Glenn and Sally Murphy say their first year as owners of The Cork Tucson has flown by.
Still, they’re ready to party. Wednesday, March 27, the couple will celebrate by giving all guests one free glass of “bubbles” from open to close. The staff will break in its new smoker with a barbecue special that night.
“It’s a bit more casual,” Glenn said. “We can socialize with our guests and do our normal thing. We’ll probably do brisket and all the regulars, like beans. We’re making it a fun night.”
Glenn called the nearly 60-year-old The Cork Tucson a “traditional steak and seafood joint.” The Murphys had been looking to acquire a legacy spot to expand their portfolio.
“I’ve had many, many restaurants over my career,” Glenn said. “It was the right thing for us. It was a good fit for us. We like the more traditional, homey-style restaurants. It’s a very comfortable spot. It’s really old school. We know everybody by name. It’s like ‘Cheers’ on the eastside.”
The menu is rich with savory dishes, created by executive chef Carlos Aponte. Starting with appetizers, the prime rib strips are covered in barbecue sauce and served over garlic mashed potatoes ($13 to $16). Guests can have venison grilled, sauteed or blackened ($18).
Soups are always housemade, Glenn said, with traditional dressings like house vinaigrette, ranch, Italian, bleu cheese, Thousand Island and oil and vinegar.
The main dishes are served with garlic mashed potatoes, baked potato or brown rice blend. Notable entrées are New York Strip, a 12-ounce select Angus beef ($37); and baseball teriyaki with an Angus top sirloin marinated with soy sauce and pineapple juice. The pistachio nut-crusted lamb chops are grilled and served with a creole mustard cream sauce ($47).
On the wild game side, the bison filet is an 8-ounce piece wrapped in jalapeno bacon and char-broiled. The cork barbecue duck is roasted “golden brown” and finished on the grill with a sweet barbecue sauce ($34).
Glenn said a new menu is coming with Spanish-style mussels, with ham and chorizo in it, and roasted marrow, which he called “one of my favorite things to do.”
“We also serve Barrio Bread,” he said. “Don (Guerra, owner) is a good friend of mine, and his product is fantastic.”
Finish it off with Cork bread pudding or Cork mud pie, with chocolate crumble crust, two layers of ice cream, housemade whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. Both are $10.
The couple’s goal is just to keep guests happy.
“Our guests tell us what they like and don’t like, which is good,” Glenn said. “We have a good reputation. Every day at 3 (p.m.), the bar is full. Sometimes we have to open early because there’s a line. The bar’s very, very popular. We have a great happy hour. It’s a little eastside hotspot.”
2024 marks Glenn’s 50th year in the food and beverage industry. He started at age 15 and “restaurants, they get in your blood, and you can't get rid of them. It’s a fun business. It’s a very hard business, especially these days.
“Everyone is struggling with inflation — no one more so than the restaurant business. We have to charge a lot, more than we’ve ever had to.Our margins are a lot smaller than we used to be.”
Throughout it all, The Cork retained more than 90% of its staff — and increased it. The couple streamlined operations by updating in-house technology and moving reservations to OpenTable.
The Cork boasts new bar stools, patio furniture and kitchen equipment. Artwork by Tucson gem Diana Madaras lines the walls, while the old Jonathan’s Cork monument sign was replaced with the burgundy Cork Tucson sign.
Local woodworker Ashley Kraut refinished the 57-year-old solid wood door to a “wonderful turquoise Barrio/Santa Fe” look.
“Ashley Kraut did our front door and she did an exceptional job,” Glenn said. “It looks like something you may have seen in Santa Fe.”
The Cork is sprinkled with nods to Glenn’s career in the music industry.
Hailing from Perth, Australia, Glenn moved to New Mexico to build a restaurant with his father — he was the operator and his father was the architect. On a trip from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, he stopped in Tucson. He has been here 25 years. Glenn and Sally have a production company called Flat Dog Films.
The entertainment industry is nothing new to Glenn. He’s worked with Keith Urban and INXS, and owned the live concert venue Backstage, which hosted a slew of acts from Hootie & the Blowfish to Jose Feliciano.
“The party we’re planning is to celebrate the challenges of owning a nearly 60-year-old building, the thrill of taking over a legacy business and the absolute joy of meeting so many long-time guests who cherish the atmosphere of this wonderful space,” Sally said.
The Cork
6320 E. Tanque Verde Road, Tucson
www.corktucson.com
