Many people from western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota regularly visit northern Wisconsin vacation areas. Growing up near Hayward, I have fond memories of some restaurants and taverns that sprang up in that part of the state after repeal of Prohibition in 1933.
Recently a friend suggested that we visit the Wheel Inn, a bar and grill I remember vividly because my mother and Aunt Stub, my fatherâs youngest sister, used to stop there for a âShortie beerâ and a visit with the owner. That was in the 1950s and, of course, there is a new owner today.
Diane and her husband who bought the place in the 1980s had the wisdom and taste to keep the Wheel Inn just as I remember it from nearly 70 years ago. My friend and I are both fully vaccinated against COVID-19, so we felt comfortable sitting down to a pizza and tap beer.Â