52 Supper Clubs in 52 Weeks

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...

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...

Tonight we decided to head down the east side of Lake Winnebago to try Jim and Linda’s Lakeview Supper Club in Pipe.   This year Jim and Linda Koenigs are celebrating 40 years in business. The building has gone through several remodels and expansions since they purchased Harry’s Lakeview in September 1978 when Jim was just 19 years old and Linda Meyer was 20. The result is a thriving dinner business featuring beautiful sunsets close to the shore of Lake Winnebago. We arrived around 6:45 to a half full bar room featuring a large oval shaped bar.   The bartender promptly served up a couple of old fashioneds, strong and very good, and put our name on the list for dinner. We enjoyed the view, catching part of the Brewer game and snacking on the pretzel mix provided with our cocktails. A large stuffed sturgeon was in a display case in the corner of the room, not unusual for a Lake Winnebago watering hole. A waitress soon came and took our order and told us we could head o...

Located in the unincorporated village of Mill Center, northwest of Green Bay, the Kropp’s Supper Club building dates back to 1904 and was originally a tavern, food and lodging establishment for weary travelers in horse-drawn wagons to stop on the way to and from Green Bay.   The Kropp family has owned the supper club since 1947.     They are open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and from 3-8 on Sundays following noon home Packer games. We arrived around 7pm when a large group of senior citizens, quite a bit older than us, was just leaving, all with smiles on their faces and small boxes of leftovers in hand, always a good sign.   The long bar and tables in the barroom were pretty full with what seemed to be a lot of “regulars” and some families with children but we managed to find two seats at the bar.     As soon as we sat down, the bartender, Gillie, who is a Kropp son-in-law, approached us for our drink order. The old fashioned...

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...