52 Supper Clubs in 52 Weeks

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...

Door County is outside of our 52 mile radius, but we are on vacation here and decided to sample the supper clubs of the area.   Mr. G’s has been owned by the Geitner family since 1973, originally owned by Bob and Lorraine and then purchased by Bob Jr. in 1981.   Prior to 1973 the place was known as the Paldora Supper Club and Fernwood Gardens Ballroom. We arrived late, close to 8pm, and the dining room was full, but the barroom had cleared out.   The local Rotary Club was having a dinner in a private room adjacent to the bar. We had our traditional BOFS and BOFP.   They were good.   A small table with crackers, cheese spreads and liver pate was set up between the bar area and dining room. The bartender informed us she was an Oshkosh native, but has lived in Door County a long time and raised her children here.   She gave us menus and regretted to inform us that they were out of the nightly special, prime rib.   We enjoyed our drinks and in a ...

Van Abel’s was opened in 1848 by Martin Van Abel as a resting point for cattle drives headed for Green Bay. The original building featured a saloon and an inn on the second floor. Martin eventually passed the business down to his sons Bill and Albert, who passed the business down to their sons Wilfred and Don. In 2002, Wilfred and Don passed the business on to their 10 children who still run the place today. The business has gone through a lot of changes over the years and today emphasizes banquets, weddings and off site catering but still runs the supper club as well.   We arrived at the bar around 7:00 and ordered the usual old fashioneds, which were very good. There were a couple people at the bar waiting for carry out orders and only two tables occupied in the dining room. A tray of crackers, cheese spreads and liver pate was set up next to the bar. The walls were adorned with blown up black and white photos dating back to I would guess the 60’s and 70’s of patrons having...