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The number of Mexican restaurants in the greater La Crosse area continues to grow.
Members of the Guerrero family have opened their third Super Street Tacos, in the Lloyd’s Speedstop building at 83 Buol Road, at the Interstate 90 exit in West Salem.
Meanwhile, the owners of the Bleu Duck Kitchen restaurant in Rochester, Minn., plan to open Pato Azul this fall in the former Fat Porcupine Noodle Bar restaurant at 127 S. Fourth St. in downtown La Crosse.
The new Super Street Tacos opened June 7 in the former location of Pappi’s Taqueria y Mas, a Mexican restaurant that closed in February. It offers such fare as tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tortas, chimichangas, nachos and fries.
The West Salem restaurant is owned by Luis J. Guerrero, his sister Carolina Guerrero, their father Luis A. Guerrero and Luis A.’s brother, Gabriel Guerrero, who manages the new location.
Luis J. and his father opened the first Super Street Tacos in July 2021 at 433 N. Water St. in Black River Falls. They and Carolina opened the second one last October at 1800 State St. in La Crosse.
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“We already were in the area (with other restaurants) and heard that Pappi’s was closing its doors,” Luis J. said of the decision to open a third location. “When we spoke to the owners of the Lloyd’s Speedstop station, they were able to accommodate us and give us very flexible terms. It was kind of a low-risk business opportunity.”
Hours at the West Salem restaurant are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, call the restaurant at 608-612-0032 or visit its Facebook page.
In Rochester, Erik Kleven and Jennifer Lester opened the Bleu Duck Kitchen restaurant in 2016. They’ve applied to the city of La Crosse for a conditional-use permit that would allow them to apply for a beer and liquor license for Pato Azul – which is Spanish for “blue duck.”
Lester told me last week that she hopes to open Pato Azul around Sept. 1, depending on how soon it can get a beer and liquor license. She said the restaurant will feature authentic Mexican cuisine with a Spanish twist and quick-service style. It also will offer craft cocktails, boutique-style wines and beer.
It will be in the former location of the Fat Porcupine, which closed in July 2020, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It had opened in December 2019.
Kyle Stalsberg has opened Badger Breaks, an online business that started in 2017, and Badger Sports Shop, a brick-and-mortar store, at 336 Second Ave. S., along Hwy. 35 in Onalaska.
The store opened April 20.
Stalsberg offers sports card breaks, which is a way for collector and investors to buy a small part of an entire case or box of cards (usually an entire team) at a smaller cost, as opposed to purchasing a full case or box and keeping all of the cards.
“A box or case break is when we open a case or box for a group or individuals,” Stalsberg said. “The breaks are done via live broadcast on any live stream platform. Everyone involved has the opportunity to see the whole case or box and share the excitement and fun with everyone. This type of service is a more affordable way to get high-dollar cards without having to spend big money.”
Stalsberg added, “We are one of the leaders in the industry in the Midwest and recognized nationally. Globally as well, as we have customers all over the world.”
While breaks are the main part of his business, Stalsberg said, it also sells a variety of cases, boxes and packs and has a high-end sports lounge with six televisions. Besides sports cards, the store also sells Pokemon items, supplies and other memorabilia. “We are aiming for a July 21 grand opening” with giveaways, Stalsberg said.
“We have a season-long promotion with the (La Crosse) Loggers and July 14 is Badger Sports Shop/Badger Breaks Night at the ballpark,” he said.
Store hours are noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, call 608-615-1515 or visit www.badgerbreaks.com or Facebook or Instagram.
Annie and Keith Weigel have purchased the Bluffside Tavern, the oldest bar in La Crosse, from Mike and Joan Gazeley effective July 1.
The tavern at 2712 Main St. was built in 1868 to cater to quarry workers who toiled on Grandad Bluff. The Gazeleys, who bought it in July 2001, are retiring from the business.
Annie Weigel has been a bartender at the Bluffside Tavern for the past nearly 19 years and her husband is project manager at Poellinger Electric.
“It’s an icon in this town,” Annie said of the couple’s decision to take over the business. “This bar belongs to its regulars, to the neighborhood. Generations of people have been coming here, from all walks of life.”
Weigel said no major changes are planned at Bluffside Tavern. “We don’t fix what isn’t broken,” she said.
The tavern’s hours will remain noon to close Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to close Friday through Sunday, Weigel said.
She and her husband plan to celebrate the change in ownership with an event sometime this summer.
For more information, call the tavern at 608-796-1007 or visit its Facebook page.
Places of the past: 29 La Crosse area restaurants you’ll never eat at again (part one)
Sandy’s Drive-In
The Sandy’s Drive-In, at the southeast corner of Rose and Clinton streets, is shown here shortly after an addition was completed in 1972. The fast food franchise was at the location from 1962 until about 1975. Today, the site is home to River Bank.
Paul’s Pantry
Owner Dave Skogen stands in front of Paul’s Pantry, a delicatessen, bakery and convenience store that opened in 1983 at 237 Second Ave N. in Onalaska. The store was named for Paul Skogen, who founded the Skogen supermarket chain at the site in 1946. From 1998 to 2016, the building was used as a support center for the Skogen family’s Festival Foods grocery stores.
1985: Ranch House Dinner Theater
Scott Manthe, left, and Renee Lieder starred in the 1985 Ranch House Dinner Theatre production of “Butterflies are Free.” The Sparta performing arts venue was opened by Robert Irwin in 1984.
Happy Joe’s Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor
Dave Olsen, left, owner of Happy Joe’s Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor, helps employees build a 150-foot-long pizza in the parking lot of his Onalaska store in 1984. The event was a fundraiser for the Onalaska High School’s athletic department. The store, part of an Iowa-based chain, opened a year earlier at 808 Oak Ave. Olson renamed the restaurant as Pizza Pros Ala Mode in 2012, but it only lasted a few months under the new name. The building was torn down to make way for a Culver’s, which opened there in 2014.
Unicorn Restaurant
Karla Parker serves diners Helen Corbett and David Lehrke at Unicorn Restaurant, which owner Eric Bernhardt opened in 1984 at 312 S. Third St. The location, which had operated as Louie Bantle’s Restaurant for many years, is home today to the La Crosse Professional Plaza.
Pagliacci’s
Gary Roberts opened Pagliacci’s restaurant in 1982 at 308 S. Third St. The Italian restaurant closed in 1984. Today the building houses the offices of The Fortney Companies.
Maid-Rite Cafe
Bob and Irene Allen, shown here just before their retirement in 1984, opened the Maid-Rite Cafe in 1947 at 1117 Caledonia St. The restaurant, which was best known for its loose-meat sandwiches, closed in 2016.
Circus Supper Club
Sherry and Jim Welch, owners of the Circus Supper Club, are served some of the restaurant’s popular ribs by Rita Bagniefski. Pianist and entertainer Victor Borge famously stopped in the downtown landmark during a visit to La Crosse in 1974 and was one of the eateries most famous fans. Years later, Wettstein’s expanded its showroom into the space before closing in 2018.
Michael’s Cerise
Jim Pappas, one of the owners of Michael’s Cerise, is shown here in this 1984 photo. The Cerise Club first opened in 1959 at the corner of 32nd and Fairchild streets by Gerald Heberlein; it was destroyed by a fire in 1964. Heberlein reopened the club in 1967 at 1815 Ward Ave. Heberlein sold the restaurant to the Pappas family of Rochester, Minn., in 1976. The Pappas family closed the restaurant in 1993 and briefly reopened before closing for good the following year. Today, the site is home to the Hmoob Cultural and Community Agency.
In July 1976, the Cerise Club was the scene of the shooting deaths of Paul Whipple, a night bartender at the club, and his friend Theresa Schneider. The suspect in the case, David A. Leyden shot and killed himself the next month in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Ground Round
Musician Tammy Waller was a frequent children’s performer during the early 1980s at Ground Round. The North Side restaurant opened in early 1981 at 1930 Rose St. It closed in 1992 and was replaced by the Armadillo Mexi-Deli and, later, Edwardo’s Ristorante di Pizza, which closed in 2015. A new Ground Round franchise opened in Onalaska in 2015; it closed in 2018.
Wendy’s
David Lee stands in front of a Wendy’s restaurant at 2240 Rose St. shortly after purchasing the La Crosse fast food franchise in 1983. He also owned a Wendy’s at 3810 Mormon Coulee Road. The North Side location closed in 1989; today the building is home to Express Employment Professionals. The South Side location closed in 1989; today that building is home to Subway Restaurant. A Wendy’s opened in 2003 at 4422 Mormon Coulee Road, and another, which opened in 1984, operates across from Valley View Mall in Onalaska.
Elite Restaurant and Candy Shop
Paul Pappas, owner of the Elite Restaurant and Candy Shop, is shown here making confections at his store at 421 Main St. The Pappas family opened the store in 1912; it closed in 2000. Today, Fat Sam’s Main Street Bistro, which opened in 2012, occupies that space until it closed in 2017.
Big River Cattle Co.
Jon Schuster, shown here in 1983, opened the Great River Cattle Co. in 1980 at 716 Second Ave. N. in Onalaska. He sold the restaurant in 1989 and bought it back the next year, changing the name to Chicken Steak and Chocolate Cake. The restaurant changed hands again in 2006 and became Blue Moon, which was the name of the restaurant before Schuster’s 1980 purchase.
Esteban’s
Danette Shick, daughter of Linda and David Shick, tries on a sombrero during a visit to Esteban’s restaurant with her West Salem Spanish class. The restaurant opened in in February 1980 at 300 S. Third St. in downtown La Crosse and closed in January 1996. Numerous eateries have opened and closed at that location since then, and another, Lovechild is in business there today.
Fat Sams Bistro
Fat Sams Main Street Bistro operated at 412 Main St. in downtown La Crosse from 2012 to 2017. The restaurant, known for its gourmet sandwiches, salads and homemade soups, was located at the site of the former Elite Restaurant.
Nob Hill
The dining room of Nob Hill is shown when it opened in Onalaska in 1979. The restaurant, at 910 Second Ave. N., changed its name in 1993 to the Lighthouse (at Nob Hill) when a lighthouse replica was built next to the restaurant; it closed in 1997. The location has since been occupied by Seven Bridges Restaurant, Seasons By the Lake and currently Two Beagles Brewpub.
1983: Showbiz Pizza Place
Kindergartners from Onalaska’s Irving Pertzsch Elementary School gather at Showbiz Pizza Place in Onalaska in 1983. The pizza chain opened just north of Valley View Mall in 1982 and was rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese in 1993. Although its neighboring movie theater was torn down to make room for Dick’s Sporting Goods in 2014, the kid-friendly restaurant remains.
Jensen’s Cafe
Owner Philip Jensen, the son of the restaurant’s founder, Tollef Jensen, serves customers in this 1982 photo at Jensen’s Cafe in Galesville. The cafe was located on the city’s square from 1902 until it closed in 1992.
The Mint
From left, Dane Gonzales, Corrie Brekke and Cody Cottrell opened The Mint restaurant at 1810 State St. in September 2014. The farm-to-table style eatery closed four years later in September 2018.
Oscar’s
Franz Butkovich carries a tray of pickled turkey gizzards while working at Oscar’s, a restaurant that first opened in 1981 at 139 Second Ave. S. in Onalaska. Owned by Bud Pretasky, the restaurant was designed to let customers grill their own steaks and seafood. In 1984, the eatery changed its name to Oscar’s Little Chicago, which had a mafia theme. A fire destroyed the building in 1986, and today the site is a parking lot for the Scoreboard Bar.
Walt’s Restaurant
A couple enters Walt’s Restaurant, 310 Mississippi St., shortly before it closed in 1982. The eatery reopened under the Walt’s name again a few years later before closing for good in 1989. Later it served as the hospitality center for G. Heileman Brewery. In 2002, the nearby City Brewery reopened it as City Bier Stube. Later it operated under the names Gottlieb’s, Lindner’s at the Brewery and Nell’s City Grill. The space remains vacant today.
Big Dipper
Merlin Wangen, owner of the Big Dipper in Sparta, prepares to serve an ice cream creation in this 1981 photo. The store, which was located at 106 N. Water St., is now home to MC’s Sparta Grill.
Party House
Millie and Don Roesler stand in front of the Party House restaurant in 1981 shortly before it closed. The supper club, which was located in the town of Shelby near the junction of Hwy. 14/61 and Hwy. 35, was the casualty of a road expansion project.
Bon Appetit
Lebanese native Assaad Maatouk, pictured in 1981, was the chef and part owner of Bon Appetit restaurant in 1980. The eatery, located at 515 Main St., was open for about a year. The location is now home to the La Crosse Olive Oil Co. Maatouk later ran the Casablanca restaurant, first in Onalaska during the 1990s and later in La Crosse.
Chop House
Henry and Leone Wright stand in front of their restaurant, The Chop House, days before it closed in April 1980. The eatery, located at 122 N. Third St., was best known for its breakfasts. That original plan was to tear down the building to make way for an expansion of First Bank-La Crosse, but the lender instead built a 10-story office tower at Second and Main streets. The former Chop House building is home to Digger’s Sting today.
Zorba’s
A fire destroyed Zorba’s Greek restaurant in 1979. In 1981, owner Demetrios “Jimmy” Mitropoulos was sentenced to eight years in prison on an arson charge. Emman “Mike” Minos testified that Mitropoulos paid him $2,000 to set fire to the restaurant at 304 Main St. The lot, that today is adjacent to Grounded Specialty Coffee, remains vacant.
Johnnies Bar & Grill
La Crosse firefighters battle a blaze that destroyed Johnnie’s Bar & Restaurant 20 years ago during the early morning hours of Feb. 26, 1994. Johnnie’s, which dated to 1947 and was located at 2620 South Ave., was a popular restaurant, widely known for its Friday night fish fry. The former site of Johnnie’s is now occupied by a parking area for Autotude at 2612 South Ave.
Perkins
The Perkins Restaurant & Bakery at 1411 Rose St. closed in August 2019. The closure was part of a nationwide downsizing by the struggling chain. The location on Hwy. 16 in Onalaska remains open.
Steve Cahalan can be reached at stevecahalan.reporter@gmail.com.
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