Arriving in 1848, in what is now Holland, WI, Martin Van Abel created a rest point for the cattle drives towards Green Bay. This place was a saloon as well as an inn on the second floor. (This picture hangs in the front entry of our restaurant.)
Martin’s sons’ Bill and Albert, took over the business after Martin. Through prohibition and the Great Depression, times were tough, but the business survived. Soon after returning from a German concentration camp in WWII, Bill’s son Wilfred and his brother Don built what is now the front bar, dining room, and bowling alley.
Soon after, the main hall was added. With the aid of their wives, Bernice and Duff, recipes and traditions were created. Roasted chicken was the handiwork of Mag Eiting. The now-famous broasted chicken followed in the summer of 1965.
Minor renovations and additions continued through the years until 1984 when the North Bar was added. In 2002, Will and Don passed the business to their ten children. Renovations continued with the new restrooms and the addition of off-site catering.
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