Rachel Rasmussen had some incredible goals 20 years ago when she started working as a bartender at the junction of state Highway 29 and U.S. Highway 45 and, soon after, bought the business. Since then, she’s achieved a lot.
However, the achievement of being featured as one of America’s Best Restaurants is one that the owner of Rachel’s Roadside Bar and Grill probably didn’t see coming.
America’s Best Restaurant visited Rachel’s Roadside on Sept. 23 to try some of the signature items the Wittenberg restaurant has to offer, including Christmas curds, a variation of cheese curds with an added sweet flavor; a French onion soup with cheese curds added for some extra kick; and the Wittenberger, a half-pound burger with sauteed mushrooms and onions, smokin’ barbecue sauce and melted cheese curds.
America’s Best Restaurant searches for independent restaurants and profiles them online, having featured almost 2,000 eateries across 46 states. The episode filmed recently is expected to be available for viewing in late November or early December.
Beyond the food tasting was seeing the food prepped and learning about how Rasmussen and her fiance, Bill Timm, put in the blood, sweat and tears for the business.
“Twenty years ago, I was working for someone who was struggling to make it,” Rasmussen said. “I fell in love with this place when I first started working here.”
Rasmussen reached out for help when she bought the business and noted that the banks took a big chance on her. She said it wasn’t easy at first.
“It ended up being a struggle. I learned a lot of lessons when I was very young and naive,” Rasmussen said, noting that her customers have made the struggle worth it. “Their friendship, I’ve grown to appreciate so much and everything that they’ve believed in me. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
The local customer base for Rachel’s Roadside is limited, with most of the folks filling the booths and bar stools coming from outside Wittenberg. Rasmussen has wanted her restaurant to stand out, especially being in a solitary location, and she’s happy her business has a reputation in Shawano, Wausau, Door County and beyond.
“The more unique I made it, the more they wanted it,” she said. “The first thing I created was our cheese curds 20 years ago. People came from all over for those curds.”
Rasmussen started making changes right away with the food, she said to America’s Best Restaurants, but then came expanding the footprint, adding more space for tables. There’s also an outdoor dining area, a stage for live musicians to perform during the summer and an outdoor shack to serve as an additional bar.
Another unique thing that stands out is the view of nature. During filming, the crew with America’s Best Restaurants got to see a deer grazing near the outdoor tables, and a chicken paid a visit, hopping on one of the chairs like it wanted to be served. Rasmussen said there are even stray cats that visit, and she encourages her customers to “take them home” because there are so many.
There has been one expansion of the kitchen since buying the building itself in 2016, but Rasmussen said they didn’t go far enough, so there are plans in the future to expand it again so that employees aren’t climbing over each other to prepare food.
“I never saw this becoming so big,” she said. “It’s a small community, Wittenberg. We have grown to be so successful, and it’s a blessing in so many ways.”
Having a fiance who is dedicated to her projects helps, too. Timm runs the bar, and he noted that Rasmussen doesn’t take no for an answer.
“She was told that she wouldn’t succeed, her being in a small town, she wouldn’t make it,” Timm said. “You tell her ‘no,’ it lights such a fire under her; it’s amazing.”
Rasmussen has worked all the jobs in her business, noting that each job has its perks and stresses, but her main priority remains the kitchen and making sure it’s running smoothly. Fortunately, her employees help to make that less of a chore.
“My staff is my family,” Rasmussen said. “I am blessed to have such an amazing staff. I could use more, but I’m truly blessed with such good people who try so hard to do the job the best they can.”
Rasmussen also has actual blood family helping at times, including Doreen Glaisel, her mother. Faith has also been as firm a foundation as the one supporting her building.
“My faith in God and prayer through my darkest hours, taking that … has gotten me to where I am today,” Rasmussen said.
Besides serving good food, the pair have served others. Rachel’s Roadside is known for helping with fundraisers, Timm said, and he singled out the giving to programs at schools for the Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Tigerton and Bowler school districts.
“She has such a giving heart,” Timm said of his sweetheart. “Anytime somebody needs help, she’s always there.”
Timm knows a lot about the history of the building, knowing that it started in the late 1800s or early 1900s as an ice cream parlor, and then to Grady’s restaurant and several other iterations before becoming Rachel’s Roadside. He told America’s Best Restaurants about how, when the building was Double T Steakhouse in the 1970s, the owner had a hook for a hand and used it to turn the steaks over while they were on an open-flame grill.
Of course, there have been a couple of occasions during renovations that the business almost did Timm in.
“I tore apart a wall, which was part of the foundation that included 19 tons of stone, almost died in the process,” he said.
What keeps people coming back for more at Rachel’s Roadside is that a lot of the stuff is homemade, not always a common thing at a bar, Timm said. He noted one of the newer additions to the menu is a chicken cordon bleu sandwich.
“This is not your typical bar food. This is not your typical restaurant,” Timm said. “We have a lot of homemade stuff, a lot of original recipes. They are all one-of-a-kind items. Her soups don’t even have recipe cards. They’re just handmade.”
Rachel’s Roadside is the second Shawano County restaurant to be featured on America’s Best Restaurants. The first was Amico’s Midwest Pizzeria in Bonduel.
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: Rachel’s Roadside Bar and Grill
WHERE: W17298 Spruce Road, Wittenberg
HOURS: 2-9 p.m. Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays
CONTACT: 715-253-3190 or rachelsroadside@yahoo.com.
WEBSITE: www.rachelsroadside.com
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