June 14, 2021 at 11:31 a.m.
Iconic Rhinelander restaurant up for sale
Eatery has been a downtown fixture since 1911
Iconic Rhinelander restaurant up for sale
Mark Gutteter, owner of the historic landmark at 33 N Brown St., confirmed Thursday that he is selling the restaurant, which has been in operation since 1911, and will retire.
"You know, honestly, I've known in the back of my mind that at some point I was going to have to sell the Pub and retire," Gutteter said. "I made that decision this spring."
Originally a small cafe established by Peter Vlahakis, for over 10 decades "the Pub" has been a popular spot for meals, meetings and family gatherings. Candidates for all levels of office also routinely make campaign stops there.
Descendants of Peter Vlahakis operated the eatery until 2006 when it was sold to Gutteter, a Milwaukee native who has been in the restaurant business for 30 years. He is also selling a restaurant he owns in Ashland, he said.
While the COVID-19 pandemic played a part in his decision to sell, Gutteter said it is the call of the open road that has proved to be too strong to ignore any longer.
"My wife and I have had some things we wanted to do," he said. "I bought an RV and I want to tour some other areas of the country. And we just made the decision that now would be a good time to do it."
"I don't know. I mean, business is good. There is a tradition of customers coming to the Pub, they come back year after year after year, so it's a very strong and solid business," he added. "It certainly is a challenging economy from a recruitment and retention of employees standpoint in today's world. Everywhere you look, there are help wanted signs."
Still, Gutteter has a positive outlook on the restaurant business as the county emerged from the pandemic.
"It's a great time, a great platform and a great opportunity for whoever is next to continue the legacy of success in downtown Rhinelander," he said, adding that the restaurant boasts an especially dedicated staff, some with decades of experience.
"I have a dozen who were with the former owner 20 years before I bought the place," he said. "And they're still there. I have one gal, this was her first job out of high school, and she's been with the Pub ever since in various departments. Three guys in the kitchen have 10 years and one guy in the kitchen has 35. Some of the servers have been there 35 years."
He said it is the longevity of the staff, and their familiarity with regular customers, that sets the Cafe & Pub apart.
"When a (regular) customer comes in, we know what table they like to sit at," Gutteter said. "And when the waitress gets to their table, they know what cocktail they usually order, all the different food preferences. It's been wonderful."
Gutteter's made his mark on the business over the last 15 years, adding a new taproom off the Brown Street entrance in 2018, increasing from eight taps to 24 to offer a wider variety of brews and tripling the number of booths for diners.
Now that he's decided it's time to retire, he said he's hopeful that a new buyer will be found in short order, but he knows the market can be unpredictable.
"It's possible I'll continue to be the owner for a while. But who knows? We've seen some restaurants that were listed for sale for 10 years that never moved," he said. "Now some of those have sold, the Plantation (in Arbor Vitae) being one of them."
While he's anxious to hit the road and explore the country, Gutteter said he expects Rhinelander will always be a place to return to recharge when needed.
"We go to Mexico every January," he said. "We're going to travel around the country for a few years. We have every expectation that Rhinelander will continue to be our home because we have friends and family in the area."
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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