Located within the historic First National Bank and Trust building in the heart of downtown Vermillion, Cee Cee’s 605 Scratch Kitchen & Bar is the place to be whatever you want to be.
Originally opening as Cee Cee’s Cocktail Lounge, owners Josh Scherrer and Amberly Baus say this was a passion project.
“We had been working in the industry for 10 years, and we wanted to see and bring forward the work we’d done while traveling and working with other companies through our hospitality and marketing management business, ThirdsMedia,” stated Scherrer.
In August 2022, Scherrer and Baus opened the cocktail lounge in just five days.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision,” shared Scherrer. “We had asked about the building the Monday before we opened. We came in and said, ‘Let’s do this!’”
With the help of friends, the lounge was ready for opening with printed menus, a logo, and a statement window piece.
“It was a little stressful, but exciting,” reminisced Scherrer.
“The goal for us is to bring something
different to this area.” -Amberly Baus
After getting their ducks in a row, the couple flipped on the open sign and anticipated their customers.
“We didn’t do any advertising—we wanted to see the organic traffic,” explained Baus. “All we did was turn on the lights, unlock the door, and wait to see what would happen.”
After being open for six months, the lounge continuously grew. The business was now equipped with a small food menu and 30 team members.
“We were completely full here. People were standing and laying on the floor just hanging out,” said Scherrer.
Soon after, the business bled over into its neighboring space—previously home to RED Steakhouse.
Scherrer and Baus moved into the dining room filling the space with artwork from University of South Dakota students and additional décor, couches, and chairs from New 2 You Consignments.
“We just flipped things around to fit how we wanted to make it feel, then slowly opened that side to the public,” said Scherrer.
605’s multimedia designer Cailyn Patterson, sales and account manager Greta Smith, and I traveled to the “city of red” to meet with Baus and Scherrer and experience everything Cee Cee’s had to offer.
Immediately welcoming us with open arms, the couple was excited to show our team around what is known as “Vermillion’s Living Room.”
“We’re a restaurant and a bar, but it’s more laid back,” shared Baus. “This is a place where people can come study, get away, or hide away for the day.”
This was exactly Scherrer and Baus’s intention when developing Cee Cee’s.
Cee Cee’s prides itself on offering high-quality, made-from-scratch dishes with a focus on healthy choices.
The menu is a testament to their commitment to wellness, with a noteworthy emphasis on dairy and gluten-free meals.
“The food itself was built to be simple, beautiful, and good for you,” said Scherrer.
A LASTING LEGACY
Cee Cee’s 605 Scratch Kitchen & Bar was named after Scherrer’s mother Cecelia, and her signature can be found in the restaurant’s primary logo. The Deaner burger was also named after his father.
Cee Cee’s repertoire of meals features a diverse range of items, all crafted with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, when available.
With a balance of vegetables, protein, and starches in every dish, each ingredient—down to the spice—has a purpose.
“Our mentors, Jim Water and Monica Iverson, at Café Brulé and Dakota Brick House always said, ‘Make every move matter,’ and we made sure to implement that into our dishes,” explained Scherrer.
“If you eat here, you’re going to feel better,” added Baus.
Every seasoning, sauce, and syrup is made in-house and is gluten-free and dairy-free, catering to the health-conscious menu without compromising on taste.
Our team can confidently say each dish we tried was packed with flavor and cooked to perfection.
MORE ON THE MENU
STARTERS
» Sweet Heat Blueberry Crostini
Baguette slices with house-made spicy goat cheese, spread, blueberries, with a drizzle of honey and mint.
» Queen Bea
Bacon, egg, avocado, and gruyere cheese, served on honey oat toast with a dash of fruit.
FROM THE GARDEN
» Sirloin & Goat Cheese Salad
Six-ounce sirloin tips, spring mix greens, spinach, red cabbage, and lime slaw, served with Peruvian sauce, and sweet chili vinaigrette.
605 BOWLS
» Ahi Tuna Bowl
Choice of raw or seared Ahi Tuna in sesame ginger sauce, scallion, cilantro, and shishito peppers with rice, red cabbage, radishes, carrots, and avocado.
SMASH BURGERS
» The Truffalo
Truffle aioli, honey thyme buffalo sauce, onions, spring mix, and goat cheese.
HANDHELDS
» Chicken Tango Sandwich
Roasted chicken, mixed greens, sliced grapes, radish, goat cheese, and crushed almonds, on a baguette with sweet heat balsamic.
HOUSE SPECIAL
» Rosemary Ribeye
Choice 21-day aged Black Angus Ribeye with diced baked sweet or red potatoes, and asparagus.
SWEETS
» Fresh Pear Crisp
Fresh pears, oats, and brown sugar.
The staff served us a spread of dishes including Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps, the Tikka Masala Bowl, Pears & Pumpkin Seed Salad,
the Peruvian Meatball Bowl, The Deaner burger, Rosemary Ribeye, and their Acai Bowl.
The effort toward the dishes can be seen throughout their cocktail and mocktail menu.
Scherrer and Baus designed the cocktail menu to reflect the pre-prohibition style, using hand-squeezed and crafted ingredients.
The girls and I sipped an Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour, and an Espresso Martini throughout our meal.
One of the hallmarks of Cee Cee’s is the innovative Zero Proof Alchemy mocktail menu.
“Our food is based on what Amberly and I saw was trending in other states.” -Josh Scherrer
“Our mocktail list is the same size as our cocktail list,” shared Scherrer. “We wanted to ensure our customers will never have to worry about ordering a drink.”
Every cocktail—alcoholic or not—is served in the same type of glass, including everyone in the festivities.
“Being able to offer something like this allows people to come out and have a great time, socialize, and laugh,” said Scherrer.
Baus added, “We wanted it to be inclusive of everything and everybody.”
Cee Cee’s also serves as a venue for events, offering a unique and vibrant environment for parties and celebrations.
Underneath the dining room is The Vault—a private space that can comfortably accommodate up to 36 people.
“We’ve had people host corporate retreats, book releases, quarterly meetings, and movie releases,” shared Baus.
Since much of the original bank architecture was restored and is still present, the space has an old-world nostalgia appeal.
Scherrer and Baus share the work of Cee Cee’s outside of the restaurant walls with their catering services.
“We can host in-house events from 200 people down to five people,” shared Scherrer.
Baus added, “We’ve done off-premise catering, and it’s not just restricted to food. We also offer off site bartending services.”
With over 100 menu items on the catering list from choosing themed mocktails and cocktails, the options are endless for customers.
ZERO PROOF MOCKTAILS
» Cee Cee’s Sangria
Orange, lemon, honey, and Songbird Kombucha.
» At Last
Cucumber, lemon, sugar, and grenadine.
» POMango
Mango puree, POMegrante, and soda water.
“We can do all of it—we provide the service, servers, food, and beverage,” said Scherrer.
Cee Cee’s commitment to excellence not only shines through its menu— it’s also seen through the overall atmosphere.
The pair aims to portray to their customers that the restaurant is full of great food, sociability, and enjoyable music.
“We make sure we don’t turn the music up too loud so everything is at a pace where you can hear yourself,” said Scherrer.
Over the bar, there are a few televisions that show a variety of landscapes, ensuring everyone looks at each other rather than at anything else.
“We intend to bring more of an atmosphere where people feel like they’re at home. As someone has said before, we’re Vermillion’s living room,” explained Baus.
Scherrer mused, “That’s the best compliment we’ve received right there.”
