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Brendels combine talents to provide fresh, home-cooked meals at Country Cookin'
By Kristine Jacobson
When he's not cooking, Scott Brendel enjoys socializing with his customers at Country Cookin' on the corner of 4th and Broadway.
His wife, Cherie, handles the behind-the-scenes work putting special care each day into her delicious homemade pies and home-cooked meals.
 Together, they make a great team at their restaurant that provides three meals a day to hungry customers. "We try to provide a quality meal in a comfortable environment at a reasonable price," Scott said.
The Brendels first met while they were both working at Wendy's restaurants. Scott started his food service career at the downtown Wendy's in Lincoln at 14th and Q streets, where they served up to 4,000 hamburgers a day on a Husker Saturday. He started there while studying business administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and eventually became the manager of that Wendy's location.
After Scott and Cherie married, they moved to Holdrege, which is Cherie's hometown. They eventually purchased the TP's restaurant from Terry and Theresa Puls in 1996 and changed the restaurant name to Country Cookin'.
Today, the restaurant's popular specials include the hot beef sandwich with real mashed potatoes, Rueben's, lasagna, chicken-fried steak and of course, fried chicken on Sundays. They also offer a Sunday morning all-you-can eat buffet that includes bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and homemade fried potatoes.
Sundays are their busiest days, when they serve close to 175 people. After breakfast, they are busy preparing the two-meat Sunday special, making everything homemade. "It involves a little more work but, we think it's well worth it," Scott said.
Scott is proud of Cherie's delicious homemade pies she bakes fresh each day, five days a week. "My guess is that she's made about 20,000 pies," Scott said. Each one is made from scratch often using fresh local fruit. "Coconut cream pie is the most popular," he said. Other popular ones include strawberry/rhubarb, fresh peach pie, sour cream raisin and pecan pie. "She makes a homemade bread pudding that is good, too," Scott said.
Cherie also handles the catering side of the business, sometimes managing seven or eight catering jobs a week. They cater small meals for 10 people up to larger meals for 150-200 people.
Country Cookin' employs 17 people, including Scott and Cherie.
Scott said they depend a lot on local customers, which make up about 60 to 70 percent of their business. With his location next to the Super 8 Hotel and on Hwy 6 & 34, he does enjoy meeting the many travelers who stop at his restaurant. "That's part of the reason I like it so much is because of the people," Scott said.
Country Cookin' is open from 7 am-9 pm Mondays through Fridays, 7 am-8pm on Saturdays and 7:30 am-2 pm on Sundays. During the winter months, they close at 8 pm during the week.
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