Today is the last day of operations for Twisted Fork, but not necessarily the last chance to enjoy its signature dishes. A food truck is already in the works, and the owners said they haven’t ruled out reopening down the road in a different location.
“We’ll have to get our bearings for a few months,” said Amanda Sandner, who co-owns the business with her husband, Jered Sandner. “We certainly would like to be able to open again, probably somewhere with more parking.”
Twisted Fork opened Oct. 6 at 400 E. Jefferson, the restaurant space inside the historic St. Nicholas Apartments. The space had been vacant since Nu-Voh closed in the spring of 2022.
“We had a busy couple months when we first opened, then it slowed down after the holidays, which is typical in the industry,” said Sandner. “We were anticipating a bounce back once the weather warmed up, but we just weren’t getting the volume of guests that we needed. It wasn’t enough for us to continue.”
The couple’s culinary journey began with winning a mac-and-cheese competition held at George Rank’s, then holding pop-up events at the bar on South Sixth Street. The Sandners purchased a food truck and had planned to transition to that as the next stage for Twisted Fork before coming across the former Nu-Voh space, which required little in the way of renovations.
“We still have our food trailer, so we have that as an option,” Sandner said. “We just didn’t have time to devote to getting it ready while we were in the restaurant, but we hope to have it up and running by fall.”
Sandner noted that several of the current staff have expressed interest in working with the couple again once the food truck is operational, or coming back if Twisted Fork later reopens in a new location.
Sandner said her husband, Jered, who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, is committed to reviving it in some form. “He definitely doesn’t want to see Twisted Fork go away forever.”
