Door County Living - Early Summer 2024

At Door County Medical Center we use a certified anesthesiologist for colonoscopy procedures. Full anesthesia provides the most comfort for a less than comfortable situation AND allows us the opportunity to immediately address certain issues if discovered.

The surgeons at Door County Medical Center have been performing colonoscopies for more than 30 years, with our polyp detection rate consistently greater than the national standard.

If you are over 45, talk with your provider about a colonoscopy at Door County Medical Center, where we put patients first.

NAPA VALLEY ?

Just 2500 miles northeast of Napa Valley, you’ll find a whole other wine country. Peaceful. Unpoiled. Delightfully uncrowded. There, nestled in the beauty of Door County, you’ll find Stone’s Throw Winery.

We invite you to sample our fine wines made from fresh California grapes (not juice) in the traditional one barrel at-a-time way. Enjoy Vino!Vino!, our Wine Bar. Play bocce ball...Have a glass or two with friends.

At Stone’s Throw, you’ll experience a whole other wine country. Discover it for yourself, before everyone else does.

STONE’S THROW WINERY

Ultra-Premium Grape Wines Made in Door County

DWELL DWELL

editor Myles Dannhausen Jr.

copy editor

Sally Collins

creative director Katie Hohmann

design associate Renee Puccini

sales managers

Jess Farley, Stephen Grutzmacher, Megan Schneider

courier

The Paper Boy, LLC

distribution experts

Jeff Andersen, Chris Eckland, Todd Jahnke, David Nielsen, Gavin Jahnke, Guy Fortin, Dan Farrell

office manager

Ben Pothast

assistant office manager Kait Shanks

chief technology officer

Nate Bell

contributors

Sally Collins, Steve Grutzmacher, Kayla Larsen, Charlotte Lukes, Jess Farley, Brett Kosmider, John Mielke, Chris Miller, Chris Rugowski, Craig Sterrett, Sam Watson

publisher David Eliot

owners

David Eliot and Myles Dannhausen Jr.

Door County Living, Inc. 8142 Hwy 57, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202 920.839.2120 info@doorcountyliving.com doorcountypulse.com

Volume 22 Issue 1 21,700 copies (17,047 mailed)

Door County Living, celebrating the culture and lifestyle of the Door peninsula, is published five times annually by Peninsula Publishing & Distribution, Inc., 8142 Hwy 57, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202.

To order a subscription, please mail a check for $25 to Door County Living, 8142 Hwy 57, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202. If you would like to advertise, please visit doorcountymarketing. com.

© 2024 Peninsula Publishing & Distribution, Inc. All rights reserved. Door County Living is a Peninsula Publishing & Distribution, Inc. company. Locally owned. Locally minded.

CURIOSITIES 14

OUTDOOR

Get Lost at Logan Creek 19

A Fast Finish, A Fresh Start 23

Eduardo Neri’s year of big finishes

CAMEO

Brewing His Own Scene 26

Bridge Up’s Trent Snyder

FEATURE

The Rock Collectors 32

Door County Rock & Gem

TOPSIDE

A Dream Fulfilled 38

Rodger Forkert and the Panache

MUSIC

Writers First 44

WRiTERS’ NiGHT at the Tambour ine

Lounge is not your typical open mic

HABITAT

Shadowcliff 50

Resurrecting Ben Heineman’s legendary home office

ART

Living for Color 60

The bold artistry of Lynn Gilchrist

DOOR TO NATURE

Humming into Summer 64

HISTORY

Relics of the Road 70

Owners give new life to classic motels

FAIRWAYS

Secrets of the Links 78

IN YOUR GLASS

Growing Together 82

Wineries put Door County on the world map

CONTRIBUTORS 10

EDITOR’S NOTE 11

RESTAURANT GUIDE 88

On the Cover

Looking out to the waters of Green Bay through the windows of Shadowcliff.

Trilliums on the forest floor. Photo by Brett Kosmider.

Photo by Brett Kosmider.

CON TRIB UTORS

Writer, editor and libriarian SALLY COLLINS has been sharing stories of the peninsula since ‘08. Her first novel, ‘Muddled Cherries,’ comes out in August.

Writer and editor MYLES DANNHAUSEN JR. has been searching out stories for Door County Living since 2005.

JESS FARLEY lives happily in Jacksonport with her fiance, their dog Berndette and teenage boy. Culinary arts are something she loves to share. Feeding friends and family feeds her soul.

STEVE GRUTZMACHER has been around Door County since 1970 and has been working with Peninsula Publishing & Distribution for over 20 years. Yes, Steve is old.

KATIE HOHMANN is the creative and when she isn’t sitting at her desk, she’s standing at it. Her time outside of the o ce is spent painting, paddleboarding and laughing in good company.

Filmmaker and photographer BRETT KOSMIDER’s is a co-founder and filmmaker at Peninsula Filmworks.

The Forever Spring

This spring hasn’t felt the same. That will happen when you never really have a winter. Sure, those polar-vortex winters a few years back were a struggle to endure; they were the kind of winters that made you feel like you had stepped into the ring for an unrelenting 15-round fight, the haymakers landing for months on end.

But the depths of those winters also brought a camaraderie, a feeling come mid-April that you and your neighbors had achieved something together by getting through it. When that first 35-degree day arrived in what our calendar calls spring, but we might as well call “second winter,” some friends would bust out the shorts and t-shirts. A stop at the coffee shop would elicit a friendly hello, and a relieved smile would crawl out from behind a bartender’s beard.

the corner in the glorious rays of a 39-degree April aft ernoon.

By the time this issue is in your hands, however, spring will be fully upon us. We’ll be gearing up for the Door County Half Marathon, researching spring wildflower hikes and putting out our hummingbird feeders.

Hopefully, this hits your mailbox on a sunny aft ernoon when you have an hour to spare to dive into the stories of your neighbors. Get to know the brilliant colors of artist Lynn Gilchrist with Sally Collins, and the joy of runner Eduardo Neri. Learn the answers to questions like what the “A” and “C” in the AC Tap stands for, and why that long pier juts across the bay alongside Sturgeon Bay’s Steel Bridge.

Photographer KAYLA LARSEN is a Door County native who has spent most of her years on the peninsula. After spending 25 years in the service industry, she now loves to capture images of the people and places in her community. She and her husband James live outside Sister Bay with their son Beau. Since the passing of her husband, Roy, in 2016, CHARLOTTE LUKES writes to fulfill his mission to help educate and inspire readers to learn, care for and protect our native species and the natural world.

JOHN MIELKE is retired from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He and his wife, Patti, and their poodle, Riley, live on Rileys Bay. Together they enjoy exploring all Door County has to o er.

CHRIS RUGOWSKI is a Wisconsin-based musician and a photojournalist. In this issue he explores the scene at WRiTER’S NiGHT at The Tambourine Lounge in Sturgeon Bay. Outdoors enthusiast CRAIG STERRETT of Egg Harbor has more than three decades of journalism experience and a passion for the links.

SAM WATSON is a reporter for the Peninsula Pulse. The 2022 UW-Madison graduate lives in Sister Bay with her partner and two cats, Desmond and Penny. When she’s not writing, she likes to cook and watch horror movies.

On those days, you didn’t even need to make small talk about the weather. The feeling was conveyed simply with a marginal nod and slight raise of a coffee cup, as if to say, “We did it.”

As much as I liked taking my toddlers to the playground this February, I missed bundling them up for Hill 17 and making elaborate forts in the snowbank. I’ve grown partial to winter with age. At age 45, I’ve accumulated the gear to make the coldest days bearable. I own an ergonomic shovel and a car that isn’t stymied by an inch of snow at the end of my driveway.

This year, spring was upon us in mid-January (not the beautiful green spring of the south, but the muddy gray spring of Wisconsin). As I write this on the 16th of April, I miss that feeling of the dam breaking on spring all at once. The big melt, the flooded fields, the hardiest of us busting out the patio chairs for a beer on

Go inside the cozy confines of the Tambourine Lounge to experience WRiTERS’ NiGHT with Chris Rugowski, and take a nostalgic cruise to some of the last classic motels on the peninsula with John Mielke.

And in this issue’s feature, I’ll take you inside Shadowcliff, the mysterious box hanging off the bluff in Ellison Bay that has intrigued me since my first cruise under it along the Ellison Bay shoreline 25 years ago.

Here’s to spring and new discoveries. And here’s to hoping I’ve jinxed us into a long winter full of snow next year.

Thanks for reading.

Join the State Parks Challenge Grant Initiative

Door County state park to future generations. We believe in the power of community, and that’s why Destination Door County is challenging residents and visitors to raise $50,000 in donations for each state park through a special parks challenge grant initiative. With $500,000 already committed by Destination Door County, your additional donation will boost the total to $750,000 for our beloved state parks.

If you hold any one (or all!) of Door County’s State Parks near and dear to your heart, help them flourish into the future by becoming a Guardian of the Greens.

CURIOSITIES

Connecting Generations

When Sevastopol School received a $25 million makeover in 2021, the reimagined corridors brought much-needed modern touches to the student experience. Large windows bathe spaces in natural light, wider hallways provide room to roam and garage doors make classrooms expandable.

But in the midst of everything new, there’s also a nod to tradition. In the atrium where the new school meets the 1965 building, an engraved stone that reads “Conley School” was relocated from the wall of the 1924 main entryway and placed into a brick wall, as were two white stone shields from the outside wall of the original structure.

And on the stairwell, an otherwise-nondescript railing connects generations. Planners incorporated portions of the handrails from the original 1924 building into the railing in the stairwell.

“Almost certainly, every student who has ever graduated from Sevastopol High School has touched these handrails,” said Superintendent Kyle Leudtke. “And now, so will every student who graduates from Sevastopol in the future.”

Photos by Rachel Lukas.

(Left) The Ahnapee and Western Toll Bridge. W.C. Shroeder photo - Andy Laurent collection. (Right) The remnant of the toll bridge as seen from the top of the Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.

Who Put the “A” and “C” in the Tap?

When an establishment is around as long as the AC Tap, its name becomes a part of the local language, a word of its own. You can hear it – and say it – hundreds of times before you stumble one day and wonder what the heck the “A” and “C” stand for anyway.

It turns out it was pretty simple. When Carl Becker and Al Smith bought the tavern from Irving Miller in 1947, they didn’t look past their

first initials to come up with a name. Originally the A and C Tap, the owners eventually decided that was too wordy and shortened it to AC. Even that is a little long for locals, who usually refer to it simply as The Tap. Smith didn’t stick in the business very long, but his initial did.

The dive, known as a favorite of Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon and famous for serving food till 2 am, got new owners in April.

After 22 years, stewards Steve and Tara Mueller sold to a group that includes their daughter Syndal and her husband Chris Chayer, Elizabeth “Bibs” Maloney and her husband Merih Bayirli, and Mike and Leah Sadler.

The new owners have no plans to change the name to match all of their initials.

The Pier at Sonny’s

From atop the Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower, you can look to the west and see the bluffs of Potawatomi State Park on one side of Sturgeon Bay, and the old Leathem and Smith Quarry on the other. Beyond them is the enormity of the bay of Green Bay, but one of the most intriguing sites in the view is much closer to you.

Jutting out from the back side of Sonny’s Pizzeria is a long, thin finger that almost points across the bay toward Stone Harbor Resort. Those not attuned to the city’s history might assume it’s a natural feature, or maybe a breakwall constructed to protect the boats in the Sonny’s marina.

But that finger is actually a repurposed part of the city’s industrial history.

U RIO SITIES

In 1887, John D. Leathem and Thomas H. Smith built a toll bridge made of wooden planks on a timber pile trestle, with a center-pivoting truss to allow boats to get through.

In 1894, the Ahnapee and Western Railway completed a rail crossing by attaching tracks to the bridge for a new western rail approach. The city owned it from 1911 to 1931, when the Michigan Street Bridge was built. Then Ahnapee and Western took it over again, and in 1946 added fill to the western approach, creating the long finger that has served as a public walkway and park since the late 1980s.

(Left) Carl Becker. Photo courtesy of Steve Mueller. (Right) The AC Tap in April of 2024. Photos by Myles Dannhausen Jr.

It Matters Where You Bank

When you bank with Nicolet National Bank you contribute to the local economy and quality of life in Door County. Together, businesses are started, homes are built and families are guided through every stage of life. At Nicolet Bank, we believe we are only as good as the communities we serve. We give back to the community we love by supporting the arts, human services, economic development, education and more. Working together we can make our community the best it can be.

Proud to support Door County, because we work and live here too.

Get Lost at Logan Creek

OK, not literally. But Logan Creek State Natural Area is a great place to get away from it all. Located two and a half miles south of Jacksonport on Loritz Road, this 169-acre parcel owned by The Ridges Sanctuary borders the 5.4-mile long creek that flows from Lost Lake into Clark Lake.

Difficulty: Easy, though some areas can be slippery and there are some narrow boardwalks.

Highlights: A peaceful hike through forest dominated by white cedar and black ash, featuring great views of Clark Lake. In spring this is a great spot to find large-flowered trillium and excellent bird-watching for sandhill cranes, great egrets, and white pelicans.

Length: 1.7 miles

photos by BRETT KOSMIDER

RUN DOOR COUNTY!

There’s no shortage of opportunities to race on the peninsula. Whether you’re looking for competition or camaraderie, there’s a race for all tastes.

You can also take on the challenge of the Run the Door race series by emailing runthedoor@gmail.com to enter to earn points for each race you participate in. Visit runthedoor.com for more information.

MAY 4

Door County Half Marathon and Nicolet Bay 5k

Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek 13.1 mile run, 5k

Hailed as one of the best runs in the Midwest, runners enjoy a closed USATF-certified road course that takes you along the shore, through the woods, and atop the bluffs of Peninsula State Park. Finish with music, beer and friends at Nicolet Bay. doorcountyhalfmarathon.com

MAY 11, 2024

Blossom Run, Egg Harbor

2-mile and 5-mile courses, plus a 1-mile option for kids 12 and under. doorcountyymca.org/events/blossom-run-2

MAY 26

Maifest Lake to Lake Race, Jacksonport 10k run and 2 mile fun run. runsignup.com/Race/WI/Jacksonport/ JacksonportMaifest

JUNE 15

Crossroads Trail Run, Sturgeon Bay 10k, 5k, and 2k trail run through the woods, meadows, and orchards in and around Crossroads at Big Creek. crossroadsrun.com

JULY 4

Hairpin Run, Fish Creek 5k run/walk to kick off the 4th of July celebration. Door County’s largest 5k run. hairpinrun.com

JULY 13

Belgian Days Run, Brussels 2-mile, 4-mile run/walk. letsdothis.com/us/e/belgian-daysrunwalk-212207

JULY 20

Washington Island Rec Run Washington Island 10k, 5k, and 2k walk/ run. moslingreccenter.org/events

AUG. 10

Shanty Days 5k, kids run, Algoma 5k run/walk, kids superhero fun run. visitalgomawi.com/5k-run-walk

SEPT. 21

Door County Brewing Co. Hey Hey 5k, Baileys Harbor

5k fun run in Baileys Harbor that starts and ends at the Door County Brewing Co. taproom. Get great swag including a pint glass, free beer, and awesome shirt! heyhey5k.com

OCT. 12

Potawatomi State Park Run Wild, Sturgeon Bay Quarter marathon, 5k run/walk, and 1/3-mile Smokey Bear Run. www.runwild.org/run-wild

OCT. 26

Fall 50, Gills Rock to Sturgeon Bay 50-mile solo and relay run from the tip of the peninsula at Gills Rock to the base at Sawyer Park in Sturgeon Bay. Includes prizes for best team name and costume, and a huge postrace party with pizza and beer. fall50.com

NOV. 2

Pen Park Trails Fest, Fish Creek 14k and 30k course in Peninsula State Park.

NOV. 30

One Barrel 2.62 Run, Egg Harbor

A 2.62-mile run through Egg Harbor’s back roads. All runners get a One Barrel Run knit hat and a beer at the finish line! onebarrelrun.com

DEC. 7

Northern Door YMCA Ugly Sweater Run, Fish Creek

A 5k fun run/ walk.

A Fast Finish, A Fresh Start Eduardo Neri’s year of big finishes

by MYLES DANNHAUSEN JR. and photos by RACHEL LUKAS

As Eduardo Neri raced down the final straightaway of the 2023 Door County Half Marathon, the five-minute-41-second-per-mile pace he had kept for 13.1 miles of Peninsula State Park hills looked almost easy. But a larger life journey for the 2012 Sevastopol High School graduate and Sturgeon Bay resident has been anything but.

He was born in Mexico, but his parents left their small village outside Mexico City for the promise of jobs in America when Neri was only 7 years old.

Neri grew up with the uncertainty that comes with being undocumented.

They enrolled Neri, the third of their four children, in third grade. Aft er less than two years working with a specialist assigned to help him, he was nearly fluent in English, but as his classmates got driver’s licenses, he couldn’t. He kept his status secret from his teachers, bosses and friends for years. When his high school teammates made jokes about illegal aliens in practice or on the bus ride to a game, he bit his tongue.

“Even the word ‘undocumented’ –there’s always that fear of getting kicked out that comes with it,” Neri said. “Especially the high school years. People will point you out if they find out. I felt that fear. That word, ‘undocumented’ or ‘illegal.’ It makes you feel like you’ve done something wrong, like you’re not part of the community.”

Neri worked through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, earning an associate’s degree from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay. He got a job, got married and had a son. He applied for permanent residency, but the marriage didn’t stick, and when he got divorced, he had to wait an additional five years before getting citizenship.

“Since high school, I had the dream of becoming an American citizen,” Neri said. “That oath means a lot to me.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked from home, and he returned to school to get his bachelor’s degree at UW-Oshkosh. He got in shape and returned to the track and the trail,

earning trips to the conference meet twice.

Neri, who ran cross country and track for two years at UW–Oshkosh, said he didn’t enter last year’s Door County Half Marathon with a great spring of training under his belt.

“I was finishing up school, so I didn’t have time to focus on training,” he said.

But the morning of the race, he felt spring in his legs as he jogged toward the starting line on Shore Road.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “Maybe I can win it.”

And Neri won easily, finishing a minute and 18 seconds ahead of fourtime race winner Rodee Schneider. A year later, as he prepared to return to the race, he trained with new certainty under his feet.

On Feb. 14, he passed his citizenship test, and in March he finally took that oath he had dreamed of for so long, ending his longest journey and beginning a new one.

Brewing His Own Scene Bridge Up’s Trent Snyder

by JOHN MIELKE and photos by CHRIS MILLER

Open the door to Bridge Up Brewing on the ground level of Sonny’s Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria in Sturgeon Bay and it immediately feels like fun. Maybe it’s the ‘70s turntable spinning 33-1/3 vinyl. Maybe it’s the rows of vintage beer cans neatly arranged near the ceiling.

Or maybe it’s the smile on Trent Snyder’s face when he greets customers ranging from old schoolchums enjoying JacksonPorter (a dark and tasty concoction with a hint of peanut butter) to folks curious about when they’ll actually get to Door County (more on that later).

After a glad-you-could-make-it handshake and some chit-chat, it’s time to start talkin’ craft beer.

After living in Door County as a kid, Snyder taught for 13 years in Minnesota before joining an IT consulting firm. He also met his wife, Amanda, in Minnesota. All the while, there was this mysterious thing in the closet.

“I got a Mr. Beer kit from my grandma for Christmas one year,” Snyder said. “It was a yellow plastic keg, it looked like a barrel of beer. I had it in my closet as I moved around from place to place.”

Amanda suggested they should either try out or toss out Mr. Beer. One weekend they decided to give it a go.

“Sort of turned out like beer,” Snyder said. “Kind of fun, you know.”

One batch of beer led to another and before long Amanda bought Snyder a more legitimate home-brew setup.

In 2017, the couple returned to Door County. While they were purchasing a new home, Snyder mentioned home brewing to their realtor Steve Estes, who then mentioned that conversation to his brother, Jason, who owns Sonny’s and was thinking about adding a craft brewery to the restaurant. Jason called Snyder and the two met

The Evolving Craft of Beer

When the Door County Beer Festival was launched in 2012, IPAs were an exotic flavor on the peninsula. As the festival prepares for its 12th edition – and first at About Thyme Farm – Wisconsin beer drinkers have developed a much more refined palate.

This year 50 breweries sampling nearly 200 beers will be represented at the event, including seven located on the

peninsula. While IPAs are still a favorite, brewers continue to experiment as they concoct beers to push boundaries and perfect classic styles.

As beer aficionados meander amongst the barns and grounds of the 146-yearold farm, they will get a chance to talk beer with many of the brewers and brewery owners at the heart of the Wisconsin craft beer scene.

The June 15 event features live music and food from great local chefs. Tickets also include free access to a shuttle system covering almost all of northern Door County, with stops in Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Sister Bay, and Baileys Harbor to make it easy to get to the festival and get home safely.

Get tickets at doorcountybeerfestival. com.

(Opposite)

The Bridge Up taproom is a reflection of its brewer, Trent Snyder. (Right) Trent Snyder at work in the brewhouse.

HENRIETTE STEFFENSEN

in what would become the Bridge Up tap room.

“It was very consultative in nature,” Snyder said. “After an hour and a half of him just peppering me with questions, he’s like, ‘Well, I think you’re the guy for the job.’ And I looked at him and I’m like, ‘What job?’”

The job was running Jason’s new craft brewery, of course.

“We knew the tap room was a great fit for customers to get together and enjoy the beautiful working waterfront,” Jason said. “I met Trent and instantly knew he was a creative type and very capable guy.”

Snyder had brewed beer and had done well in a few homebrew competitions but he had never brewed beer for people to actually buy.

“I went home, I talked to my wife, and I’m like, ‘You won’t believe this,’” Snyder said. Amanda’s reaction? “You’ll figure it out,” which is exactly what Jason had said.

Bridge Up started with a small brewing system in a small room adjacent to today’s tap room. The beer was being served upstairs at Sonny’s bar.

“I was brewing two or three times a day on that system,” Snyder said. “I was doing the same beers over and over.”

Snyder knew he had to increase production, and he wanted to get more creative with new recipes.

Expanding the actual brewing space wasn’t an option so he began exploring contract brewing. Many smaller craft brewers use a contract brewer – usually a larger regional brewer – to brew specific recipes.

“We were able to make more beer [by contract brewing], and it gave me an opportunity to craft new and different styles at Sonny’s,” Snyder said.

As Bridge Up grew, Jason and Snyder thought about adding a second location, and Jason spotted the Cherry Hut just south of Fish Creek on Highway 42. Initially, Snyder was unsure about how

the buildings on the property could work, but again, Jason was confident that Snyder would figure it out. Which he has.

In addition to Bridge Up beer and more than 25 different wines and ciders, the Cherry Hut menu features hot dogs, street tacos, rib tips, nachos – fun food that’s easy to eat.

“Everything’s about seven bucks,” Snyder said. “So, you can feed your whole family - grandma and grandpa, the kids. It’s a very family friendly place.”

During the summer, the Cherry Hut presents live music every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Snyder is all about having a good time, and he knows that’s not possible without an amazing staff.

“I tell my staff all the time, my job is to make you happy and keep you happy. Your job is to make the customers happy,” he said.

“Without a great staff, there’s no way I would be where I’m at.”

Abbey Tierney has been part of the Bridge Up team since 2019. She started in the Sturgeon Bay tap room and today is general manager at the Cherry Hut. In addition to the restaurant serving up tasty food and the tap room tapping refreshing Bridge Up beer, Tierney makes sure the Cherry Hut market is stocked with all the quintessential Door County cherry items.

Like Snyder, Tierney said she enjoys meeting the people, whether they’re on vacation or they call Door County home. Her favorite part of the gig?

“The fun atmosphere Trent has worked so hard to create,” she said.

That fun atmosphere is reflected in Trent’s craft-beer philosophy.

“We try to have a variety of beers,” Snyder said. “Everything from a light beer, which is our Knee High, all the way up to a double hazy IPA. I just think Door County has some really good beer. If I didn’t live here and I came to Door County as a beer lover, oh, man, I’d be like a kid in the candy store.”

Finest Family Compound

It’s the finest family compound I’ve seen in a lifetime of selling unique waterfront homes. Lots of room for family and friends… or a quiet getaway for two. The Main Home, Coach House, and Guest House total 8,093 SF with 9 bedrooms, 8 full baths, and 2 half baths. Relax on 2,500 feet of Lake Michigan’s Big Bay de Noc, with 76 acres of hardwoods and privacy.

Our family-owned Cheese Store & Melt Bistro invites you to enjoy the best hand-crafted Wisconsin cheese and comfort food made from scratch with fresh, local ingredients. Don’t forget our catering and charcuterie board menus as well as a variety of local Door County products!

Also available are items in our Grab & Go cooler featuring; Prepared Meals, Charcuterie Boards, Salads, Snacks, Soups, Desserts, and more!

2189 County Rd. DK, Sturgeon Bay, WI • 920.825.7272

Monday-Friday: 8 am - 5 pm • Saturday-Sunday: 9 am - 4 pm

Melt Bistro’s Monte Cristo Sandwich

Rock The Collectors

by SALLY COLLINS photos by KAYLA LARSEN

On an off-season Arizona getaway, Ephraim Motel owners Scott and Julie Barnes made a random, serendipitous stop in the aptly named Quartzsite, intrigued by a simple sign: “Arkansas Quartz Crystals.” The couple took in the array of clear and prismatic crystals – mesmerized.

“You know,” said the seller, planting a seed, “we sell these wholesale too.”

In fift een minutes, Scott concocted a new business venture.

“Literally, fift een minutes,” said Julie, smiling. “He decided we were going to buy a box of these, put them at the front desk of the motel, and people will buy them.” She decided the investment wasn’t large enough to fret. “Well then I turn my back and now it’s two boxes,” she added, laughing. “And then we go down the road and buy more.”

Ever the collector – cars, engines, stamps – Scott made a promise to his concerned wife: “Every rock I buy is going to be for sale.” That night they ordered Chinese and Scott cracked open his fortune cookie: “Your patience will be rewarded.”

A good omen.

So when the motel reopened for the 2014 season, aft er breakfast was cleared each morning, Scott spread the crystals and rocks on tables and countertops. They put a classified ad in the Peninsula Pulse and hung a sign beside the motel entrance.

“And people started coming in,” Julie said. “It started exploding.”

“For every rock we sold, I bought two rocks,” Scott said. He shopped on eBay, bought old collections, found other sources. It kept him occupied during the summer months. “All the [motel] projects are done,” he said. “I’m just sitting around waiting for a toilet to plug up.” So he immersed himself in rocks and gems, realizing quickly his fascination wasn’t unique.

“People say, ‘I don’t know why I’m attracted to rocks.’ Well, it’s hard-wired in our DNA,” he explained, adding that his father was a casual collector. “As a kid, I would walk behind my dad and he would bend down and pick up a rock, put it in his pocket, so I’d do the same.”

“It’s hard for anyone to walk on a beach and not look down and see the simplest of little rocks and pick it up,” Julie added, “because it called them to pick it up.”

They outgrew the space in a matter of months, then leased a rustic building in north Ephraim for the 2015 season, added a sluicing mine for a handson experience in which customers purchase a bucket or a bag, filter the

contents, and discover something special.

Though there was no heat or plumbing or air conditioning, and the place leaked, the business exceeded their expectations. They added another location in Fish Creek’s Founder’s Square and hired a handful of employees, and people kept coming back. Then in 2022 they built a new space in Ephraim that does the rocks and gems justice. Between the sunlight pouring through vast windows and some expert lighting design, the uniqueness of each piece radiates.

On one side are bins and baskets overflowing with polished and unpolished gems and rocks – hematite quartz, leopard skin jasper, jade, green opal,

amethyst, geodes you can crack at home. There’s carved stars and Darth Vaders, bunnies and unicorns. There’s jewelry and seashells. Scott calls it the “touchie” area.

The middle portion of the space, the “sorta touchie” area, features larger rocks and gems – polished and unpolished as well, including a towering smoky quartz, agate butterflies, gem tree sculptures, petrified wood, an array of fossils.

And there’s the “no touchie” section, that’s the collector’s dream –intriguing specimens and high-end statement pieces, rare and stunning: bumblebee jasper from Indonesia, purple flash labradorite from Madagascar, blue kyanite from Brazil, malachite from Zaire, amethyst druzy from Ontario, and so much more.

There’s an eclectic abundance, with wildly varying price-points so everyone can walk away with something.

“There are many different interests,” said Julie. “I like to say there are three different kinds of rock people – there’s the geologic, scientific; and then there’s the metaphysical; and then there’s pretty rock people that just like pretty

(Above) Scott Barnes said he’s always been drawn to rocks. His dad would bend down and pick up a rock during a walk, and Barnes would do the same. (Below) The gem mining station outside the Ephraim showroom (Opposite) A 1,200-pound amethyst geode from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil greets visitors near the entrance of Door County Rock & Gem.

rocks and enjoy what Mother Nature has created for them.”

“The people who feel the vibration of crystals are just as welcome as those folks who want to know what the magnesium content of a certain mineral is,” Scott said.

The rocks and gems, which come from all over the world, also come from many, many different sources.

“I couldn’t even tell you how many vendors we have,” said Julie, laughing. They are open-minded, but choosy and only buy from reputable sources. “A few weeks ago we were Facetiming with a Chinese vendor,” she added. A couple months before that, a jeweler from California stopped by.

And they extend that openmindedness to the retail floor, recognizing the full breadth of intrigue and implications a rock can hold – its geological properties, how it’s formed, it’s cultural and historical significance, the individual story attached to each piece – whether it came to the surface in a Missouri miner’s lunchbox or down the peak of a Himalayan mountain in a Nepalese prospector’s pack.

Fun facts: citrine is thought to bring good fortune in some South

American cultures. Cleopatra used powdered lapis for eyeshadow. Jade was used to create weapons of war in New Zealand.

“We will answer pretty much any question and try to be something for everyone, but we have a hard time with, ‘What does this rock do?’” said Scott. They shy away from proclaiming a rock possesses the power to heal or recommending certain rocks to cure headaches or other ailments.

But they welcome everyone.

“From really nothing, this has become something,” Scott said. “We’ve brought in full-time jobs, year-round jobs, with housing.”

“We’ve amazed a lot of people, amazed ourselves,” Julie added. “We’ve had people ask us, ‘How do you sell rocks? Why are you selling rocks?’ Then they walk in the store and they’re like, ‘Oh, I get it now.’”

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Everyone has a story to tell...and whatever your skill level, our summer classes can help you express yourself in a poem or memoir, or retell your story as fiction.

While you’re here, discover our Writer’s Walk — 59 acres of trails that are the quiet spirit of Write On, Door County.

Join us at Write On for writing and reading events for all ages. writeondoorcounty.org

You’ll find a world of words online at

Check out our online Events Calendar to find details about these events and a season full of writing fun and inspiration!

The Rapture of Being Alive

May 20-24 with Donna Hilbert

Immerse yourself in poetry and “writing from the whole self.”

The 9-Hour Writing Retreat

June 8 from 9am to 6pm

Spend a Saturday fully devoted to your own writing project.

Kids

WOW! Creativity Camp for Younger Writers

July 8-12

Limited spots are still available for students in grades 3-8.

Ten-Minute Play Workshop

July 8-12 with Jane Hamilton

Be a writer, a director, and an actor — all in a very fun week.

Become a member, donate, and fi nd classes and events at writeondoorcounty.org

A Dream Fulfilled

Rodger Forkert and the Panache

by STEVE GRUTZMACHER

The minds of young boys and girls are filled with thoughts of what they will become when they grow up: professional baseball players, ballerinas, firefighters, nurses. Rodger Forkert’s dream was very different from most young boys – he dreamed of sailing solo in one of the ocean races he read about in sailing magazines.

The son of Franklin Forkert, owner of Anchor Marine (now Yacht Works), Rodger began sailing when he was seven years old.

“He was almost obsessed with solo ocean sailing races,” his younger brother Gordon explained. “He subscribed to all these sailing magazines and was always talking about a race he had read about.”

But Rodger’s dream wasn’t simply to compete in a solo ocean race — he wanted to build the boat he would sail. He contacted naval architect

Richard C. Newick, of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, whom he deemed to be a premier designer of multi-hull boats. Aft er securing a loan of $26,000 from the Bank of Sturgeon Bay (now Nicolet National Bank), Rodger purchased plans for what would become the trimaran Panache

Work began in December of 1977 in the garage at the Forkert family home in Sister Bay, starting with the construction of the “plugs” over which the hulls would be built. Since the two outrigger hulls (called amas in sailing parlance) were identical, only two plugs were required. Construction was time-consuming and tedious. The hulls were laminated, layered veneers of mahogany and ash. All laminations were glued with an epoxy resin with microscopic cotton-linen fibers for additional strength and durability.

When it came to bending the wood for the curves of the boat, Rodger avoided

using any screws. “Screws really don’t do anything but concentrate a stress point,” he said. They also add unnecessary weight. His alternative was to use staples to hold the layers in place while the gluing cured. But pulling the staples became difficult and exceedingly time-consuming, so his brother, Russ (now the owner of Yacht Works), hit on the idea of cutting up plastic roll-up sleds to staple through. Then you could simply pull the plastic strips to remove the staples, saving considerable time.

With the three hulls nearing completion, disaster struck: a dust fire started in the Forkert’s garage. The fire was extinguished and the hulls were saved, but many tools were lost in the blaze. With the garage now badly damaged, all work was relocated to the Anchor Marine boat hangar.

Rodger had over 2,000 hours of work in on the Panache, but much more

work remained to be done. Russ returned from college to help get Rodger over the hump to finish the boat. Aft er almost two and a half years of construction, the Panache, in keeping with its name, received a brilliant coat of yellow paint and was topped with a mast of vibrant orange.

When it was put into the Bay of Green Bay it looked like nothing that had ever sailed in the waters off Door County. With its sweeping curve connecting the outriggers to the main hull, and the central 2’ by 30” Perspex dome above the cabin to allow for all-weather navigation, the Panache (without the mast) resembled a Klingon “Bird of Prey” starship from Star Trek (at least in my mind).

Rodger’s goal was to race the Panache in the 1980 Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race (O-STAR), sailing from Plymouth, England, and ending in

Newport, Rhode Island, a quadrennial race specifically scheduled to take place during hurricane season to thoroughly test the skills and nerves of the contestants. In the boating world, this is considered the Indianapolis 500 of solo oceanic boat races.

He first had to get the Panache to the ocean, and it was sailing through the Great Lakes where Rodger faced his first significant challenge. As Gordon explained it, “The Panache was designed to sail on the ocean, and

waves on the ocean, due to its vast size, tend to be further apart. The Great Lakes are smaller and shallower, so the waves tend to be closer together.”

Thus, when Rodger ran into a storm on Lake Erie, he was forced to move closer to shore and the waves became tightly packed. “The nose of the boat started digging into the waves and, at one point, the Panache ‘pitch-pulled’, meaning the boat was basically turned around,” Gordon said. “That was when

(Above) David LeClerc and Sam Snyder on the Panache conducting sea trials. Photo by J. Stotzer.

(Background) A page of Newick’s construction plans for the Panache. Photo courtesy of the Forkert family.

(Opposite) Roger Forkert working on the Panache. Photo courtesy of the Forkert family.

Rodger realized that the bow design would require him to sail carefully going into waves.”

Russ came to sail with Rodger from the Inland Waterway down to Florida and then Rodger faced his next challenge: to qualify for the O-STAR, entrants must first sail solo across the Atlantic to England.

Rodger started out twice, making it only as far as the Bahamas, before returning to Florida. “We weren’t sure he was actually going to do it,” Gordon said. But on his third attempt Rodger succeeded, sailing solo to Lands End, England, and qualified for the race.

Now qualified, Rodger picked up a sponsorship from a French newspaper, which led to the boat being renamed Le Parisien (though underneath the new name was stenciled “Sister Bay”).

On June 7, 1980, the race began and, through the first day and a half, things were going well with Rodger in third overall and first in his class. The the autopilot for the boat failed. The mechanism is packed with grease, but in this case, it was over packed and, in the cold nights of the North Atlantic, the mechanism seized up. Rodger turned back to Plymouth, where he was able to get the autopilot repaired and then began the race for the second time, having fallen behind the other racers by over three days.

The 1980 O-STAR was the first to feature the ARGOS tracking system, but during the race a number of trackers failed and other boats stopped sending signals. Le Parisien was one of the boats that disappeared from the tracking system – in Rodger’s case, for several days – concerning family and friends following the race back in Door County. Eventually his signal returned, and he was still in the race.

The winner of the race, Phil Weld, took six days off the race record (finishing in just under 18 days) by taking a southerly route below 45 degrees north 35 degrees south, while the vast majority of the boats, Le Parisien included, took the

standard northern route above 45 degrees north.

The weather was terrible for a significant portion of the crossing. Rodger would later say that in the high seas Le Parisien would literally launch into the air as it went over large waves before landing back on the water and it would sometimes bury into the waves and all he would see was green through the observation bubble. These were the times he wondered if he would be able to finish.

Ultimately, Rodger reached Newport in 31 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes. He placed 43rd overall out of the 90 boats that entered the race and the 71 boats that finished the race, and 25th in his boat class.

The Panache/Le Parisien never returned to the Great Lakes. Rodger sold the boat on the East Coast to pay off his remaining debts and several years later it broke free of its mooring in a severe storm and was wrecked.

Aft er selling the boat, Rodger returned to Sister Bay and went back to work at Anchor Marine, refurbishing and repairing boats, having fulfilled his childhood dream.

Author’s Note

I met Rodger during the winter of 1978-79, when Beloit College shift ed from a trimester system to a semester system, and I had five weeks off in Door County over the holidays. That winter was brutally cold and included a stretch of 23 straight days where the high temperature never went above 10 degrees.

I was feeling bored and trapped when Russ Forkert, a close family friend, mentioned that his brother was building a boat and I was welcome to help. So I ventured up to Anchor Marine where I met Rodger in the boat hangar underneath heavy plastic sheeting with torpedo heaters roaring out warmth. I soon found myself taking thin strips of linen, laying them over seams, and “painting” them in place with epoxy using a 4” metal handled brush.

The work was infinitely pedantic and did nothing to relieve my boredom, but I did show up for portions of three days to place and paint, place and paint. Ultimately, my contribution was negligible, but I did form a friendship with Rodger, and got an inside look at a man’s passion.

Though Rodger died on Dec. 30, 2023, before I could revisit his adventure with him, I would like to thank his siblings, Russell, Julie, and particularly Gordon for refreshing my memories of the Panache and correcting my misremembrances.

(Top) The Panache nearing completion. (Middle, from left) Dave LeClerc and Rodger Forkert. (Bottom) Launching the Panache in the Sister Bay Marina. Photos courtesty of the Forkert family.

ANNUAL OUTDOOR ART SHOW

Saturday, May 25 - Sunday, May 26 • 11 AM - 4 PM

Featuring Sharon Miller Thompson, Rose Kleman, Sue Pruss, Jeremy Burdette, and Caryn Brown ANNUAL GALA

Saturday, July 13 • 3 PM - 7 PM

Featured Artists To Be Determined

Saturday, July 20 • 11 AM - 3 PM

Featuring Stephanie Lord, Tom Smith, Pamela Grabber, Christopher Leeper, Reilly McClellan, and Sarah Jane Keiser

Writers First

by CHRIS RUGOWSKI

The Tambourine Lounge provides an intimate, comfortable setting for an open mic unlike any other on the peninsula.

Photo by Marybeth Mattson.

It’s not your average

smalltown open mic.

The dark, small and slightly awkwardshaped listening room at The Tambourine Lounge is intended for intimate and thoughtful performances, which is what it brings on WRiTERS’ NIGHT. Located down the street from the Holiday Music Motel, it’s the kind of place you’d find in Greenwich Village in New York. Once the music starts, you forget the small room as your eyes and ears are glued to the performer, their words, their writings, their stories.

This WRiTERS’ NiGHT is a collaboration event where writers of any kind are welcomed with open arms. pat mAcdonald, the man behind The Tambourine Lounge, said it’s the only open mic in the area for original material exclusively. The selections of material can range from spoken word, poetry, authors reading excerpts from their books, and of course, musicians.

Regular contributor Stephanie Trenchard, better known for her art at Popelka Trenchard Glass down the street, said the emphasis is about sharing new work that is still in process where it can benefit from the creative and collaborative spirit.

On a winter night, I walk in and feel welcomed and invited by everyone in the venue, though I would have to agree with performer Megan Eatough who said, “This room makes me more nervous than almost anywhere else I play.”

I’ve played a lot of shows in my time as a musician, but the intimacy of this room is unlike any I’ve felt. It feels like a house show performance rather than a venue, a welcome change to the usual atmosphere of an open mic.

aren’t

Author and musician Fritz Damler noted the difference he appreciates about this open mic versus the traditional bar open mic is simple: “People come to WRiTERS’ NiGHT to listen to what people are playing and saying,” he said. “I mean, some people can perform better under a lot of external conversations, but if you’re here, the focus is on whoever is performing, so it’s a different kind of exposure.”

“It’s more about the artistic qualities of the content,” Trenchard said, “than it is about just the social experience of

Photos by Chris Rugowski.

getting together, which also happens and is of benefit.”

Liz Meier, a local musician who now lives in Boston and is attending Berklee College, said it’s her favorite open mic to take part in.

“You can tell people care about you showing your art and there’s a level of attentiveness that I don’t think you get in other places,” she said. “And, I think it’s really important that it’s all original work.”

Meier is known professionally as The Nut. With her experiences in Boston she’s noticed many of the open mics can be less accessible in a bigger city with sign up lists that fill before an act even shows up. In addition to that, trying to play thoughtful originals can be an issue in a bar room full of people who may not be able to hear you anyways, leading to a disheartening feeling as well.

An Atypical Crowd

One can expect a lot of guitars in the room, of course, but there’s always a

potential odd instrument out, such as a trombone.

Trenchard mentioned a group of seasonal workers who bonded at WRiTERS’ NiGHT. “They worked in Jacksonport,” she said. “They would come down here and they would write things just for this. That became part of their magic summer. They were really wonderful.”

WRiTERS’ NiGHT is a creative outlet for people to enjoy themselves, find new connections and do some networking on a micro kind of scale. Whether it’s your first open mic ever, or you’re a seasoned musician who has toured the world, titles and accolades mean nothing here. There’s no judgment, only encouragement.

Trenchard said her poetry writing was stagnant for a while, and aft er coming regularly to WRiTERS’ NiGHT it gave her an impetus to start writing more.

Sebastian Stinnett loved hearing the poetry that people bring in.

“I’ve never really been in a place where I’ve actually heard people bring their own poetry and workshop that kind of stuff,” he said. “For me that’s unique.” Mike Bleck and Jen Polster, who play as Wagon Roots, say the place is full of their best friends. Polster, who brought a stand-up bass, said it’s a place where you can be vulnerable, bring out new stuff and nobody looks down on it. mAcdonald said ultimately people don’t judge you by the quality of performance. It’s about the writing, aft er all.

It may sound serious, but there’s laughter and fun in the collaborating as well.

“If you’re exposed to other people who are doing this stuff, writing, making new music, you’re gonna be inspired to do it,” mAcdonald said.

The Tambourine Lounge hosts WRiTERS’ NiGHT every Thursday. Find more information at Facebook. com/TambourineLounge.

Resurrecting Ben Heineman’s legendary home office

by MYLES DANNHAUSEN JR. and photos by BRETT KOSMIDER

Iwalked to the window and inched as close as I could to the glass without touching it, staring straight ahead for a moment, seeing no floor in front of me and no walls in my periphery. Just sky and water. Floating.

I could hold myself there, at the edge of the floor-to-ceiling window 150 feet above the surface of the bay, for only a few moments before my stomach sank and my legs involuntarily pulled me back, stumbling for solid ground.

This is Shadowcliff.

Looking south along the bluff from inside Shadowcliff, the office designed by architect Harry Weese for Ben Heineman in 1969.

(Right) Two steel beams were placed into 20-foot trenches filled with concrete in the bluff. Hexagonal holes lighten the load and the look of the steel.

Long before Door County was besieged by remote workers seeking the pleasures of rural life but the paychecks of the city, a Chicago tycoon made remote work a high art in 1969. Ben Heineman was the CEO of Chicago and North Western Railway, which he transformed into the Northwest Industries conglomerate when he wasn’t serving as an advisor to President Lyndon Johnson. In the 1950s, Heineman and his wife, Natalie, bought a home atop the bluff in Ellison Bay, a perfect location for a high-powered businessman to get away from the hustle and summer heat of his family’s home in Chicago’s Hyde Park.

Each August, the couple would retreat to Ellison Bay, where Heineman would take meetings and conduct business primarily by phone, but he found that his vacation home was often too

full of distractions to get his work accomplished. He wanted a new home office separate from the home, but without taking anything away from the main home’s majestic view.

Fortunately, Heineman had a friend who could help him: Chicago architect Harry Weese. Heineman told Weese he wanted an office on the bluff – sort of. He didn’t want to transform an outbuilding, or add a wing, or build a typical detached structure. His vision was to hang it off the cliff, designed to feel like he was sitting in the cockpit of his yacht.

Weese was an influential mid-century architect who at the peak of his career was known as one of the foremost designers of metropolitan rail systems. His work on the Washington DC metro system has been acclaimed as among the greatest public works of the 20th

(Above, left) The entire office hangs off of the bluff.

(Above, right): The rooftop deck is accessed by a spiral staircase capped in a plexiglass bubble. The center monolith at right houses a discreet bathroom, murphy bed, and kitchenette.

(Right) Interior woodwork was done by Palmer Johnson Yachts, the Sturgeon Bay yard that built two yachts for Heineman.

century. Heineman’s vision to hang an office off a cliff didn’t strike Weese as particularly daunting.

In a letter dated Sept. 9, 1968, Weese invited Don Anderson of the Engineers Collaborative to join him on a visit to the site where “Ben Heineman would like to add a studio hanging over his cliff.”

“It’s a small job, but for an interesting client,” he wrote. “We will probably be able to design the thing on the site that afternoon. The terrain is a limestone cliff about 100 ft. high with cedar trees clinging to the face.”

To accomplish Heineman’s vision for the office that would be called Shadowcliff, Weese devised a double cantilever design (a cantilever that cantilevers from itself), in which steel beams would be placed into

concrete-filled trenches 20 feet into the bluffside. These beams project out of the bluff, angling inward. The office hangs below, entirely separate from the bluff, accessed by an 8-foot bridge. The beams are made of structural steel with a Corten finish, in which the outer 1/16-inch rusts and then stops, protecting the steel underneath. Two additional beams angle up from the bluff below. Hexagonal holes were cut in the steel for aesthetics, but also to

The oculus at the center of the sunken conversation pit is made of laminated glass 1 3/8-inch thick.

lighten the load. In all, 79,000 tons of steel were used on the project.

For the interior, Heineman turned to his friends at Palmer Johnson Yachts, where he commissioned two yachts in his lifetime (Falcon and Falcon II). He had the interior done entirely in teak, with a sunken conversation pit in the middle, built to feel like the cockpit of a sailboat. In the center is an oculus, four feet in diameter, made of 1 ⅜-inch glass that provides a view straight down at the treetops and bluff below.

When completed in 1969, the project earned international recognition and was featured not only in architectural magazines but also in Fortune. On June 9, 1969, Heineman wrote to Weese, “Cost aside, it exactly fulfills my expectations and wishes and I am truly delighted with it.”

Resurrection

When the Heinemans sold the property in the 1990s, it was neglected for several years as it slipped through the hands of two owners whose grand plans for the 30 acres south of Ellison Bluff County Park fell through. Then it passed between multiple banks and was heading for foreclosure in the rubble of the Great Recession in 2010.

That’s when the present owner, who had spent summers in Ellison Bay growing up, got word that it was available and his daughter implored him to take a look. When they did, it was immediately clear that nobody had lived in the home for a long time and the house and Shadowcliff needed a lot of work. The current owner (who wished not to be identified for this piece) was undeterred and decided to bite.

He hired Great Northern Construction to rehab the main house, but the restoration of Shadowcliff would require

different expertise. In the 40 years since it was built, it had sunk three quarters of an inch because the counterweights in the bluff were too heavy and the limestone bluff had deteriorated slightly.

Opus Corporation was brought in to oversee the work to rebalance the building and ensure its safety. They reverse-engineered the structure, using x-rays of the cliff face to make sure the anchor points were solid and took cores of the concrete to ensure it was the necessary consistency.

“Everyone on the project understood this was special,” the new owner said. “We wanted to make sure this building could survive another 100 years.”

(Above) Side windows open and close with a motor, letting in the breeze and the sounds of the lake crashing into the shore below. A murphy bed folds out of the center monolith.

(Below) The roof deck is accessed by a bridge or a spiral staircase capped by a plexiglass bubble.

The Home Office Deduction

At a price tag of $250,000 ($2.1 million in today’s dollars), Shadowcliff was not a cheap home office. But Heineman considered it critical to perform his job and deducted $51,000 in maintenance and depreciation on his taxes. The Internal Revenue Service disagreed and charged him $33,000 in back taxes from 1976-1978.

Heineman sued, and in 1984 he won, earning Shadowcliff a place in tax history in addition to architectural annals.

The Washington Post wrote at the time:“Heineman argued that he traditionally had set aside the month of August to review the corporation’s long-range plans, and that, because of the press of telephone calls, meetings and other interruptions, he found it difficult to carry on this review in his Chicago office suite.”

Heineman argued that the office was used exclusively for business and since it was not part of a dwelling, it was not subject to the standards of a home office.

The case continues to be referenced by law schools, tax attorneys and news publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times in addition to the Post

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The bold artistry of Lynn Gilchrist

by SALLY COLLINS and photos by CHRIS MILLER

As a young child, Lynn Gilchrist could lose hours working on a single coloring page. She’d find herself carefully filling in the scene, enchanted by the colors and distracted by daydreams, much to the chagrin of her kindergarten teacher.

“The family lore is that I was sent home with homework over the Christmas holiday because I was so far behind in my coloring books,” Gilchrist said, laughing.

That homework didn’t feel like much of an imposition for the budding artist, whose curiosity and skill only grew. Her father taught her to draw a human figure from fift een ovals, while she and a friend created pages of feminine faces, beauty contestants.

“We’d give them names and little bios,” Gilchrist said. “It was greatly influenced by comic-book art. I’m a big believer in copying as a learning tool.”

Later, her high school art teacher

Mr. Kurzbauer exposed her to the art movements of the day, like pop art and optical art. Mr. Kurzbauer reminded her to stop talking and apply herself, and encouraged her to major in art.

Gilchrist took her teacher’s advice and left Lake Bluff, Illinois in 1968 to attend Oberlin College in Ohio. There, she protested the Vietnam War, embraced a beatnik look and talked her way out of a few intro classes, wanting to focus instead on “the coolness,” as she puts it, of contemporary art. “We had this fantastic professor that knew New York artists, these young hip artists we were studying and felt a kinship with,” Gilchrist said.

But focusing on the movements of the day instead of practical art techniques had a downside. Gilchrist put a lot of pressure on herself and her art.

“I thought if you’re not being cuttingedge or avant-garde, if you’re not doing something new or intellectual, it wasn’t even worth doing,” Gilchrist said. “And that can be a real trap.”

Aft er graduation, Gilchrist spent a short stint living at home and working as a typist in Chicago before moving to Washington D.C. There, she worked as a server and began a relationship with a De Pere native who convinced her to move to Sturgeon Bay in 1975.

time],” Gilchrist said. “I was so critical about it.”

But she kept drawing, and then drew something that was accepted into The Hardy’s annual juried exhibit. When she saw a painting of a resting ballerina by Mary Ellen Sisulak in The Miller Museum of Art’s annual juried show, she felt inspired and asked a friend to pose, creating a piece that was accepted in the Miller’s show the following year.

“Then I got going doing landscapes,” she said. She embraced pastels, using bolder color palates than she ever had, taking a class with Tom Uttech at the Peninsula School of Art. “Now I just live for color.”

“I was slowly falteringly doing art [during that

She snapped “snail’s-view” pictures at beaches, then created incredibly large, colorful and detailed scenes. These pieces received awards, a write-up in Wisconsin Women and a spot in some pretty big shows including The Lakefront Festival of Art in Milwaukee.

But they were time-consuming to create and stressful to lug from one show to the next. Gilchrist was growing weary. Her daughter, Julia, noticed Gilchrist working on one of the pieces and said, “It doesn’t really look like you’re having any fun, Mom.”

(Opposite, below) The studio of artist Lynn Gilchrist. (Opposite, above)“Always July” by Lynn Gilchrist. (Right) The artist at work.

This was an “aha” moment for Gilchrist, who decided she needed a change of approach, of medium, to have more fun.

When she got a job at Artist’s Guild in 2006, Gilchrist told Sarah Bradley, the owner, about her desire to move in a different direction.

“I’m over these pastels,” she told her. “I want to oil paint, but I haven’t done it since college so I think I need to take classes.”

Bradley’s response has stuck with her all these years.

“You don’t have to take a class, Lynn,” she said. “You need paint. You need a brush. You need something to put it on. That’s it.”

From there, Gilchrist gave herself permission to “get a lot less detailed,” she said. Instead of taking pictures, she got outside, painting and teaching plein air.

Artist Liz Maltman, a long-time friend of Gilchrist, participated in one of her classes.

“I had just started in pastels,” Maltman said. “It was the first class I ever took. They brought us to an overlook and I thought, ‘This is too big a scene. I don’t know how to paint this.’ And [Gilchrist] told me to concentrate on one or two close things. She’s so good at seeing what would help an individual, at looking at a person’s piece – abstract, landscape – and saying, ‘Try this.’”

Gilchrist considers herself something of an art therapist without a degree, with a natural tendency to give artists an extra pat on the back, reassuring and reminding them: “Don’t over-worry it. Don’t critique yourself. Don’t make it such a big deal that you never do it.”

And Gilchrist does a lot. The walls of her home and studio, floor to ceiling, showcase a wide range of work – landscapes, of course, as well as still lifes, portraits, self-portraits, abstracts, stencils, drawings, charcoal sketches and comic-book art.

In the fall of 2007, Gilchrist realized her house was filling up with completed canvases and decided to host an open house to see if anyone

“Looking Across, Upper Shore Road” by Lynn Gilchrist.

might want to take a few pieces off her hands.

When she mentioned the idea to fellow artist Pat Olson, she said, “I’m in!” Thus the annual Sturgeon Bay Art Crawl began as an opportunity for the general public to peek in artists’ home studios.

“Somehow we pulled off that first one,” Gilchrist said, laughing. “And it’s grown astronomically. For a few years it was eight then 12, then 20. We had about 40 artists this year. It’s quite a tradition.”

The annual art crawl now includes both emerging and established artists, as well as a slew of galleries.

“She’s in it,” said Maltmann of Gilchrist’s involvement in the Door County arts scene. “She consistently contributes. She’s a cheerleader. She goes to every opening, everybody’s show. She supports the community more than anyone I know. She really cares about people and wants everyone to succeed.”

And Gilchrist wants to keep pushing herself, honing her skills, exploring new techniques.

“I don’t want to be perfect,” she said. “But I always want to be bolder.”

Lynn Gilchrist’s artwork is on display at Idea Gallery in West Jacksonport. For more information, follow her at ‘Lynn Gilchrist Art’ on Facebook or Instagram.

Hum ng into Summer

by CHARLOTTE LUKES

You might have heard this riddle: “Why do hummingbirds hum? Because they don’t know the words!” Well, most of us realize that it is the rapid beating of their wings that produces the humming sound, so that’s how they got their name.

We have only one species of hummingbird that breeds in our part of the country. That is the ruby-throated hummer. It is the smallest nesting bird here with the golden-crowned kinglet being the next smallest, and it’s the only one that nests east of the Mississippi River.

We expect to see the first returning ruby-throat here by the start of May. The earliest date one was seen occurred in 2006 on April 29. All other arrival dates over the past 20 years have been May 1 to May 8.

Males are the first to return to set up their territory and fight off other males who want to move in. When the female arrives, she will choose the tree in which she will construct her nest. You may see her near the hummer feeder while the male does his semi-circle, pendulum-like courtship flight in front of her.

These jewel-throated marvels are found only in the Western Hemisphere, known as the New World. They nest from Alaska to many countries in South America. The only place none are seen is Hawaii.

There are 340 species of hummingbirds in the world. Arizona has the highest number of species in our country with 12 types nesting there. Costa Rica has 52 species, which is amazing for such a small country. Most

The brilliant red throat feathers on the male are shown as the sun shines on them. Photo by Roy Lukes.

hummingbirds live in the tropics, so that explains why Costa Rica stands out with its great environment for these tiny birds. There are 17 species which nest in the United States.

The smallest hummingbird in the world is the Cuban bee hummingbird at a little over two inches in length. The largest is over eight inches long, the South American giant hummingbird. Our ruby-throat is three and a half inches long.

Females are rather drab and tend to blend in with the surrounding plant life where they will nest. Males have that colorful, iridescent throat patch called a gorget. Sometimes it will appear black, but when sunlight hits it, the brilliant red color just sparkles.

A feature of hummers is the long narrow bill. This helps them extract nectar from deepthroated flowers. In fact, some hummingbirds in the tropics have curved bills to adapt to specific flower shapes.

Years ago, we were alerted to a nest near Europe Lake by owners of a cottage there. They watched as the female flew from the feeder directly to the same cedar tree time and again. Roy took his camera and tripod and set it up near the tree and was able to get a few pictures of the female on the nest. A couple weeks later he went back and photographed the youngsters being fed.

This young male hummingbird has its tongue extended, showing how deep into a flower it can reach the nectar. Photo by Roy Lukes.

Photo by Amanda Bass. (Opposite) Photo by RJ Hulbert.

He noticed that the branch with the nest was under several larger branches for protection. It also had a clear area just under the branch for the female to come and go easily. The nest of a rubythroat is fastened to the tree branch with spider web strands and it is coated on the outside with Parmelia sulcata lichens.

There are only two eggs laid and each is about the size of a raw navy bean. The female does all the nest tending, incubating and feeding of the young. Males do not help with this part of the nesting job. In fact, it is suspected that the male may breed with other females in the area.

The nest opening is small enough that you could place a typical small bottle cap on top and it would cover the entire area.

Once the two youngsters fledge, they will come to the feeder. They have a white throat like the female, but the young male will develop dots of black on the throat by late August.

Later in fall, after most of the ruby-throated hummingbirds have flown to the south, you might see a rufous hummingbird up here. They nest all along the west coast and as far east as western Kansas and Nebraska. Once the young leave their home territory the strong winds of the jet stream may send them to Wisconsin for a few weeks.

The male rufous has a rustyorange head, back and tail and darker wings. The females and immatures have paler orange with greenish tones on the back, head and tail and a white breast. One was photographed in southern Door County in November several years ago.

Get your hummingbird feeders out by May 1 and enjoy these swift fliers all summer. You may also want to plant red flowers and some that have tubular shapes for the hummers to find nectar and insects.

Ethereal paintings of Door County Landscapes by Master Artist Margaret Lockwood, also jewelry, mobiles, sculptures, ceramics, and gifts in an historic Sturgeon Bay building. In the Steel Bridge Creative District. Open May-October Thurs, Fri, Sat and always by appointment.

LOwners give new life to classic motels

by JOHN MIELKE

et’s turn back the clock 60 years or so. Mom, dad and the kids are rolling down the road in a fully loaded station wagon with their eyes peeled for a bright vacancy sign at one of the cozy motels dotting the peninsula.

From Sturgeon Bay to Gills Rock and beyond, motels like the Patio, the Le Roy, the Sands, the Maple Grove, the Holiday, Dun-Ro-Min and many others welcomed vacationers eager to enjoy a slice of Door County in the summer.

By definition, motels differ from inns and hotels in that they do not, traditionally, include an onsite bar or restaurant. And doors to the rooms usually face the outside. Many historic Door County motels have gone by the wayside for a variety of reasons, but it mostly boils down to economics. The small motels and motor inns of yesteryear had fewer rooms and that meant less revenue. They had fewer amenities, so the amount they could charge was limited. If the dollars coming in couldn’t keep pace with expenses, the doors would eventually close. Or, the land became so valuable that it was hard to say no to potential buyers.

But some remain, and each one has a story.

When guests stay at the Holiday Motel, they take a step back in time. Photos submitted

(Opposite) The Cape Cod motel has welcomed drivers at the south end of the Village of Egg Harbor for decades. Photos courtesy of the Egg Harbor Historical Society.

The Sands Motel, pictured here in October of 1974, was originally located in Baileys Harbor before it was moved to southern Door County and gained new life as the Countryside. Photo by Bill Tishler.

Sands to the Countryside

For those who enjoyed the Sands Motel in Baileys Harbor, the building still exists, it’s just not where it used to be. Chris Merkle bought the Sands Motel and moved it from Baileys Harbor to the Little Sturgeon area in 1994. Thirty years later, Luke Wendricks, who has been involved with area fishing tournaments, purchased the motel and RV park.

New Purpose for the Cape Cod

At the Cape Cod Motel in Egg Harbor, the No Vacancy light still shines – all the time. Lynn Anschutz and her family operated the Cape Cod for 30 years before selling in 2019 to the Pollman family, owners of Shipwrecked Brew Pub and Door Peninsula Winery. David Pollman said the Cape Cod now serves as seasonal housing for employees, including international students working in the U.S. on exchange visas.

Why is the No Vacancy lit 24/7? Because when it wasn’t, travelers kept stopping by to ask about a room.

The Cape Cod Motel was once known as the Do Little Motel, and before that the Le Roy Motel. When the Anschutz family purchased it, many of the guests were like that family in the station wagon: traveling north in Door County looking for a vacancy sign. It took four or five years to build up the clientele to where the majority of the rooms were booked in advance.

“We were the first motel coming into northern Door County,” Anschutz said. “In the morning we may have had one or two rooms left to fill. I usually picked those up off the road. I was full the whole season, even all the way up to October.”

Guests were drawn to the Cape Cod because it was quiet and clean, the rates were low and it had a large backyard.

“Every day, somebody was sitting back there,” she said. “People got to know other people who were staying there. It was just like one big family. I made so many friends and I’m still in contact with so many of them. I miss that portion of it. But I don’t miss the work.”

Holiday Music Motel

In Sturgeon Bay, you’ll find two classic motels that still have the welcome mat out year-round – the Holiday Music Motel and the Motel 57. The Holiday was built in 1952, and, like most motels, it was built on what was then a well-traveled highway. Twentysix years before the Bayview Bridge opened to allow northbound traffic to bypass the city, all visitors who crossed the bay landed at the Holiday’s doorstep.

Today the hotel is operated by melaniejane, whose route to management was unconventional. Her reputation as an accomplished cellist and songwriter led to a Steel Bridge Songfest invitation in 2007 from event organizer pat mAcdonald.

“It has happened to me a couple of times in my life where I feel like this place is going to mean something,” melaniejane said. “I walked into the diner. It was just the freakiest thing because there is only one other place that I’ve ever seen a salmon boomerang countertop, and that’s in the house I grew up in.”

The Holiday and the Songfest are intertwined. “Years ago, pat and Jackson Browne were joking about making a trailer park,” melaniejane said. “pat called him and said, ‘Well it’s not a trailer park, but we’ve got this groovy little motel.’”

Browne, mAcdonald and his sister Christie Weber and others bought in and set about resurrecting the motel with music at its heart.

“I offered to help with the music end of things,” melaniejane said, “but then I was just around the motel more and more.

8th Annual Pride Festival Saturday, June 29 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Martin Park in Sturgeon Bay Music, Vendors, Art Activities, Family Fun, & More! info@opendoorpride.org opendoorpride.org

Grammy Award Winning Branford Marsalis comes to the Peninsula Music Festival on August 6th!

Conductor Laureate Victor Yampolsky returns to

Whenever I saw a way that I could help I would just jump in.”

Eventually she was running the joint.

The Holiday ownership and music mission has changed over the years, but other things have stayed the same. Step inside a room and it feels like you’re back in the ‘50s. The rooms are immaculate – melaniejane takes great pride in the cleanliness of the Holiday and it shows.

The Holiday still features the original metal Simmons furniture, the same type of furniture was used in the first Holiday Inn franchise in Memphis, Tennessee.

“This place is so special,” melaniejane said.

“People look around here and they’re like, ‘Oh, my god, my grandma had that floor, or that counter was in my house or that lamp.’

It’s not strictly ‘50s, it’s definitely a mix of things, but it’s nostalgic.”

Motel 57

The Dun-Ro-Min Motel along Highway 57 opened in the mid-50s. The doors closed around 2002 and the building stood quietly shuttered for the next decade.

When it went up for sale, Jon Hanson asked his wife Patti about buying the motel.

“Absolutely not,” she said.

Jon persisted, and eventually convinced Patti it was a risk worth taking.

They weren’t strangers to the hotel business. For more than 30 years, the couple have operated Snug Harbor Inn on Sturgeon Bay’s east side. Later they purchased what is now the Beach Harbor Resort and Waterfront Mary’s on the west side.

But this was a project.

“It literally looked like a hurricane went through here,” Jon said. But in a

The

sat

for several years at the

foreshadowing of future success, as trailers and dumpsters filled with old mattresses and furniture cluttered the yard, people kept coming to the door to ask if any rooms were available.

The building was originally a three-story barracks during World War II for civilian workers at the Sturgeon Bay shipyards. General contractor Lester Nebel had the contract to tear down the pre-fab barracks aft er the war.

“Instead of taking them down, he lined up eight of them here, eight of them back there and eight of them back over there,” Jon said as he pointed around the U-shaped property. “He put a roof on them all and that’s how these came to be. I always tell people that he was just way ahead of his time in recycling and adaptive reuse. Nowadays he would get an award for saving all this stuff.”

One thing that didn’t get saved was the classic Dun-Ro-Min neon sign. Like much of the other neon that welcomed travelers throughout Door County, the whereabouts of the sign are unknown.

The rooms at Motel 57, like the Holiday, have a nostalgic feel, but each one is a little different with a splash of artistic, modern design. “The tile guy just went crazier and crazier,” Jon said. “There’s a bathroom where two lines of black tile on white tile go up at an angle and get bigger as it goes around the room. There’s another room we call the Amber Room, which is all done in two shades of amber glass tile.”

Patti Hanson believes that in today’s cookiecutter world, it’s good to have places that are still a little different.

Motel 57

dormant

south end of Sturgeon Bay but was resurrected by Jon and Patti Hanson in 2012. Photos submitted.

the Links Secrets of

by CRAIG STERRETT

The golf courses of Door County are some of the most visible properties on the peninsula, but each has hidden stories to tell. Here are five curious stories many regular golfers may not know.

Golf course employees and patrons in Door County usually leave celebrities alone, except in situations such as LPGA Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez playing an inaugural round with the course designers at Horseshoe Bay in 2000. Submitted.

History buffs know that a visit to golf courses by Bob Hope in 1971 stirred excitement throughout Door County. But did you know that Hope isn’t the only star to shine on Door County courses?

Local operators have seen quite a few celebrities and generally make efforts to leave them alone – though it was tough to ignore an entertainment giant like Bob Hope. The movie star, comedian, 19-time Academy Awards host and longtime USO tour leader was one of the most famous people in America when he spent a week in Egg Harbor in 1971.

Former Alpine Resort operator Bill Bertschinger told his daughters and staff not to photograph Hope when he showed up at Alpine. He played nine holes, rested in the clubhouse, cordially visited with Bertschinger family members and others, and then played nine more.

Soon aft er, a photo of Hope playing at Maxwelton Braes popped up in the Door

County Advocate, and Hope made stops at Casey’s Tavern and other Egg Harbor businesses in the quiet of September.

At The Orchards of Egg Harbor, general manager and partner Jack Jackson frequently sees celebrities who show up for a quiet round. If TV stars, members of the Green Bay Packers or the “Voice of the Packers,” Wayne Larrivee, show up, Jackson and the staff provide service and privacy.

LPGA Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez drew a crowd and fanfare when she came to play an inaugural round when Horseshoe Bay Golf Club opened in 2000.

And, people paid attention when the late Cindy Morgan, who played Lacey Underall in the 1980 film, Caddyshack, showed up for an outing at The Orchards.

The Orchards, which still has some trees tended to by Hyline Orchard, is obviously built on old orchard land. But did you know it isn’t the only course weaving through old cherry or apple trees?

One hole at Horseshoe Bay is nicknamed Big Mac, as in McIntosh apples, commemorating the former land use.

All of Cherry Hills Golf Course (originally called Pepperdine) was built in 1976 and 1977 from former Martin and Reynolds orchards’ land. Door County Advocate writer Curley Paul wrote aft er playing his first round, that wayward shots might cost you a stroke but give you a cherry or apple to pick.

Golfers know that the only Door County courses with bentgrass fairways are The Orchards at Egg Harbor and Horseshoe Bay Golf Club. But did you know both courses are disaster survivors and both turn 24 years old this year?

(Top) The Orchards golf course – and many other courses in Door County – was once almost all occupied by apple, pear or cherry trees.

(Right) In August of 1998, a massive tornado tore through Horseshoe Bay Golf Course as it was under construction. File photo courtesy of Jim Cowles.

(Bottom) In 1948, the LA Rams turned Maxwelton Braes into a mid-season training camp. Photo courtesy of the Erickson Family Collection.

Maxwelton Braes made news when it was purchased by Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy in 2022. But did you know the course, and the lodge that used to be part of the same business, has deeper ties to the NFL?

The course served as a temporary home away from home for the Los Angeles Rams in 1948 when the team spent more than two weeks at Maxwelton Braes during their Midwest swing for games against Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit.

Horseshoe Bay was in the path of a power ful tornado in August of 1998 that cut a path across the under-construction course and Highway 42.

The difficult, 207-yard par-3 fifth hole is named “Twister’s Gulch.” It’s a treeless setting bordered by native landscape and dramatic greenside bunkers. Golfers can’t see that designers Rick Robbins and Brian Lussier originally envisioned building the green back in a chute of pine trees before the tornado tore them apart.

The Orchards at Egg Harbor didn’t have course damage but operated out of a trailer aft er fire destroyed the clubhouse in 2007.

The rebuilt clubhouse provides the pro shop, space, views and dining facilities that golfers experience in major golf destinations, and the course is only getting better as it matures. The Orchards was ranked sixth most difficult course in Northeast Wisconsin in 2023, just ahead of No. 7 Horseshoe Bay and No. 13 Idlewild.

Kriss Schorer, niece of Maxwelton Braes financier Mike McArdle, said the resort set up a practice field east of the lodge using part of the 11th fairway. Aft er local residents learned the Rams were in town, many tried to catch a peek at players and possibly quarterback Bob Waterfield’s wife, actress Jane Russell. The players traveled without spouses, however. In Sturgeon Bay, the Rams handed out flags and banners, which people waved as the team traveled through the city by bus.

Schorer said a couple of years ago, new lodge owners found a reminder of the Rams’ stay –goalposts – in the attic.

Golfers won’t forget Alpine’s 360-yard finishing hole with the clifftop tee overlooking the bay, some 180 feet above the fairway. But did you know how that hole came to be?

Before hiring designer Fritz Schaller and building the third nine in the early 1970s, Bertschinger needed to find a way for the course to lead back to the clubhouse.

Late one evening, Bertschinger found a flat spot in the woods near the clubhouse and tied a flashlight to a tree where he visualized a green. He then climbed up the bluff. When he got to the top, he could see the flashlight clearly in the dark. That told him golfers could see the green from the tee, and he knew, “We have a golf course.”

The view from Alpine’s Blue Nine hole. Len Villano

And putting Door County on world wine map

by JOHN MIELKE

Door County has a trail for just about every taste. Hiking trails, biking trails, cross-country ski trails – even a wine trail.

The ten wineries of the Door Peninsula – Anchored Roots, Door 44, Door Peninsula, Lake Fire, Orchard Country, Harbor Ridge, Red Oak, Simon Creek, Stone’s Throw and von Stiehl – came together to create the Door County Wine Trail to elevate not only their businesses, but the reputation of the region’s wine industry.

They’re part of the Wisconsin Ledge AVA, an American Viticultural Area recognized by the federal government as a wine-producing region.

Carrie Viste is director of sales and marketing for Lautenbach’s Orchard

Growing Together Together

Country Winery, the winery started by her late father in 1985.

“Yes, we compete against each other,” Viste said of her fellow Wine Trail members, “but we also try to help each other out and grow the industry.”

Tim Lawrie founded Simon Creek Vineyard and Winery near Carlsville in 2003. As legend has it, notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone once tried to buy the 120-acre property. “Mr. Simon, refused to sell it,” said Heather Smith, Lawrie’s daughter and family representative of Simon Creek. Smith adds that the daughter of Capone’s lawyer used to visit the winery oft en, “and she remembered that story as well.”

Lawrie, who died in 2017, is credited with the idea of a Door County Wine Trail. Smith said her dad saw the trail as a way to help the newer business segment succeed.

“I know that was the whole premise of it,” she said. “Not just trying to get business to the individual wineries, but also to have this collaboration with others that are in the industry and figuring out how to navigate through these new times.”

To get the trail moving, Lawrie made his first call to the oldest wine producer in the state – von Stiehl. Brothers Aric and Brad Schmiling are the owners of the winery with roots dating back to 1967 when Dr. Charles “Doc” Stiehl obtained a state license to sell his Door County cherry wine.

Brad remembers Lawrie suggesting, “So how about we work together?”

Over the years, much like other wineries in the area, von Stiehl has enhanced its offering. “We actually still do some fruit wine,” Brad said.

“But we started offering more grape varieties. My dad started buying some grapes and fermenting wine in the ‘90s.” In 1995, von Stiehl planted vineyards in Door County.

Lawrie also reached out to his Carlsville neighbor, Door Peninsula Winery, which has a 50-year history of making quality wine from local and regional fruits and grapes.

Beth Levendusky, operations and creative director at Door Peninsula Winery, pointed to the Door County heritage of orchard agriculture.

“Before prohibition, more than 50,000 gallons of hard cider were made every year [in Carlsville],” she said.

“The apples that the orchards were producing, you had to preserve them some way. The natural way is to make cider.”

Door Peninsula Winery has its own vineyard and its own orchards. “But that’s not enough,” Levendusky said. The winery buys from every orchard in Door County as well as multiple vineyards throughout the state of Wisconsin.

Anchored Roots is one of the newer wineries on the Wine Trail. There, Amy and Eric Gale bring wine experience from Washington state to Door County. Eric grew up on a dairy farm near Luxemburg. After earning his master’s degree, he worked for a large company in Washington as a viticulturist in charge of about 5,000 acres. His responsibilities included managing vineyards and working with vineyard managers to make sure that certain parameters were being met caring for the plants to ensure highquality grapes.

Amy said that the idea of returning to Door County was always in the back of their minds. “We went out there with the intent to learn as much as we could,” she said.

Part of what Amy and Eric learned is that you’re not just running your winery; you are an ambassador for the entire wine region. “We have to know what everyone else is doing,” Amy said. The Wine Trail board of directors meets quarterly, and the marketing team meets each month. “We’re having conversations with other folks who are interested in moving this industry forward,” she said.

At Parallel 44 and Door 44, where Johnson has been growing grapes and producing quality wine for more than 20 years, he sees the Door County Wine Trail as a way to bring awareness to area wines and to the Wisconsin Ledge AVA.

Johnson admits to being a dreamer, but his vision is that someday folks perusing the wine list at their favorite restaurant will be looking for the marquette, the petite pearl or the itasca rather than a cabernet, pinot noir or chardonnay. “I’ve just got this inner passion like I want this area to

be on the world map of wine,” Johnson said.

In 2016, the Wine Trail members organized the first Door County Wine Fest. The event was launched to celebrate and broaden the conversation about Door County wine, and increased the number of people visiting the wineries. Viste said that in addition to sampling different wines from the region, there is an educational aspect to the Wine Fest.

“You can learn more about us and hear our story,” she said. “And you learn what we’re doing and how we’re making wine.”

The 2024 Wine Fest is Saturday, June 22, at About Thyme Farm near Baileys Harbor. The fest brings much-needed revenue to the trail to help with marketing and promotion.

Michigan invests more than $1 million each year.

New this year is the Wine Trail Passport, a $75 pass that includes a promotional offer at each winery, in total valued at more than $170.

“You spend two weekends up here, it’s very easy for you to visit all [the wineries],” Amy said.

Steve Johnson, owner of Parallel 44 Winery near Kewaunee and Door 44 Winery just north of Sturgeon Bay, has served on the Wisconsin Winery Association board of directors and recently completed his term as president. The association has approximately 80 members of the state’s 100 wineries. The Wisconsin Winery Association spends less than $100,000 each year on marketing. In comparison, a similar organization in

It’s all part of broadening the reach and telling the story of the peninsula wineries. Back at Simon Creek, where Lawrie’s vision started it all, Smith said that if her dad was still around, he’d be impressed with today’s generation of Door County wine entrepreneurs. He would also be pleased, she said, to see how families like the Lautenbachs, the Schmilings, and his own family members are “carrying the torch” for those who started something new.

Wine Fest Moves to the Farm

If you want to experience all the wines of the peninsula without trekking the full Door County Wine Trail, head to Baileys Harbor this June.

The Door County Wine Fest is moving to the beautiful grounds of About Thyme Farm, an organic garden on a historic farmstead dating to 1877. Taste wines from all 10 of the wineries on the trail in one spot, where you’ll have the chance to meet many of the families and winemakers who put their passion into every bottle.

Wine lovers will enjoy live music from Open Tab, food from four great local

food trucks, and free shuttles to take people to and from the fest. And new in 2024, attendees will also get to sample cheeses from five Wisconsin cheesemakers –Renard’s, Scray’s, Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery, Ron’s Wisconsin Cheese and Door County Creamery.

Taste, learn and experience the world of wine on the Wisconsin Ledge. Buy tickets at doorcountywinefest.com.

CHINESE DUMPLINGS

by JESS FARLEY

photos by Katie Hohmann

Ilove a good culinary adventure, especially when it involves learning new skills. Last winter I discovered the cooking classes offered through Sevastopol School, and the skills of Wenbo Liu.

Liu, who was born and raised in China before coming to America (where he goes by “Martin”), shared his native Chinese skillset and cuisine during his series of classes.

A patient and detail-oriented instructor, Liu broke down the history, region of origin and details of each dish. At the tail end of each class, his wife (a math teacher at Sevastopol School) and three young children would barrel into the classroom full of energy, excited to join us in tasting the fruits of our labor. These layers of family, groundedness and history made each class a special experience.

When Sevastopol School was remodeled several years ago, planners had the foresight to prioritize culinary arts with a beautiful kitchen classroom. The space was state of the art, made more perfect by the culinary adventures we shared under Liu’s watchful eye and instruction.

If you can’t make a class, learn from Liu on YouTube at The Liu View 7005, where you will find cooking instruction along with other videos about Door County and Wisconsin living.

Although everything we made was spectacular, my favorite dish was the traditional savory Chinese Dumplings. Liu directed us through a dough made of only all-purpose flour and water and a pork filling. You can also stuff these with tofu and vegetables, ground chicken or turkey, or whatever tickles your fancy.

The savory dumplings are putzy to assemble, but worth the time and effort. This is a great kitchen day

to spend with two or three friendsshare the work and the bounty. The dumplings can be served as appetizers or the main course. They’re hard to stop eating once you start!

CHINESE DUMPLINGS

BY MARTIN LIU

Yield approximately 100 Dumplings

TOOLS

Rolling pin

Dough cutter

Stock pot

Slotted spoon

Plastic wrap

THE DOUGH

Basic ratio of 2 to 1 (flour to water)

Make the dough first - it will need time to sit and allow the gluten to form.

6 cups all-purpose flour

2 ¼ cups cold water

Best to make the dough using your hands. Slowly add water to the flour, use your hands to mix it together. Roll the dough out, using your hands to also work the dough. Once it has a good consistency, place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit 15 minutes at room temperature. Roll it out a second time until the dough surface becomes smooth. Place in refrigerator

JUICY PORK FILLING

2 lbs ground pork

1 bunch chopped green onion (reserve the green tops for the dipping sauce)

2 Tbsps chopped ginger root (skin on)

2 Tbsps soy sauce or Bragg’s amino acid

1 tsp MSG (substitute powdered chicken stock base if preferred)

1 tsp ground white pepper (can substitute black pepper)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp Chinese Five Spice

½ cup water or chicken broth

¼ cup vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together except the water or broth and vegetable oil. Once all spices are mixed, add enough water or broth so the mixture gets sticky but not runny. If you add too much liquid, just add a smidge of cornstarch to help bind things together. Lastly, add the vegetable oil and mix until it forms together like a sausage. Place the meat in the refrigerator for a minimum of 10 minutes, allowing flavors to bind.

ASSEMBLY

Remove dough from the refrigerator. Roll dough out one more time (the dough should be worked 2-3 times to allow the gluten to form). Work the dough into coils approximately 1 inch in diameter. Using the dough cutter cut the dough into ½ inch pieces. Using your rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a thin circle.

Place the rolled dough disk in the palm of your hand. Place a dollop of the pork filling on half the disk. Using your finger, run a bit of water around the edge of the dough. Fold the other half over the filling and crimp the edges of the dough together using a fork. Repeat until all the dough and filling is used up.

Place the finished dumplings on a sheet pan. Do not let the edges touch as they will stick together. Cover with plastic wrap so they do not dry out. You can finish cooking the dumplings the same day or freeze and save for later. To freeze the dumplings, place the sheet pan directly in the freezer for approximately ½ hour. Once they are starting to freeze you can transfer the mostly frozen dumplings into gallon sized freezer bags. Remove extra air from the bag, seal and place in the freezer for future use.

COOKING

Fill a large stock pot ⅔ of the way with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 Tbsp of salt into the boiling water (make sure you have additional cold water in a pitcher ready to use).

Add the dumplings to the boiling water, with room in the pan for the dumplings to move in the water. Stir the dumplings, making sure they are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and when the water is nearly boiling over, remove the lid and add approximately ¾ cup of cold tap water to the pot. Stir the dumplings and replace the cover. Repeat this process 2 more times. Each round of dumplings cooks for a total of 10 or more minutes. They are done when the pork filling is tight and white in color. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked dumplings from the water and repeat the process until all the dumplings are cooked.

One History...Three Ports of Call.

DIPPING SAUCE

2 cloves smashed garlic

1 Tbsp hot vegetable oil

½ cup water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp brown balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

¼ tsp powdered chicken bouillon

¼ tsp sugar

¼ tsp chili oil (optional - adds lots of spice)

¼ tsp mustard oil (optional)

1 tsp Chinese peppercorn oil

2 Tbsps green onions, chopped

2 Tbsps chopped ginger

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro, stems removed

•

•

•

•

•

Add the smashed garlic to a medium glass bowl. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and pour over the garlic, releasing the essence of the garlic into the oil. Add the water, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, bouillon, sugar and stir. Add the chili, mustard and or peppercorn oils. Stir. Add the fresh green onions, ginger and cilantro.

Assemble the dipping sauce while the dumplings are boiling.

As soon as the dumplings are finished, dip them in the sauce and enjoy. Be prepared for a flavor explosion in your mouth!

RESTAURANT GUIDE

Key

$10-15*

$15-20*

$20*

Full bar

Beer and wine only

Outdoor seating available

Kids’ menu available

Offering breakfast

Offering lunch

Offering dinner

Reservations accepted

Restaurants are listed in alphabetical order by town. Information is subject to change. Contact individual restaurants for hours of operation. Inclusion in this directory should not be considered an unqualified endorsement by Door County Living. Restaurants are encouraged to email us with up-to-date information at info@doorcountyliving.com.

dessert selections in a casual and comfortable setting. Children’s menu available. Family friendly.

DCBC Eats

8099 Hwy 57 (920) 239-8181

$$ L D

Harbor Fish

Market & Grille

8080 Hwy 57 (920) 839-9999

Open during winter (hours may vary)

*Price range based on average dinner entrée (if available)

BAILEYS HARBOR

AC Tap

9322 Hwy 57 (920) 839-2426

$ L D J T

Baileys 57 7998 Hwy 57 (920) 839-2114

Baileys57.com

$ B L T

Chives Restaurant 8041 Hwy 57 (920) 839-2000 chivesdoorcounty.com

$$$ L D T (

Cornerstone Pub & Restaurant

8123 Hwy 57 (920) 839-9001 baileysharborcorner stonepub.com

$$ B L D J T { Coyote Roadhouse 3026 Cty E (920) 839-9192

$$ L D J T {

Located on the shore of Kangaroo Lake offering a full-service bar, appetizers, lunch and

harborfishmarket grille.com

$$$ L D J { ( T

A full-service restaurant in the heart of Baileys Harbor. Distinctive waterfront dining with a casual upscale vibe. Seasonal, pet-friendly garden seating.

PC Junction Corner of A and E (920) 839-2048

$ L D J {

Sway Brewery & Bakery 2434 Cty F swaybeer.com

$ B { T

The Blue Ox 8051 Hwy 57 (920) 839-2271

$ L D { The Thirsty Cow Taphouse

7899 Cty A (920) 839-9991 facebook.com/ thetipsycowtaphouse

$ L D T Top Deck

Restaurant & Bar 1420 Pine Dr. (920) 839-2331 gordonlodge.com

$$$ B D J { ( Vino! Vino! at Stone’s Throw Winery

3382 Cty E (920) 839-9760

$$ L D T Vino! Vino! is a contemporary Tuscan wine bar and tapas experience. Join us for great wine and fresh food in an atmosphere of friendly, casual elegance.

BRUSSELS/LITTLE STURGEON

Chaudoir’s Dock 10863 Cty N (920) 493-7075

chaudoirs.com

$$ L D { Gilmo’s Bar & Bistro Wavepoint Marina Resort, 3600 Cty CC (920) 824-5440 wavepointe.com

$$ L D J T { ( Idlewild Pub & Grill 4146 Golf Valley Dr. (920) 743-5630

$$ L D { Joe Rouer’s Bar E1098 Cty X (920) 866-2585 facebook.com/ Rouer1952

$ L D T { Little Brown

Jug Saloon 8952 Cty C (920) 824-5005 littlebrownjugbar.com

$$ L D

Rouer’s Grand Slam 9710 School Road (920) 493-6556

$$ L D

Rouer’s Roadhouse 8649 Cty C (920) 824-5100 facebook.com/ RouersRoadhouse

$ L D

Sawyer Harbor Pub & Grill 36963 Cty Rd. M (920) 493-6558

$$ L D T Sunset Grill 3810 Rileys Point Road (920) 824-5130

$$ D J T { The Belgian Delight 1100 Cty C (920) 825-1111

belgiandelight brussels.com

$$ B L D (

CARLSVILLE

Carlsville Roadhouse 5790 Hwy 42 (920) 743-4966

$ L D T

Door County Coffee Co.

5773 Hwy 42 (920) 743-8930 doorcountycoffee.com

$ B L J T {

Rusty Tractor 6216 Hwy 42 (920) 743-8704 rustytractordoco.com

$ B

EGG HARBOR

Big Easy Bagel & Beignet 7755 Hwy 42 (920) 868-9600 bigeasydoor county.com

$ B L T {

Burton’s on the Bay 7715 Alpine Road (920) 868-3000 Alpineresort.com

$$$ B L D J

Burton’s on the Bay is an upscale waterfront restaurant within the newly restored Alpine Resort that offers delicious daily cuisine – breakfast, lunch and dinner with panoramic views of the bay. Both indoor and outdoor dining options are available. Hours of operation change

with the season. Visit alpineresort.com or call for restaurant hours.

Burton’s on the Green 7670 Horseshoe Bay Road (920) 868-3000

$$ B L D J { T

Burton’s on the Green is Alpine Resort’s golf course clubhouse restaurant offering delicious cuisine crafted by the culinary team of Burton’s on the Bay. Burton’s on the Green is open year-round, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Carrington 7643 Hillside Road (920) 868-5162 carringtondoor county.com

$$$ D J T

Open year-round, we are an upscale casual restaurant located at the Landmark Resort. Featuring a wide range of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, steaks, fish, American classics, desserts and a full bar. Every seat offers a view of the bay. With a Comedy Club on

the second Thursday of the month. View website for our current hours and Comedy Club shows. Serving brunch and dinner.

Casey’s BBQ & Smokehouse 7855 Hwy 42 (920) 868-3038 caseysbbqand smokehouse.com

$$ L D J T

Matthew Peterson established Casey’s BBQ & Smokehouse in 2008. Matthew, a Door County native, wanted to put a Door County twist on Southern-style BBQ by using cherry wood to give our meats a rosy cast

Fireside Restaurant 7755 Hwy 42 (920) 868-4800 thefiresiderestaurant. com

$$$ D J T

Greens N Grains Deli 7821 Hwy 42 (920) 868-9999

greens-N-grains.com

$ B L J { The Greens N Grains Deli features a selection of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and raw-food cuisine. The deli also features a juice bar with freshly pressed veggie juices, fruit smoothies, a healthful bakery, tea bar and organic coffees.

Log Den 6626 Hwy 42 (920) 868-3888

thelogden.com

$$ L D J T { ( MacReady Artisan Bread Company 7828 Hwy 42 (920) 868-2233

MacReadyBread Company.com

$ L D J T {

Mezzanine 7821 Horseshoe Bay Road (920) 786-7698 mezzaninerooftop.com

$$$ B L D

Pizza Bros 4633 Market St. $$ L D Fast and casual woodfired pizza. Traditional and experimental flavors, made from scratch and hand pressed. Located inside One Barrel Brewing Company.

Shipwrecked Brew Pub 7791 Hwy 42 (920) 868-2767

shipwreckedmicro brew.com

$$$ L D J T {

Stone Hedge Golf and Pub 4320 Cty E stonehedgegolf andpub.com

$ L D

The Orchards at Egg Harbor 8125 Heritage Lake Road (920) 868-2483 orchardsategg harbor.com

$ L J {

Village Cafe 7918 Hwy 42 (920) 868-3247

$$ B L J { Villaggio’s Steak House 4655 Cty Rd. E (920) 890-2190

mojorestaurantgroup. com

$$$ D J ( ELLISON BAY Blue Bear 12029 Hwy 42 (920) 854-3284

$$ B L D

Featuring a locally sourced menu created from scratch in our kitchen. Offering an extensive selection of both gluten-free and vegan options. Full bar with craft cocktails, local beers, sustainably sourced wine and specialty coffee drinks. Brew Coffee 12002 Hwy 42 (920) 421-2739

$ B L T {

Della Porta 12029 Hwy 42 (920) 633-4014 dellaportadc.com

$$ D

Authentic southern Italian cuisine. With 20 years of experience cooking in the finest restaurants, our chef is excited to present their vision to you and all our guests. We refuse to compromise on quality in our restaurant. That’s why we source our fresh ingredients from local farmers markets. No matter what time of year, you can be sure you’re eating the best of the season.

Hügel Haus

11934 Hwy 42 (920) 633-4080

$$ D J T ( A German-inspired, Wisconsin-influenced restaurant located on the hill in Ellison Bay serving Deutschland classics and inspired Wisconsin favorites, including Door County’s best cheese curds! Nightly specials

and daily happy hour with German bier, wine and specialty cocktails. Open year-round and self-proclaimed as “Door County’s Wurst Bar.” View our menu and hours at hugelhausdoorcounty. com.

Kick Ash Coffee 12001 Mink River Road (920) 421-1041 kickashproducts.com

$ B L T {

La Piazza 12029 Hwy 42

An outdoor Italian wine bar serving cocktails, small plates, neopolitan pizza and desserts. Located behind Blue Bear in downtown Ellison Bay.

$$ L D J T {

Mink River Basin 12010 Hwy 42 (920) 854-2250 minkriverbasin.com

$$ B L D J T { ( Osteria Tre Tassi 11976 Mink River Rd.

$$$ D T (

Shoreline Restaurant 12747 Hwy 42 (920) 854-2950

$$$ D (

EPHRAIM

Anatolia 9922 Water Street, Unit 7

$$ L D

Bad Moravian 3055 Church St.

$$ D T

Chef’s Hat

9998 Pioneer Lane (920) 854-2034

$$ B L D J T { ( Cultured 2570 Cty Q (920) 512-3821

$ B L T

Good Eggs

9820 Brookside Lane (920) 854-6621

$ B L {

Klaud’s Kitchen 10420 Water Street (920) 854-3005

klaudskitchen.com

$ B L D J T {

We’ve moved! Visit our new location. Still family owned and operated. Still offering fabulous bakery, espresso drinks, and all your favorite options for breakfast lunch and dinner. We’re open all year long and can’t wait to see you!

Old Post Office Restaurant 10040 Hwy 42 (920) 854-4034

oldpostoffice-door county.com

$$ B D J { ( Pearl Wine Cottage 3058 Church St. (920) 633-5006

pearlwinecottage.com

$$ D { Peninsula State Park Clubhouse Restaurant 9890 Shore Road (920) 854-5791 peninsulagolf.org

$ B L

Prince of Pierogi 9922 Water St., #6 (920) 421-8619

princeofpierogi.com

$$ L D { Sip 10326 N. Water St. (920) 857-5602

$$ B L D T {

The place to be for fresh, delicious food that spotlights bold flavors and spectacular presentation. Full coffee shop and wine bar with relaxing indoor and outdoor seating. Combined space with fun home décor and

excellent gifts you didn’t know you needed.

Come Sip with us –open daily year-around, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Summer Kitchen 10425 Water St. (920) 854-2131

$$ B L D J { (

Located between Ephraim and Sister Bay, Door County’s only garden restaurant, Sumer Kitchen, is open every day for breakfast, luch and diner. Wellknown for its soup bar and homemade pies – in addition to the extensive menu – Summer Kitchen also serves autehentic Mexican food.

Sunset Harbor Grill 10018 Water St.

$$ B L D J

Trixie’s 9996 Pioneer Lane (920) 854-8008

$$$ D (T

Wilson’s Restaurant 9990 Water St. (920) 854-2041 wilsonsicecream.com

$ L D J {

FISH CREEK

Alexander’s of Door County 3667 Hwy 42 (920) 868-3532 alexandersofdoor county.com

$$$ D J T { ( Barringer’s Restaurant 1 N. Spruce St. (920) 868-3738 barringersdoor county.com

$$$ L D { T ( Bayside Coffee The Shops at the Bayside baysidecoffee cottage.com

$ B L J Fish Creek’s only waterfront cafe. Beautifully situated across the street from the town dock. Outdoor seating with a view. Featuring piping hot or iced Colectivo coffee, espresso drinks and Rishi teas, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads and bakery.

Bayside Tavern 4160 Main St. (920) 868-3441

baysidetavern.com

$ L D J T

MORNING. NOON. NIGHT.

We’ve got all the makings for a vacation to remember.

Shiny Moon Café 4164 Main St. shinymooncafe.com

$$ B L T

Mike’s Port Pub 6269 Hwy 57 (920) 823-2081

$$ L D T

The Beach Bowl Founder’s Square, 4199 Main St.

$ B L

The Cherry Hut 8813 Hwy 42 (920) 868-4450 doorcounty cherryhut.com

$$ L D J {

Welcker’s Lounge 4192 Main St. (920) 660-4316

For an unpredictably great time, visit Fish Creek’s favorite tavern. Serving cocktails, beer and our famous Bayside Coffee. Our short-order menu features hearty house-made soups, sandwiches, burgers, house-made pizza, Friday fish fry and Smilen Bob’s chili.

SISTER BAY

Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant

10698 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-2626

aljohnsons.com

$$ B L D J T

Boathouse on the Bay 10716 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-3223

$$$ L D J {

welckers.com

Open daily year-round!

Blue Horse Beach Café 4113 Main St. (920) 868-1471

bluehorsecafe.com

$ B L J T {

$$$ B L D ( White Gull Inn 4225 Main St. (920) 868-3517 whitegullinn.com

Start your day with breakfast or lunch at Bayside Coffee, Fish Creek’s only waterfront cafe featuring piping hot Colectivo Coffee drinks, fresh baked goods, breakfast sandwiches and fresh salads.

Spend your afternoon strolling through our charming cottage shops and discover beautiful handbags, jewelry, fragrances, home goods, baby gifts, books and our own branded apparel at The Bayside Shop.

Anytime day or night, gather with family and friends at the historic Bayside Tavern, named “Wisconsin’s Best Small Town Bar” and enjoy our full bar, “Smilen” Bob’s Famous Chili, made-to-order pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, and our Friday Fish Fry.

Bayside Tavern, Bayside Coffee and The Bayside Shop located in downtown Fish Creek, Door County, WI

DC Chocolate Design 9341 Spring Road, Unit A6 (920) 868-5155

dcchocolate design.com

$ B L T {

English Inn

3713 Hwy 42 (920) 868-3076

theenglishinn.com

$$$ D J T (

Fika Bakery & Cafe 3903 Hwy 42 (920) 868-5233

$ B L {

Fish Creek Market 4164 Main St. (920) 868-3351

Fishcreekmarket 1892.com

$$ L Hill Street 4149 Main St. Hillstreetdoorcounty. com

$$ L D T

Julie’s Park Cafe & Motel 4020 Hwy 42 (920) 868-2999

juliesmotel.com

$$ B L J { (

Kettle Black Fish Boil 4158 Main St. (920) 868-5215

kettleblackfishboil.com

$$ D ( Loft 4170 Main St. (920) 868-5242

$$ L D J {

Not Licked Yet 4054 Hwy 42 (920) 868-2617 notlickedyet.com

$ L D {

Pelletier’s Restaurant Founder’s Square (920) 868-3313 doorcountyfish boil.com

$$ B L D J { (

$$$ B L D J T ( Serving breakfast, including the famous cherry stuffed French toast as featured on Good Morning America, as well as a full menu daily. Featuring fish boils in the summer, fall and select winter nights, along with candlelight dinners. Reservations recommended for dinner.

Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille 4023 Hwy 42 (920) 868-3095 wildtomatopizza.com

$ L D J T {

FORESTVILLE

The Bullpen 213 W. Main St., #9691 (920) 856-6199

$$ L D T

The Hen House Bar & Grill 1311 W. Main Street (920) 856-6950

$$ L D T

JACKSONPORT

Island Fever Rum Bar & Grill Cty V and Hwy 57 (920) 823-2700

$ L D J T {

Little Bit of Coffee 6332 Hwy 57 (920) 823-2408

$ B

Located in Jacksonport at the Square Rigger Lodge, you will fi nd us serving delicious coffee, quiche and baked goods. Come for the coffee and linger for the great water view!

Flip-flop into Boathouse on teh Bay for outside seating and majestic marina and sunset views. Stay for the people, great food and specialty drinks. With patio seating, the upstairs Fly Bridge Bar, and dining with floor to ceiling windows, you can’t miss the beautiful panoramic views.

Carroll House 2445 S. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-7997

$ B L J CHOP 2345 Mill Road (920) 854-2700

$$$ D J T { (

Crain’s Kitchen 10635 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 633-4047

$ L D

Door County Creamery 10653 Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-3388

$ L D {

Door County Ice Cream Factory 11051 Hwy 42 (920) 854-9693

doorcountyice cream.com

$ L D J {

Try super premium ice cream made right here in-store! Choose from 30 flavors, a long list of sundaes and other specialty ice cream offerings. Enjoy one of 15 sandwiches made to order, homse-made pizza, soups and salds. You’ll find somethign for everyone!

Dovetail Bar & Grill 10282 Hwy 57 (920) 421-4035

$$ L D J Fat Belly 10621 N. Highland Road (920) 854-3500

fatbellybowls.com

$$ L D {

Goose & Twigs

Coffee Shop

2322 Mill Road (920) 854-3212

$$ B L {

Grasse’s Grill

10663 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-1125

$$ B L J { Husby’s Food and Spirits

10641 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-2624

$ L D J T { Klaud’s Kitchen 2.0. 2398 Country Walk Dr. (818) 279-1341

$ B L D T LURE

Intersection of Hwys 42 and 57 (920) 854-8111 luredoorcounty.com

$$$ D J T { ( McEvoy’s Culinaria & Catering

2602 S. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-8029

$ L D T { Northern Grill & Pizza 10573 Country Walk Dr. (920) 854-9590

$$ L D J { Pasta Vino 10571 Country Walk Dr.

$$$ D

Roots Kitchen

2378 Maple Dr. (920) 854-5107

$ L T { Sister Bay Bowl

10640 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-2841 sisterbaybowl.com

$$ L D J T Famous for its Friday-night perch fry and its prime rib, this throwback to yesteryear is located in the heart of Sister Bay, open year-round. Featuring a full dining room, grill and bar, plus Northern Door’s only bowling alley.

Skip Stone Coffee Roasters 10678 S. Bay Shore Dr., Building 2 skipstonecoffee.com

$ B L J T { Solago Restaurant & Tequila Bar 10961 Hwy 42 solagodoorcounty. com

$ L D J T

Stabbur Beer Garden at Al Johnson’s 10698 Bay Shore Dr. (920) 421-4628

$$ L D {

Sub Express at Sister Bay Mobil

2579 S. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-6700

$ B L D J T { The Patio & Kitschinn 10440 Orchard Dr. (920) 854-5941

$ B J T { The Waterfront 10947 Hwy 42 (920) 854-5491 waterfront-dc.com

$$$$ D Thyme Restaurant + Catering 10339 Hwy 57 (920) 421-5112

Thymecatering DoorCounty.com

$$ L D { J T ( Thyme restaurant has a new home in Sister Bay. Join us at our brand-new restaurant, bar and outdoor dining space, where we’ll be serving up fresh, new dishes, as well as some of our classics. Next door is twelve eleven provisions + wine bar, where you can enjoy a variety of wines sourced and produced from grapes grown in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Our private, open-air dining space and gabled meadow are available to rent. See you soon!

Wild Tomato WoodFired Pizza & Grille 10677 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 854-4685 wildtomatopizza.com

$ L D J T {

STURGEON BAY

A’Boat Time

26 E. Oak St. (920) 746-0600 aboattime doorcounty.com

$$ B L J T

Corner Café

113 N. 3rd Ave. (920) 743-1991

$ B L J T ( 5th and Jefferson Café

232 N. 5th Ave. (920) 746-1719

$ B L D { Betsy Ross Family Restaurant

239 Green Bay Road (920) 743-811

Betsyross restaurant.com

$ B L D

Birmingham’s 4709 N. Bay Shore Dr. (920) 743-5215

birminghamsbar andcottages.com

$$ L D J T

Blue Front Café

86 W. Maple St. (920) 743-9218

$$ L J T (

Brick Lot Pub & Grill

253 N. 3rd Ave. (920) 743-9339 bricklotpub.com

$ L D J T

Cedar Crossing Restaurant & Bar

336 Louisiana St. (920) 743-4200 innatcedar crossing.com

$$$ B L D J T (

Chaser’s Sports Bar & Grill

1217 N. 14th Ave. (920) 743-6997 applevalleylanes.net

$$

Cherry Lanes

Arcade Bar

127 N. 4th Ave. (920) 818-0093 facebook.com/ cherrylanes arcadebar

$$$ D

Crate — Sushi & Seafood

136 N. 3rd Ave. (920) 818-1333

$$$ D T { (

Dan’s Kitchen

50 S. 3rd Ave. (920) 818-1300

dans-kitchen.com

$ L D T

Door County Fire Company

38 S. 3rd Ave. (920) 818-0625

$$ L D J T

Drömhus

611 Jefferson St. (608) 333-4553 dromhus doorcounty.com

$ D T {

El Sazon Mexican Restaurant 1449 Green Bay Road, Suite 2 (920) 743-6740

$ B L D J T

Fatzo’s

46 Green Bay Road (920) 743-6300

$ L D J T { Get Real Café

43 S. Madison Ave. (920) 818-1455 getrealcafedoor county.com

$$ B L D

Gloria’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant

23 W. Oak Street (920) 421-5112

$$ L D J T

Greystone Castle

8 N. Madison Ave. (920) 743-9923

Greystonecastle bar.com

$$ L D J T

Healthy Way Market

216 S. 3rd Ave. (920) 746-4103 healthyway market.com

$$ L

Hoffman’s Red Room

66 S. 3rd Ave. (920) 743-3913

$ L D T Kick Coffee

148 N. 3rd Ave. (920) 746-1122

$ B L T { Kinara Urban Eatery 25 N. Madison Ave. (920) 743-8772

$ L D T

Kitty O’Reilly’s Irish Pub

59 E. Oak St. (920) 743-7441 kittyoreillys.com

$$ L D J T {

Lodge at Leathem Smith 1640 Memorial Dr. (920) 743-5555

$$ L D J T { ( Melt Bistro 2189 Cty DK (920) 825-7272

$ B L T { Melt Bistro (inside Renard’s Cheese) serves delicious, homestyle comfort food with an elevated twist. Menu items are made to order from scratch using only the freshest ingredients. Many selections feature our own handcrafted artisan cheeses. Pizza, hot and cold sandwiches, mac & cheese, soups, salads, a wide selection of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, Chocolate Shoppe ice cream and more. Breakfast is available all day. Open daily yearround. View our menu at RenardsCheese.com. Mill Supper Club 4128 Hwy 42/57 N. (920) 743-5044

$$$ D J T

Morning Glory by the Bay 306 S. 3rd Ave. (920) 818-0711

$$ B L

Morning Glory Restaurant 7502 Hwy 42 (920) 743-5355

$ B L J

Old Mexico 901 Egg Harbor Road (920) 818-1500

oldmexicowi.com

$$ L D J T {

Poh’s Corner Pub 164 N. 3rd Ave.

$ L D T

Samuelson’s Creek Pub & Grill

1009 S. Oxford Ave. (920) 743-3295 whitebirchinn.com

$$ L D J T (

Scaturo’s Café 19 Green Bay Road (920) 746-8727

$ B L J T { (

Sonny’s Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria 129 N. Madison Ave. (920) 743-2300 sonnyspizzeria.com

$$ L D J T (

Sunrise Food & Drinks 1463 Egg Harbor Rd. (920) 818-0157

$ B L T

Hidden Bridge Pub 2049 Cty S (920) 743-4807

$$$ D

Stone Harbor 107 N. 1st St. (920) 746-0700

stoneharborresort.com

$$$ B L D J T { ( Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club 600 Nautical Dr. (920) 743-6934

$$$ L D ( The Gnoshery 23 N. 3rd Ave. (920) 818-0727

$ B L T

The Gnoshery is the county’s premier board game cafe. Filled with fun, games and great “Gnoshables” – food and drink that make your experience a truly memorable one! The Nightingale Supper Club 1541 Egg Harbor Road (920) 743-5593

$$$ D J T

Trattoria Dal Santo 147 N. 3rd Ave. (920) 743-6100

trattoriadalsanto.com

$$$ D T (

Farm-to-Table Every Day in Ellison Bay

Farm-to-Table Every Day in Ellison Bay

Brunch, Dinner &

Brunch, Dinner & Outdoor Italian Wine Bar • 12029 WI-42, Ellison Bay, WI

BLUE BEAR

BLUE BEAR

Start your day with the best brunch in Door County serving unique and traditional dishes! Full bar serving craft cocktails, specialty coffee drinks, beer and sustainably sourced wines. Amazing gluten-free, vegan, and keto options.

Start your day with the best brunch in Door County serving unique and traditional dishes! Full bar serving craft cocktails, specialty coffee drinks, beer and sustainably sourced wines. Amazing gluten-free, vegan, and keto options.

Rez & Menu: BlueBearDC.com 920.854.3284

Rez & Menu: BlueBearDC.com

920.854.3284

Our menu offers fresh ingredients from local farmers. Salads, pastas, entrées, Neapolitan woodfired pizza, desserts, cocktails, and Southern Italian wines. Delicious gluten-free, vegan, and keto options.

Our menu offers fresh ingredients from local farmers. Salads, pastas, entrées, Neapolitan woodfired pizza, desserts, cocktails, and Southern Italian wines. Delicious gluten-free, vegan, and keto options. Rez & Menu: DellaPortaDC.com 920.633.4014

Rez & Menu: DellaPortaDC.com 920.633.4014

Waterfront Mary’s Bar & Grill

WASHINGTON ISLAND

3662 N. Duluth Ave. (920) 743-3191

waterfrontmarys barandgrill.com

$$ L D J T { VALMY

Donny’s Glidden

Lodge Restaurant 4670 Glidden Dr. (920) 746-9460 gliddenlodge.com

$$$ D J T { (

Institute Saloon 4599 Hwy 57 (920) 743-1919 institutesaloon.com

$ L D T

The Hitching Post 4849 Glidden Dr. (920) 818-1114 thehitchingpost doorcounty.com

$$ B L D J ( Valmy Happy Hour 4418 Whitefish Bay Road (920) 743-6236

$ L D J T

Albatross Drive-In

N7W1910 Lobdells Point Road (920) 847-2203

$ L D {

Bread & Water Café 1275 Main Road (920) 847-2400

$$ B L {

Cellar Restaurant at Karly’s Bar Main Road (920) 847-2655

$$$ L D J T { (

Fiddler’s Green 1699 Jackson Harbor Road (920) 847-2610 washingtonisland fiddlersgreen.com

$$ L D T {

Hotel Washington 354 Range Line Road (920) 847-3010

$$$ D T { (

Island Pizza At the ferry dock (920) 847-3222

$ L D

Jackson Harbor Soup 1904 Indian Point Road (920) 847-2589

$ L {

KK Fiske Restaurant 1177 Main Road (920) 847-2121

$ B L D T

Le Café and The Distillery at Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm 1350 Airport Road (920) 847-2950 fragrantisle.com

$ B L { Enjoy Le Cafe’s selection of gourmet lavender treats such as fresh croissants, baguettes, cookies, chocolates, ice cream, signature sandwiches and salads, famous macarons and more.

Sip signature drinks from The Distillery wine and craft beer bar, and signature sandwiches while overlooking the lavender fields and gardens. Visit Fragrant Isle – “a magical place.”

Nelsen’s Hall Bitters Pub

W19N1205 Main Road (920) 847-2496

$ L D T {

Red Cup Coffee House 1885 Detroit Harbor Road (920) 847-3304

$ B L

Sailor’s Pub 1475 South Shore Dr. (920) 847-2105

$$$ D { ( Sunset Resort Old West Harbor Road (920) 847-2531 sunsetresortwi.com

$ B

The Point Grille 164 Green Bay Road (920) 421-3663 thepointgrille.com

$$ L D

DEATH’S DOOR

Do County

Photography by Caplan Studios