LS Tap Bar and Grill draws a social crowd

LIME SPRINGS - LS Tap Bar and Grill offers Howard County customers a new option for delicious food and alcoholic beverages. Located at 106 West Main Street in downtown Lime Springs, the new eatery/bar features Lime Springs-specific décor and a full menu for lunch and dinner dining.

This isn’t the first rodeo for owners Nick and Kristen Burke, who make their home just outside Schley. “We owned LT Tap in Little Turkey for a couple of years, from 2018 to 2020,” Kristen said. That experience was fundamental to their decision to open LS Tap.

Originally, they intended LS Tap to be a bar with food, but things have turned out a little differently than  planned. “We’re more of a restaurant,” Nick said. 

“At first, we wanted to be a bar with some food,” Kristen added, “but we’ve kind of become more of a grill with alcohol.” 

“It works,” Nick said. “We’re not complaining.”

In fact, LS Tap, which has been open since Jan. 5 and employs 12 people, is looking for more cooks. Their menu runs the gamut from a full selection of appetizers and wings to burgers and other sandwiches, baskets (including kids’ baskets) and even salads.

They also run specials, like Wings Wednesday, which is particularly popular, and Fish Friday, which features cod and shrimp. Other specials run on a periodic basis and are announced on the LS Tap Bar and Grill Facebook page. 

But there’s more going on than just food. Recently, LS Tap had a Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday celebration and an adult prom night with a local DJ. They plan to do more of that.

“We’d like to try something once a month at least,” Nick said. “I would like to put maybe a Ranger Ride [side-by-side UTVs] together, and maybe a car show. Just things like that to bring people to town. Something we can put together for charity or for a benefit.”

“We’ve been doing a lot of involvement with the community,” Nick added. “So far, a lot with the fire department, raising money for them . . . and for the Community Club.”

They also have a large display window looking out onto the street that they’d like to see filled with community-relevant displays. “I would like to get some small businesses or local groups that want to promote something to put things in there,” Kristen said. The display window would be on a monthly basis, by reservation, and would be at no charge … a great way to promote local events.

“We want to support the community in any way we can,” Nick said. “And also have a place where the community can come and have fun, too.”

With three big screen TVs for sports viewing, a digital Touch Tunes jukebox for music and plenty of good things to eat and drink, LS Tap Bar and Grill has a little bit of everything for a wide variety of customers. And their ideal crowd? They both agreed: a social crowd.

And that’s the crowd they’ve been drawing since early January. “It’s been great so far,” Nick said.  “A lot of support here. And we really enjoy it. It’s been a lot of fun.”

The LS Tap Bar and Grill is open on Wednesday and Thursday from 4-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.