Road Trip for James Beard Runzas & Outsider Art

6th Floor - Paintings by Dan Miller (Oakland) Furniture by Chris Prinz (Omaha)

Last week, I broke away from the studio for a road trip with my friend Chad Graff to his hometown of McCook, Nebraska. Chad recently opened a space called 6^th Floor in the historic Keystone Building. 6^th Floor is a beautifully deconstructed environment for community engagement and creative activities. It includes a 360-degree view of downtown McCook and exhibits part of Chad and his wife Joann’s impressive collection of outsider art, along with collected works by Nebraska artists. While spending time at 6^th Floor, I had the opportunity to experience a visiting class of 6^th graders and watch them interact with the space and artwork. Their curiosity was inspiring.

Chad introduced me to his friend Matt Sehnert, who owns Sehnert’s - a 4^th generation German bakery, restaurant, and live music venue down the block from 6th Floor. Matt just received a James Beard Award for his divine ethnic baked goods including:

• Bieroc – An artisanal Runza offered with cabbage or kraut. I ate several of each during my stay. They are incredible.
• Stollen – A sweet Christmas bread dating back to 1329. It’s filled with fruit and nuts and admittedly not something I gravitate towards. However, Matt served me a thick slice with the top oven broiled and buttered. I helplessly devoured it.

Honored Matt Sehnert wears an ARTIFACT No.445H Apron in twill

Preparing freshly baked stollen bread

There was a lot of eating on this trip. Our last stop before heading back to Omaha was lunch at a time capsule called Mac’s Drive-In. We ordered hand pattied cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and vanilla milk shakes from a telephone at our booth. Mac’s opened in 1943 and I found it comforting they have been able to lock in on a staple menu without temptation to change much of anything in 75 years.

Mac's Drive-In is charming and delicious

Chad phones in our order