By Carrie Muehling

SPRINGFIELD – The owner and founder of a Springfield restaurant and brewery has gotten back to his farm roots by sourcing local meat and produce from Central Illinois farmers.

“We’re a full-service restaurant and microbrewery in one,” said Brent Schwoerer, owner and founder of Engrained Brewing Company in Springfield. “So we brew our own beer for, basically, consumption on site. And then we also have a farm-to-table restaurant and we’re open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. And, we do brunch on Sundays,”

Schwoerer said they do things a bit differently at Engrained.

“I knew out the gate that we were going to do something that is pretty different in the restaurant and that is buy whole animal,” he added. “So when we bring beef and pork into the restaurant, it’s an entire animal I process through a local butcher shop. We have to forecast almost two years in advance on the beef and six to 12 months on the pork to make sure the supply is coming through.”

Because of that he doesn’t have an infinite number of rib-eyes or pork loin and has to make the mix of cuts that is available work for the menu. He also has to secure a year-round supply of beef, which is a challenge. Family and friends near where Schwoerer grew up in Carlock have been key as he looked for local sources of protein for the restaurant.

“I was able to have these relationships in place. For example, my uncle is one of my vendors and a good, long-time friend that I grew up going to church with also supplies me with beef,” said Schwoerer.

Ken Ropp with Ropp Jersey Cheese provides pork and cheese to the restaurant as well.

“He has a lot of leftover whey from the cheese-making process and basically was discarding it in various ways that weren’t very productive,” added Schwoerer. “When I came along, he forged the idea of feeding the pigs a considerable amount of their diet could be this whey, which has a lot of protein and nutritional value.”

One hundred percent of the pork served at Engrained comes from Ropp Jersey Cheese in Normal and most of the beef comes from two vendors in McLean County.

Schwoerer said sourcing local produce is a challenge in Central Illinois, but he primarily works with Parks Family Farms near Pleasant Plains and that has been successful.

He said he buys dairy products and ice cream from Prairie Farms because that’s where the milk from his uncle’s McLean County dairy farm is processed.

Engrained Brewing Company is located on Springfield’s southwest side.

Listen to the interview with Brent Schwoerer here:

Carrie Muehling can be reached at [email protected].