Many great ideas have been formulated around the kitchen table, and that’s how the concept of Red Cow was developed. Luke Shimp, his wife, Tracy Bachul, and their children, Michael and Peter, recognized a need for a different type of restaurant in the Twin Cities.
“We wanted to create a 21st century tavern,” says Luke. “When you look back in history, taverns were the spots that everybody stopped at when they were traveling. They were also places for great food and a headquarters where people would go to make a lot of important decisions. So, the tavern was the epicenter of a community, and that's what we set out to create.”
He also noticed a void for gourmet burgers. “We took the burger and elevated it. Take our Barcelona burger for example. We put on thinly sliced Prosciutto De Parma, Manchego cheese, piquillo peppers and smoked pepper aioli. We came up with our own grind and seasoning blend that really extracted the flavor out of our Certified Angus Beef, which keeps your mouth watering.” Most of the burgers were inspired by Luke’s travels and are all about layers of flavor.
Of course, being a tavern, alcoholic beverages are a large staple of the business, but unlike many taverns, Red Cow offers an outstanding imbibing experience. “We opened with a trifecta of beverages – wine, beer and cocktails,” says Luke. “We started with 32 wines by the glass, served at cellar temperature and preserved properly.”
Champagne can be ordered by the glass. “We have a preservation system that recompresses the bubbles so that you get a nice sparkling glass every time,” he says. “Our reds and whites are preserved too so that all of the oxygen is removed from the bottles – they always stay fresh. It really is an elevated wine experience in a tavern setting.” Choices include French, Italian and fine wines from California and Oregon.
“Of course, we have great craft beers too,” says Luke. “We started with 36 craft beers, and we rotate our taps often, many of them change daily.”
As the food is all about layers of flavor, this holds true for its cocktails as well. “We have beverage specialists that create perfectly balanced craft cocktails using high-quality ingredients with exacting details,” he says.
Everything is made fresh and from scratch. In addition to burgers, there are delicious fries, soups and salads. The restaurant also introduced shakes like the brownie batter and caramel a couple of years ago. They were such a hit that they are now fixtures on the menu. Red Cow also has a great catering program for graduations, corporate events and box lunches.
The name of the restaurant was conceived by Tracy by mixing two of their offerings. The “red” came from the wine, and the “cow” from the beef. The atmosphere has an industrial chic look with dark wood, brick, filament lighting and bright red tufted booths. “There are a lot of elements of the old and the new, so the floors are concrete, but then we have modern wood walls,” says Luke. “We also have some funky art throughout the space.”
When walking into a Red Cow restaurant, the first thing people will see is, surprisingly, a blue cow on the wall. “There is this juxtaposition that defines the tavern’s nontraditional concept,” says Luke. “It really gets you into a frame of mind that this is going to be a very unique experience.”
Today, there are five Red Cow brick-and-mortar locations, each with outdoor patio dining, and a sixth coming soon to Wayzata. There's also a location at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Concourse E, and two outlets in the Minnesota Twins stadium, where the menu includes the popular 60/40 sliders.
The 50th & France location was its first, opening in 2013. “The neighborhood was everything we were looking for when launching our new restaurant, and at that time, we only lived a mile away, so we were very familiar with the area,” says Luke. It’s a true family business, with his wife and children playing active roles.
Red Cow has won numerous awards over the years, including Best Burger by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine and one of the Hottest Burgers in North America by Eater.
Luke has twice been named Restaurateur of the Year by the Minnesota Restaurant Association. “I think I'm the only two-time winner,” he says. He has also been voted Best Restaurateur from the Charlie Awards, which is a local peer-based award.
One would think that with all this success Luke must have a longtime relationship with the restaurant business, but that’s not the case. His previous career was in professional motorsports as chassis specialist and pit crew member in NASCAR.
After winning the 2000 NASCAR Championship with Joe Gibbs Racing Luke started plotting his next move; to take the leadership lessons and team building from his time in pro sports and transfer that into business. He brought his championship mindset to the restaurant business in 2002 and takes pride in winning awards.
In addition to Red Cow, the family also launched Red Rabbit, an Italian restaurant, in 2016. It has two locations – one in Minneapolis’ North Loop and one in St. Paul on Grand Avenue. “Red Rabbit was just named one of the top 50 independent restaurants in America,” says Luke.
With every restaurant Luke and Tracy open, their core principle remains the same; giving back to the community, whether that’s by creating more tavern-like spaces or by donating to several charities and organizations.
“We support local charities, M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital, Sanneh Foundation, community youth programs and youth sports teams,” says Luke. “We love giving back.”
To find out more, go to RedCowMN.com and RedRabbitMN.com.