52 Supper Clubs in 52 Weeks

This evening we drove north from Appleton to Geno’s Hilltop Steakhouse on Old Highway 47 between Black Creek and Bonduel.   We arrived at about 6:30 and the friendly barroom was fairly busy.    A couple families with small children drinking kiddie cocktails were seated at tables in the barroom, typical in Wisconsin and no place else.   We sat at the L-shaped bar and Paul ordered his usual BOFS, but I went with a short vodka tonic since the weather was so warm.   The bartender noted the specials and provided us with menus.   We talked with the bartender and she informed us that Geno, who purchased the supper club in 1999, sold it to his daughter Nicole a couple of years ago. Now Geno only comes in to work on Wednesdays so we missed him by a night.   She didn’t know much else about the history of the place other than it had been around for a while and was most recently called Kelly’s Steakhouse and before that Steve’s Steakhouse, or vice versa....

On Thursday night we headed north to another interesting and historic Supper Club, Wally’s Spot in Green Bay.   Wally’s Spot has been owned by the Adamany family since 1948.     Wally’s Spot was originally located along the Fox River on Washington street and was moved in 1969 to its current Main street location.    We arrived at Wally’s about 6:30 and it was pretty quiet.   They have a large oval bar and a great vintage décor, including our bartender who had a large “bouffant with a flip” hairstyle.    She was very friendly and had been there for 21 years.      According to our bartender, the current owner, Tom, is the son of the originators and is very active in the business   The barroom had a wall of mirrors on one side, a signed Reggie White jersey on display, and free snacks (veggies, dip, cheese, liver, and garlic spreads and crackers).       The BOF’s were good and strong.   D...

Since we have started our quest, we have discovered many interesting historic Supper Clubs in the surrounding area.   The Hotel Seymour Supper Club certainly fit that description.   The building dates back to 1898 and was originally known as the Hotel Falck, a 28 room establishment with a barber shop and showers in the basement for travelers, often salesman, arriving on the Green Bay and Western Railroad.   In 1951 it became the Hotel Seymour.   Two hotel rooms and 4 apartments in the building are still used today.     We arrived at about 7:30 on a Saturday night.   The Hotel Seymour has a large oval bar and a back lounge room with plenty of seating.   It was busy and everyone in the barroom was quite friendly, smiling and saying hello as we worked our way around the bar to find two open seats.   The bartender greeted us and took our standard drink order – BOFP, BOFS.     The drinks were good and strong.   We checked ...

For Mother’s Day my siblings and I took my mother to the Red Ox for dinner, kind of an annual tradition. I’ve been to the Red Ox dozens of times over the years for dinner, family gatherings, or just to watch a Packer game on TV in the bar room.   The food and service have always been top notch. While the Red Ox doesn’t advertise itself as a supper club, is open for lunch 7 days a week and has a far more expansive menu than the typical supper club, we decided it has enough supper club characteristics to include it in our list of 52. Years ago a supper club called Alex’s Crown occupied the building, and Reetz’s Supper Club was just down the street.   Reetz’s closed decades ago, but the Red Ox is a prime example of how supper clubs, particularly in urban areas, have had to adapt over the years to compete with ever expanding dining options by offering larger menus and extended business hours.   The Red Ox opened in 1974 and c urrent owner John Hayes and his longtime sta...

We decided to venture to the Granary Supper Club located on County M in the small village of Sherwood, near High Cliff State Park.   In the early 1900’s the Granary site was a general store and later transformed into a tavern and barbershop, becoming a supper club sometime around the middle of the century.   It was named for the nearby grain elevators.    It appears to have had a series of owners throughout its history and is currently owned by the Eggert family.   When we arrived we found the last two open seats at the bar.   The bartender was friendly and took our standard BOFP and BOFS orders.   As with every supper club, the drinks taste slightly different.   We both thought these were quite good.    The bartender supplied menus and we sat back and relaxed.   The barroom was comfortable, adorned with the Budweiser Clydesdales and similar working horse and farming pictures.   We told the bartender we were ready to ...

Tonight we decided to try the Prime Steer on the outskirts of the Hawaiian village of Kau-Kau-Na. We arrived around six thirty to a crowded barroom, not unusual for a popular supper club on a Saturday night.   As luck would have it we nabbed the last two seats at the closed polygonal bar and settled in for a couple of old fashioneds.   We checked in with the hostess and were told it would be about a thirty to forty five minute wait. No problem as we were in no hurry and the cocktails and complementary garlic pretzels were very good. The Prime Steer has been in business since 1973 and owned by the Natrop family since 1982.   Members of the Natrop family also own and operate Haase’s Supper Club in Borth (see previous post) and the Wedgewood Supper Club in Omro (see possible future post). The waitress took our order at the bar and returned a few minutes later to tell us that our table was ready and to help ourselves to the salad bar. The salad bar was typical suppe...

On Friday April 20 th we chose a supper club I had not heard of before called the Village Limits, located on the east edge of Little Chute.    When we arrived at about 6:30 on Friday night, the large circular bar was full and the entire barroom had a friendly and lively atmosphere.   We saw some friends I had worked with at Appleton Papers/Appleton Coated and chatted with them while we waited for a spot at the bar to open.   Soon some spots opened up and we ordered cocktails.   Our friends happened to be regulars at The Village Limits, as it appeared were most of the other people in the place.   We learned that back in the late 60’s/ early 70’s the place was a “beer bar” called the Log Cabin.   For anyone young who might be reading this, there was a period of time when the drinking age was 18 for beer and 21 for liquor, so beer bars became popular for the 18-20 year old crowd.   Brothers Skin and Bruce Hartjes have owned the Village Lim...