By David Brierley
History is high on the list of factors that make supper clubs special. A historical place adds a bit of mystery and nostalgia to the experience. Because, really – there’s nothing else quite like it. If you truly immerse yourself in the ambiance (a few cocktails can also help), dining at a supper club can transport you back to a time before smartphones and social media. A time when going out to dinner was more than a quick way to sate your hunger; it was an experience in and of itself.
While many supper clubs have history dating back to the 1950s or 60s, or even to the prohibition era, Wisconsin Rapids boasts a supper club dating all the way back to the 1850s. Sure, it didn’t become a restaurant until nearly a century after it was built, but the building still holds that history and the nostalgia that comes with it.
More than 160 years since it was built, Lake Aire Supper Club still stands on Hwy 13 (or 8th Street S) just south of Nepco Lake, south of Wisconsin Rapids.
The large parking lot offers ample space for the large crowds the supper club often draws, especially on weekends. The building itself sprawls back from the road. With gray siding, red trim, and a covered brick entry, it looks both polished and inviting. The tall sign out front, finished with red trim to match the building, reads, “Lake Aire Supper Club – Casual Fine Dining.”
When you enter through the front doors, you’ll find a dining room to your right and the bar area to your left. If you make your way through the bar area towards the back of the restaurant, you’ll find the host stand, and beyond that, a wide hallway to another dining room.
Lake Aire is a popular spot, especially on weekends, so it’s a good idea to make a reservation. You can check in at the host stand and then make your way to the bar to get your laid back evening started.
The barroom is quite large. It contains an oval-shaped, wood-topped bar as well as an area with high top tables where you can enjoy a cocktail and even dine, if you so choose. With recessed lights overhead and lamp-style wall sconces, the muted lighting sets the ambiance at just the right level.
In the barroom and throughout the supper club, colors are mostly muted and soothing. Pops of dark red continue the theme the exterior started, providing a cohesive and well thought out design. Wood paneling on ceilings and some walls adds to the coziness, making you feel right at home.
Little details make the supper club feel upscale and elegant, too. Chandeliers throughout add to the class, for example. And a tray of mints in the hall outside the restrooms reminds you this isn’t just a regular, everyday restaurant. It’s a full-on dining experience.
Throughout the year, the supper club is extensively decorated for the season. If you’re a fan of the holidays, it’s definitely worth making a reservation at Lake Aire for the Christmas decorations alone. Kathy goes all out with lights, trees, garland, and just about every type of decor you could imagine. The supper club is transformed into an over-the-top, yet tasteful, winter wonderland.
While the bartenders make your tasty old fashioned, or whatever it is you happen to be thirsty for, you can take a look around at the beautiful decorations throughout the restaurant.
As you sip your drink, you can ask for a menu at the bar to get a bit of a head start on making your big decisions of the night.
Lake Aire’s menu is extensive, but not overwhelming. Appetizers include classic beer-battered Wisconsin cheese curds, calamari, spinach and artichoke dip, escargot, liver pate (Kathy’s recipe), chicken wings, shrimp cocktail, and French onion soup. Basically, something for every taste.
Moving on to entrees, Lake Aire offers a nice selection of seafood ranging from walleye to salmon, shrimp, scallops, and just about everything in between.
House specialties run the gamut, with choices such as barbecued ribs, liver and onions, broasted chicken, potato crusted haddock, creamy chicken pasta, and other delicious-sounding dishes.
Finally, Lake Aire offers a selection of steaks such as the Delmonico, which is a hand-trimmed choice ribeye that “melts in your mouth.” Also on the steak portion of the menu is the Stacker, a center cut tenderloin topped with the supper club’s haystack onions. Surf and turf is also available, and includes a tenderloin with a lobster tail. How can you go wrong?
Friday’s special is a haddock or perch fish fry, as it should be at any proper Wisconsin supper club. Likewise, Saturday’s special is the prime rib.
“Enhancers” can be added to any steak to customize your meal. These include the aforementioned hay stackers, sauteed mushrooms and/or onions, blue cheese crust, or Oscar style with crab, asparagus, and béarnaise sauce.
Your meal can be further customized to your liking when you select from the wide range of sides available at Lake Aire. Classics like baked and twice-baked potato, garlic mashed potatoes, french fries, and wedge or Caesar salad are available. Or you can opt for something a little different with rice pilaf, risotto, or mac and cheese.
Plus, dinner entrees include soup or a garden salad, and fresh warm dinner rolls. One thing you know for sure: you won’t leave this supper club with an empty stomach.
Now that you’ve made your decision, you can either order at the bar, or wait until your server leads you to your table in one of the dining rooms. The waitstaff, like the bartenders, are friendly, efficient, and great at what they do. Soups and salads, dinner rolls, and entrees are served prompt and fresh. Everything seems to run like a well-oiled machine, a sure sign of competent management and a professional staff that enjoys what they do.
Once you’ve finished your entree, you’ll have the option to try some tasty desserts, or make your way to the bar for an after-dinner drink. Either way, you’ll leave happy and satisfied.
You can take a peek at the menu, learn about the history of the building, and find information about hosting an event at Lake Aire on the supper club’s website. You can also stay up to date on specials and announcements by following Lake Aire on Facebook.
LAKE AIRE HISTORY
- 1858 – The building was built as a house for Joe Wood.
- 1953 – Gordie Sisel turned it into a restaurant and bar.
- 1962 – Clayton and Winifred Snyder bought and ran the restaurant.
- 1964 – Harlow Ebbe bought the restaurant and incorporated it with his two children, Sally and Roger, as partners. The restaurant became known as Ebbe’s Lake Aire.
- 1966 – Harlow and his children added a new barroom (where the bar remains to this day).
- 1979 – Harlow passed away, and his share of the restaurant was split between Sally and Roger.
- 1980 – One year later, Sally and her husband, Al Parr, bought Roger’s half of the restaurant. Sally did the bartending and Al did the cooking.
- 1987 – Sally and Al added on and essentially doubled the size of the building.
- 2000 – On August 15, Chuck and Kathy Sedevie purchased the restaurant, and it became Lake Aire Supper Club.
- 2002 – After two successful years, Chuck and Kathy added a new dining room and extensively remodeled the building. With Kathy’s decorating touch and the restaurant’s new facelift, it had evolved into what it is today.