Dipper, butternut squash hummus served with crispy chickpeas, beet chips and Za’atar pita. Then there’s the Num Num Balls, mushroom risotto shaped in balls dusted with porcini powder and black garlic aioli.
Chef Noah Tellez, rolls out dough for flatbread in preparation for Friday’s opening of UnCork’d Kitchen & Bar, 6300 E. Tanque Verde Road. The gastro pub, a sibling to The Cork Tucson, will open at 3:00 p.m.
The “Mains” entrees go from a classic smash burger and fish and chips to the Steak Sammy (a sliced hangar steak sandwich with chimichurri and pickled onions) and the Fish Sammy (made with beer-battered walleye). Then there’s the Chicken & Pajamas, the Aussie take on classic chicken parmesan, served over pasta or fries.
“As you can see, we’re not taking ourselves too seriously,” Murphy said.
UnCork’d will be open from 3 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday and 3-11 p.m. Sunday. As of Monday, its hours will be from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Details at uncorkedbar.com.
