​

About Corktown Eatery & Bar

The name Corktown is a nod to the sailors of the Great Lakes more than 100 years ago. Sailors were referred to as “Corkies” because of the cork life vests that they wore on the ships they worked. The West End of Duluth, just off the Harbor of Lake Superior, drew sailors (and their cork life vests) to the area with food, liquor, and lodging, thus the nickname Corktown was bestowed upon the area by the locals. Throughout the 20th century the West End was eventually renamed to Lincoln Park and gradually the neighborhood unfortunately experienced decline and its family friendly reputation suffered.

Fast Forward to 2018 — The revitalization of the Lincoln Park Craft District was in full swing and Corktown Deli & Brews was established as a 35 seat hole in the wall place on the 1900 block of West Superior Street. Over time we came to be known as a great place to grab a unique sandwich and a craft beer all while having a great time with a fun staff.

After a few years of rapid growth, surviving a pandemic, having our cooler and storage located down a flight of stairs in the basement, borrowing freezer space across the street from our sister restaurant OMC Smokehouse; we knew something had to change. We had outgrown our original location. In 2022 we began renovation to what was a warehouse building in which we currently reside today. We have found a niche of fixing up old buildings and have found our forever home in a building we love. Work was completed by our great working partners at Donald Holm Construction in May of 2023. Since then we have updated our name to match our new space — Corktown Eatery & Bar where we have also expanded our seating to over 110 chairs,  food and drink menus to satisfy the lunch and dinner crowds, and grown our staff to even better accommodate the next generation of “Corkies” and non corkies alike.