Perfect Pairing | Board & Barrel

By Kim Gronniger
Photos By Brian Peters

If you’re looking for a cozy gathering spot for drinks and a dining experience for lunch or dinner, Board & Barrel offers both. The new restaurant has inviting décor, an extensive wine list and a scratch kitchen featuring USDA-prime steaks, chicken parmigiana and homemade pasta, with crème brûlée, cheesecake and sorbet to finish your meal. 

Board & Barrel, located at 1709 SW Gage Blvd., also hosts seasonal tasting menus paired with wines from around the world with descriptions delivered by label sommeliers. 

The restaurant, open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., serves pasta, salads and sandwiches for lunch beginning at 11 a.m. and dinner starting at 4 p.m. The bar menu includes a list of 73 wines, a 10-bottle reserve list, spirits, rotating craft cocktails, mocktails and beer. 

A Dream Years In The Making

Nathan Mikoleit, an enrolled agent and vice president at Mikoleit Inc. and president of Mikoleit Wealth Management and Top Hat Collective Inc., had envisioned opening a business adjacent to Custenborder Florist, which his parents own, for four years before bringing his dream to fruition. 

“I had a cigar shop in the space for a little while, but I was looking for something classier that would complement the celebratory aspect of the flower shop,” he said. “The restaurant is my pet project.”  

The restaurant is near Washburn University, where Nathan played football, and he says he hopes it will become an option for recruitment dinners and a welcoming space for people of all backgrounds for all occasions, including date-night dinners, business lunches and casual happy hour hangouts. 

“We want Board & Barrel to be a destination for people from all sides of the city, a hidden gem in the neighborhood,” he said. 

Nathan reached out to Tre Hopkins, owner of Flavor Wagon 785, and Dalton Burchett to put the plan together. Tre handles the kitchen. Dalton oversees front-of-house operations, including cocktails, and Nathan is responsible for the business operations and wine relationships. 

Nathan completed a Wine & Spirit Education Trust, or WSET, wine tasting boot camp and will soon sit for his next level of the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas course.  

“Nathan introduced me to good wines on a trip to Napa Valley that opened my eyes to how intricate winemaking is and how different the grapes are,” Dalton said. “It was a long way from the Franzia chillable red in a bag and a box my mom used to drink when I was in high school.” 

Before the trip to Napa Valley, Dalton says he had never participated in a wine pairing and was struck by how the accompanying drink could alter and enhance the taste of a particular dish. 

“If you don’t like wine, you may not have found the right one for you,” he said. 

Stirring Up The Menu

Tre has loved cooking since he was a kid and runs the Flavor Wagon 785 global-fare food truck and offers grazing table catering spreads. He says his work at the restaurant fuels his creativity and he has enjoyed cultivating repeat customers for his spicy vodka radiatori, ribeye with garlic butter, and rigatoni alla norcina, a comfort-food favorite made with sausage and heavy cream.  

Tre’s sandwiches include a shaved ribeye, a grinder stuffed with Italian meats, lettuce and red chiles topped with a roasted garlic aioli and red vinegar, and a pistachio pesto mortadella option. 

“I did a lot of research into Italian regions to create the menu and bought North African spices to add flavor and garnish the food,” he said. “It’s been cool to see the variety of people who’ve come in to experience the place and it’s awesome that we’ve had so many customers come back weekly.” 

All three men are fathers with young children and have interconnected relationships with each other and with extended family and friends in the community. 

Dalton continues to work at Speck’s Bar & Grill, which is owned by Nathan’s wife, Darian Mikoleit. 

“I’m glad the restaurants are on the same street,” he said. 

Tre and Dalton met at Carlos O’Kelly’s when Dalton was a busboy and Tre worked in the kitchen. Nathan’s father-in-law, Steve Sanner, completed the restaurant renovations. 

The restaurant’s ribeyes are USDA prime, sourced through the Braveheart program of Performance Food Group. Filets and strip steaks are from Better Fed Foods and are all Kansas raised and finished. The bread that accompanies meals and is used for sandwiches, the only item not made from scratch, is provided by H&A Sourdough Bakery, which opened this fall in Fairlawn Plaza Mall. 

“We want to be the best kitchen and experience available locally,” Tre’ said. “We’re in the capital city and we want to celebrate what we can bring to it.” 

Nathan hopes the restaurant will also expand patrons’ knowledge and appreciation for good wine. 

“I hope our wine selection encourages people to branch out and experience new things,” he said. “We’ve had some people take pictures of wine bottles they’ve ordered glasses from so they can buy those wines the next time they go to the liquor store.” 

Recipe For Respect

Running a restaurant, especially with three co-owners, requires strong communication and respectful relationships. 

“Opening any business is hard and running a restaurant is one of the hardest things, so we’re all committed to being transparent because everything we’re doing is to make us better,” Nathan said. “If we call each other out, we don’t feel targeted.” 

Combining their ideas has led to accommodations for customers with gluten and dairy restrictions and a vegan pasta option when preferences are shared in advance. Board & Barrel also has plans for a subscription pasta service with a recipe card for cooking at home, a monthly wine club featuring two bottles available for pickup and a monthly lasagna club. Themed charcuterie boards and cheesecakes are also available for ordering. 

“We’re in a good place with the restaurant but we want to keep evolving and getting better,” Dalton said. “We’re never satisfied.” 

The partners are also focused on creating a positive working environment for their team and building camaraderie. 

“We know our employees won’t be with us for 30 years, but we want to cultivate great talent in the culinary space and teach them well so when they move to a different venture or open their own place, they will focus on elevating others too,” Nathan said. “Topeka has a lot of good things happening right now and we’re glad we can play a part in it.”