52 Supper Clubs in 52 Weeks

It took us a few extra weeks but we did it!   For our 52 nd Supper Club dinner we went to the Roxy on Main Street in Oshkosh.    Strictly speaking, the Roxy violates our definition of a supper club because they serve lunch.   We have made exceptions for a few other “city supper clubs” including Mark’s Eastside and The Red Ox in Appleton that also serve lunch, so we felt this was fair because in every other aspect, the Roxy met the true essence of a Wisconsin supper club.   We arrived around 6:00pm and it was reasonably busy for a Monday night.   We found a place at the large and lively bar and our standard BOF’s were very good.     The host informed us that a table would be available whenever we were ready.    We took our time at the bar relaxing and reminiscing about the supper club quest.        Eventually we made our way over to the host stand and were seated in a booth in one of the dining ro...

Saturday night took us on another venture to the Supper Club Mecca of Wisconsin, Calumet County on the east side of Lake Winnebago, this time to Schwarz’s Supper Club in the small hamlet of St. Anna. Ziggy and Evelyn Schwarz opened a one room tavern in 1957 that through three generations has blossomed into a large supper club that today employs more than 100 people, serving up to 700 patrons on a typical weekend night. We arrived about 5:15 to find the parking lots nearly full. After locating a parking spot, we headed for the barroom to find the bar packed, no open stools. Just as we entered, a couple seated right by the door welcomed us as if they knew us and offered us their seats at the bar as they were heading into the dining room.    We gladly accepted their offer and promptly ordered a couple of old fashioneds from one of the friendly bartenders. Schwarz’s bar is a long, backwards L-shaped bar with tables around the perimeter. We guessed that there were well over 1...

The Idlewile is another interesting place located in one of the many small towns in the corridor between Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan.     This area is well known for excellent supper clubs and the Idlewile did not disappoint.   The Idlewile site dates back to 1869 when a hotel called the Northwestern was built.   The hotel and restaurant served businessmen and travelers that came by horse and railroad.    Nick Lansen was the builder of the establishment and there were several long-term owners over the early years.   In 1922 the Enders acquired the hotel and the entire building was rebuilt.   In 1944, the hotel business was given up.    There were many owners between that time and 1990 when the current owners, Brenda and Dave Panko, bought the business.   The Pankos have maintained the buildings historic elements and elegance including the original tile floor, staircase and paned windows, and an old organ in the dinin...

Reaching out to the northwestern perimeter of our 52 mile radius, we ventured to Plover, Wisconsin to the Sky Club.   Named because of its proximity to the Felix Gauthier McDill airport, the history of the establishment dates back to 1935 and like many supper clubs it was a noted stop for travelers and went through a series of different businesses (gas station, diner) before becoming a traditional supper club in the 1950’s.    Since 1961 it has been owned by three generations of the Freund family, with brothers Patrick and Eric as the current owners.   Since it was a Friday night, we arrived early and found a place at the large, but cozy bar.     It appeared there was a regular Friday night crowd.   We ordered two brandy old fashioneds, mine press and Paul’s sweet.   Paul believes it may have been the best he has had to date.   I agreed it ranked high.   After a nice relaxing time at the bar, we informed the host we were ready ...

We decided to head southwest to try the Moose Inn, located on Highway 21 on the east side of Wautoma. We arrived a little before 5:00 and grabbed one of the few seats remaining at the J-shaped bar. The Moose Inn offered a variety of old fashioneds, some pretty exotic, but we decided to stick with the basic, which were excellent. Free baskets of popcorn were served at the bar which was a nice touch. We checked in with the hostess, and since we didn’t have a reservation she said we could head into the dining room in about ten minutes or we would have to wait for another two hours for a table as they had a big group coming in for a holiday party. We opted for Plan A and she gave us one of those flashing pucks (seldom seen in supper clubs) that would alert us when our table was ready. Sure enough, in about ten minutes the puck started to vibrate and flash so we headed for the dining room. The small dining room was nicely decorated for the holidays, linen table cloths and a water pitc...

Little Chicago is located near the intersection of Highways 55 and KK on the outskirts of Kaukauna and is named after a bar that used to be across the street with the same name. Butch Kolosso built the restaurant in 2012. Butch also owned and operated the Lake Park Tavern, known for its Friday fish fries, since 1998. Sadly Butch passed away in October but the restaurant continues to be operated by family members. We arrived around 6:30 and took a seat at the nearly full 3 sided bar and ordered cocktails. The bartender provided us with menus and told us we could head into the dining room whenever we were ready. Ann decided to try the Tuesday Night Pasta Bar and I ordered the fried chicken with French fries. Both dinners came with a trip to the soup and salad bar. The expansive salad bar was fresh and offered pretty much everything you would expect at a supper club, including cheese spreads and liver pate. Both the French onion and the vegetable soups were very good as were the...

We headed south along the east shore of Lake Winnebago to check out Dale and Candi’s Cedar Lodge.   A friend said the place is always packed and suggested we get there early, especially on a Saturday night. We took her advice and arrived at 4:45 and snagged the last two stools at the small bar. The bartender promptly took our drink order, a brandy old fashioned sweet for me and a seven-up on the rocks for Ann, and asked if we had a reservation. We did not, but she said it wouldn’t be a problem,   gave us menus and told us to just let her know when we were ready to order. Dale and Candi have owned the business since 1988. (In the past the building served as a stagecoach rest stop and an icehouse.)   They offer a more extensive menu than most supper clubs and pride themselves on high quality ingredients and a made from scratch cooking philosophy.   After studying the menu we told the bartender that we were ready and a waitress promptly appeared to take our order....

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving we decided to try another “city” supper club, the Union Hotel in De Pere.   While many of the establishments we visited had rich and long histories, the Union Hotel is close to the longest.   The earliest reference goes back to 1868 with the “Union” of course being a Civil War reference.   From 1882 to 1903, the Union House Hotel was owned by the Altmeyer family and then for four years by the Albert Kabat family.   In 1918, it was sold to August and Antonia Maternowski, the great grandparents of the current owners.   Yes – 100 years in the same family.     The evening we were there, the 4 th and 5 th generations were running the bar and restaurant.   The bar is very cozy and excellently maintained in vintage décor.   Pictures validating the history adorn the walls.   The owners were very friendly and chatted with us for a while as we enjoyed our cocktails.   We discussed other longtime su...

Located in Leroy in Dodge County at the intersection of Highways Y and YY, the Wisco, like so many of the supper clubs we’ve visited, has a long and interesting history dating back to the late 1800’s when it was built by Louis Lehner.   It became known as Lehner’s Corner and was a stopping place for stage coaches and travelers.   Over the years it was a main gathering place and business site housing a butcher shop, dance hall, general store, blacksmith shop, and eventually in 1973, when it was home to a tavern and small restaurant, it was bought by Dick and Jeanne Kollmann.   The Kollmanns expanded the dining room and made it into a supper club, serving guests and the people of the community as a gathering place for all sorts of events and special occasions for the next 44 years.   In 2017, Teresa and Mike Amerling bought the business. Teresa is the hostess and Mike is the bartender.   We arrived about 5pm, to meet our friends Jim and Rose, who live in Ger...

On election night we decided to head north to try the Lake Aire Supper Club, located on Hwy Y between Clintonville and Shawano. The restaurant overlooks Round Lake, one of the Cloverleaf Lakes, and features spectacular sunset views from the dining room. Unfortunately we arrived well past sunset so we had to take their word for it. We didn’t get a chance to speak to the owners but I was able to dig up a little history of the place. In the early 1900’s, the Club La Vida, a roadhouse, was located across the street (now a parking lot) and the current Lake Aire building was a brothel. A tunnel was built under the road connecting the two buildings so men could traverse between the two establishments without being detected. During Prohibition, alcohol and prostitutes were brought up from Milwaukee in cattle trucks headed for Aniwa. The women and liquor were hidden in the tunnel if the Feds were in the area. Legend has it that Al Capone and his gang frequented both establishments. The Fe...

Having heard about this iconic supper club from several sources, and given that it was closing for the season on November 3 rd , we chose the Two Lakes Supper Club for this Friday evening.   We drove west of our cottage about 40 miles through some very pretty but desolate county highways to the Two Lakes Supper Club about three miles west of Almond.        This supper club has been owned by the Jagielo family for almost 70 years.   In 1949 Florian Jagielo and George Portesi, both from the Chicago suburb of Cicero, bought the building and turned it into a restaurant and bar.   Florian bought George and Clara Portesi’s part of the business in the mid 50’s and they went on to open a bar in Steven’s Point called Paul’s and to establish the Portesi Pizza franchise.   As a side note, there are a lot of bars named Paul’s and my Paul has been to most of them. Florian brought several siblings and their spouses into the business including ...

This evening we went to the southeastern side of Lake Winnebago to the town of Johnsburg in search of Blanck’s Supper Club.    In 1952, Bob and Hazel Blanck bought a tavern in a building that also housed the town barber shop and the couple’s living quarters.   Over the next several years the barber shop moved and the building was remodeled and expanded into the barroom and dining room that exist today.   Three generations of Blanck’s have run the Supper Club over 65 years, and they still own and operate it today.     We arrived about 6:30 and found a seat at the bar.    The barroom decor featured a deer head and two large walleye mounts.     We relaxed at the bar and Paul had his usual BOFS and I had a vodka tonic.     The bartender offered us menus. The menu was a combination of a typical supper club menu and a bar and grill menu.   They offered some interesting specialty dishes which we decided to try. Paul or...

We headed southwest of Appleton to the Butte des Morts Supper Club in the town of Butte Des Morts on the north shore of Lake Butte des Morts.   Butte des Morts means “hill of the dead” in French, and is the place of ancient Indian burial grounds.   There are also legends about surprise attacks on the Fox Indians by French militia as part of a brutal war between the Fox nation and the French in the early 1700’s that left total villages decimated.   The supper club has been owned by Tim and Joan Riebock for over 10 years, and although this establishment has been a supper club for a very long time I don’t know a lot about the history.   We arrived around 7pm and the small bar was pretty busy.   They had a taco Tuesday special that several people at the bar were enjoying.    We sat down, ordered our drinks, brandy old fashioned and vodka toic, and reviewed the menu. There were some interesting specialty items and we decided to try them.   Paul o...

Our friend from Montana, Dave Schwalbe, joined us for our trip to Krabbe’s Kountry Klub in Seymour on Sunday evening.  Dave is originally from Wisconsin and has an appreciation for the Wisconsin Supper Club tradition.     Krabbe’s was opened in 1985 by Steve and Cheri Krabbe.  After Steve’s employer abruptly closed, Steve looked for a business to start.  Cheri was supportive as long as it was not the bar or restaurant business, because she was a child of restaurant owners and did not want that.  As it worked out, he did not listen to Cheri.  Steve bought the Coachlite Supper Club in 1980.   The Coachlite burned down in 1985.  With the insurance proceeds, they purchased Frank’s Supper Club (where they had had their wedding rehearsal dinner) and turned it into Krabbe’s.  Krabbe’s location is typical of rural supper clubs sitting at a crossing of two county roads.       When we arrived around 6:15pm, i...

On this Tuesday evening we made the drive to Kiel to visit the Millhome Supper Club.   We don’t know much about this establishment except that it is named after the town of Millhome, which is about three miles away from Kiel on the Sheboygan River, and has been family owned since 1979.    It is a large place with three banquet rooms for weddings. We arrived about 7:15 and it was very quiet at the bar.   We ordered our usual BOF’s, sweet for Paul and press for me.   Unfortunately, our bartender was very busy doing other things so we didn’t get a chance to ask about the history of the place. The menu is large and has some interesting dishes.   After finishing our drink, we entered the dining room and observed that there was some kind of meeting going on in one area as all the tables were filled with men.   Our waitress seated us away from the group and informed us that it was the mink breeders association.   I didn’t even know there was...

Following a nice drive up to Neopit to help deliver food donations to St. Anthony’s food pantry, we stopped in Bonduel at Antlers Supper Club.    We arrived much earlier than usual, actually shortly after it opened at 4:00, and were surprised to see a pretty full parking lot which was quickly explained by the Bonduel High School Class of 1960 reunion.   According to the bartender, they meet there every year. We took some seats at the bar and Paul ordered his usual BOFS and I had a vodka tonic.   True to its name, the bar and dining rooms are full of antlers (with heads attached or not) – deer antlers, ram and bighorn sheep antlers.   Antlers everywhere. I don’t know much about the ownership of Antlers, except that our bartender was the owner and she grew up in Seymour. She provided us with menus and a number chip and told us she would summon a waitress, one of her daughters, to take our order whenever we were ready. I opted for the broiled haddock ...

Roepke’s Village Inn is in Charlesburg, about 5 miles south of Chilton on the east side of Lake Winnebago.   Owned by the Roepke family since 1968, the establishment’s roots date all the way back to the 1880’s when like so many other rural supper clubs it began as a saloon and stagecoach stop.   Over the years the building served as a church theatre, grocery store and dance hall before becoming a supper club in the 1940’s. Charlesburg was settled by German immigrants in the mid-1800’s and the restaurant has honored that heritage with a traditional German menu in addition to all the typical supper club items.   When we arrived at about 7pm on a Tuesday night, the barroom was surprisingly busy.   The two bartenders, Tim and Gary, were involved in good natured bantering with the patrons and were quite entertaining.       We sat at the bar, which was roughly in the shape of a 3 leaf clover, and Paul ordered his usual BOFS and I had a vodka tonic...

There’s not a whole lot going on in Larsen at 7:30 on a Saturday night, at least not this particular Saturday. After slowing down to allow two peacocks to cross the road (I assume they do so for the same reason as chickens), we arrived to a full parking lot at the Century Elm Supper Club. Betsy and her family currently own the Century Elm. In the 1940’s and 50’s it was owned and operated by her great grandparents and grandparents. Ken Loehrke purchased the place in the 1970’s. When the opportunity arose Betsy purchased the business as it seemed like part of her destiny that the Century Elm once again be part of her family. Upon entering we found two seats at the busy bar and ordered cocktails. The old fashioneds were properly prepared (orange slice, maraschino cherry and sugar muddled with bitters) and excellent. It seems most places these days premix their old fashioned muddlings to save time so it was nice to see someone prepare one the traditional way.   The barten...

After a round of golf at Weymont Run we ventured to the Crossings Supper Club, outside of Weyauwega where Hwy 110 and Hwy 54 come together.   We arrived about 7:15 and the barroom was not busy.   We took two seats at the U shaped bar and ordered the usual from Loren, our bartender, who is considered a fixture at The Crossings.   Loren said the Crossings has been operating for about 30 years and is owned by Randy Mitchell and his wife, who bought it from Randy’s mother.    There appeared to be a group of “regulars” at the bar as well. Our drinks (Brandy Old Fashioneds, of course) were good and Loren told us he put honey in them.   He gave us menus, which included a typical Friday night fish offering of haddock, perch, and walleye.      A waitress appeared to take our order.   I ordered the perch with sweet potato fries and Paul ordered the haddock with French fries.   She returned to notify us that table 7 was ready whenev...

Returning from Milwaukee on a Saturday night we decided to try the White House Inn in Butte des Morts.   We arrived around 7:30 to find the small parking lot full but upon entering the building found out that it would only be about a 15 minute wait for a table, so we settled in at the small bar and ordered up a couple of our usual brandy old fashioneds. The drinks were muddled and very good. Complementary popcorn was offered at the bar. We chatted with the hostess, who has worked there 18 years, while we waited for our table and she filled us in on a little of the history of the place.   It was originally built around 1900 by the George Walter Brewing Company of Appleton and was operated as a saloon, run by a blacksmith by the name of Smith.   Over the years and through several owners the building housed a saloon, hotel, and was converted to a candy factory and soda fountain during Prohibition. Most of the woodwork in the bar is original, including the hollowed out ...

On a muggy August night following a torrential downpour that flooded our street, we waited for the water to subside and then ventured northwest of Appleton to the Black Otter Supper Club in Hortonville. The Black Otter has been family-owned since 1972 and is currently owned by Bob & Geri Guyette.   Bob & Geri married in 1998 while both were employees at the Otter.   The couple bought the business in 2003, and expanded the building in 2007.   The Black Otter has a large attractive barroom and was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday evening.    When we stepped up to the hostess station, the hostess provided menus and a red number tag that we were told to keep visible.   We found two seats at the busy bar and perused the menu while waiting to order our drinks.   We ordered our usual drinks – BOFS and BOFP with olives.   That stands for Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet and Brandy Old Fashioned Press, for any new readers.   The press versi...

Tonight we ventured to the other end of the lake to Biggar’s Supper Club in Winneconne.   After a long and windy detour of Main Street in Winneconne, we arrived around 7:30.   The attractive barroom had several friendly patrons enjoying the evening.   The bartender, Dennis Biggar, owns the Supper Club with his wife Barb.   The restaurant has a history dating back to 1898 and was owned by the Holtz family for 93 years.   The Biggars have owned it since 2004.    We found some seats at the bar and ordered our standard BOFS and BOFP.   Dennis provided us with menus.    We chatted with Dennis, who is a cousin of our friends Mark and Kim Biggar.   Our drinks were good and we enjoyed them at the bar and after about a half hour a waitress appeared to take our order.   They had several specials including the traditional Saturday Night Prime Rib which Paul ordered along with a loaded potato and French Onion soup.   I went with...

After a dry spell in our Supper Club quest, we decided to try the Pine Tree in Northport, just west of New London. The Pine Tree is a classic rural Supper Club.   The site was originally a cheese factory built in the 1930’s amidst large white pine trees and was actually called the Pine Tree Cheese Factory.   It was sold and transitioned to a dance hall and bar, and then was purchased by Fred and Arlene Birkholz in 1963 and became the Pine Tree Supper Club.   Fred and Arlene were married in 1950 and had previously owned a dairy farm near Weyauwega.   The Supper Club was initially only the size of the current barroom, but in 1984 it nearly tripled in size including the addition of two large dining areas.    Since 1985 the Birkholz children, Mark, Corinne, Debbie and Sue have owned and operated the business.    Notably, the Pine Tree has only had two head chefs over its history, each for 25 years or more.   The Pine Tree has an establi...

Shelley’s Supper Club in Little Chute just celebrated one year in business and is located on Main Street in the same building as Jacks or Better, a well-known Little Chute Supper Club for over 40 years.      We arrived about 6:45 on this summer evening and the intimate oval bar had only a few other patrons. The walls were not plastered with TVs as it seems almost every place is these days.   We ordered our standard BOFs and we were pleased to see that the bartender muddled them and they were served in a larger than usual highball glass.     The bartender offered us a menu.   In addition to the typical Supper Club offering, Shelley’s offers daily specials and a large selection of German Cuisine.   We enjoyed our drinks at the bar and after a few minutes a waitress arrived to take our order.   Paul ordered the special rib-eye with haystack onions and I went with the Muechner Schnitzel, a pork cutlet with horse radish, red cabbage and spae...

George Fiedler opened the doors of George’s in the late 1930’s .   In the early days, patrons would stop in to meet friends or to be entertained by Pal, George’s German Shepherd – whom legend tells, could use the jukebox and cash register. The barroom includes a 125 year old Steinway concert grand piano that is still used for sing-alongs on weekends.     In 1960 George sold to Dod and Eloise Guyon, who then sold to Lou Neuville in 1973.   In 1976, the business was sold to the current owners, Chuck & Edie Quimby. Their son Brad joined his parents in operation of the steakhouse in 1985. Even though it was a Monday in the summer, George’s was pretty busy.   We sat at the cozy bar and ordered our usual Old Fashioneds.   They were good.   Our bartender happened to be an acquaintance from the days when our children were playing soccer, so we visited with her and enjoyed our drinks.   She provided menus and said we could move to our ta...

As mentioned in an earlier post, Door County is outside of our 52 mile radius, but since we make the rules we decided to include a few supper clubs on our recent visit there.   The Florian II was a great surprise.   The rather common looking street entrance in Bailey’s Harbor opens up into a large attractive barroom (the bar is shaped kind of like a W) and is followed by two large dining rooms with a fabulous view of the harbor and Lake Michigan.   The Florian II has a long and interesting history, dating all the way back to the 1800’s when it was a stage coach stop for travelers going to Door County for logging, farming, trapping, and hunting.        It has been owned by the Kwaterski family, originally Ada and Florian, since 1956.   The Kwaterski twins, Joe and Jerry, took over in 1972 following a devastating fire that nearly resulted in the family losing the business.   The twins and their families are still involved in the busi...

Located between Baileys Harbor and Fish Creek, the Greenwood Supper Club has been owned and operated by the same family since 1929.   Arnold and Walter Ohnesorge started the business, originally called the Slipper Inn.   It was a saloon with a stage and dance floor and also sold gas and ice cream.   One claim to fame is that the most-wanted bank robber, John Dillinger, once stopped to gas up at the Slipper Inn.     Arnold left the business early on, but Walter and his wife Eva became the long term owners and turned it into the Greenwood Supper Club with Eva as the head chef.   Susi Kwaterski, Walter and Eva’s daughter, along with her husband Rick bought the business from her parents in 1980.   Rick was the head chef and they ran the Greenwood together for nearly 30 years until Rick passed away in 2009.   When we arrived at the Greenwood around 7:30 or so, the rustic knotty pine barroom was quiet.   We sat at the long bar and had our...