What is a salty anchor?
Bill Ciuplinski probably hears that question a lot as the new owner of The Salty Anchor, the former Water’s Edge, on state Highway 32 between Suring and Mountain.
Ciuplinski purchased the business, located across the road from Anderson Lake, in April and opened it May 16. Besides the bar and grill, it also features upstairs living quarters.
“My parents had a place on the Townsend Flowage for 30 years — not a business, but a regular cottage on the water,” Ciuplinski said.
He’s currently on leave from his position as vice president of Toys For Trucks, which provides off-road parts for trucks, Jeeps and four-wheeled vehicles.
“I still do that,” Ciuplinski said. “I’m actually on a 90-day hiatus. I go back Aug. 1 on a part-time basis. I was living in Appleton, so I sold my house by the airport and moved up here. Being on the water and being up north is where I want to be. Did I ever think I was going to buy a bar and grill? No.”
Ciuplinski said he spent 91 days on the road last year for Toys For Trucks.
“I was living in hotels and flying in airplanes,” he said. “It just got to be too much. Once I finally told people what I was doing, they said, ‘Well, you just bought yourself a job; you’re married to that place.’ That’s kind of how I felt anyway with Toys For Trucks. I looked at it as an opportunity here; it’s right on the water.”
Ciuplinski purchased the business from Doreen Thompson. He used to pass by it on his way to the family cottage in Townsend.
“Doreen had a good business here, and she was here for 21 years,” he said. “You hope you keep the locals, but you also want to grow the business. It’s been around since ’48. It was Tip Top way back in the day. I did my homework on it. I was up here snowmobiling and saw a for sale sign last winter and figured it was going to be out of my price range. When I looked it up online, I said, ‘It’s doable.’ I went into it head-first to see if I was going to be able to do it.”
Ciuplinski eventually set up a website, www.saltyanchorbarandgrill.com, and a Facebook page, but they weren’t the only improvements he made.
“I’ve been coming up here for 37 years, and one of the things I noticed is you drive right by this place. You miss it,” he said. “There wasn’t a sign out front for quite some years. I said, ‘I’m going to make it so you can’t miss it.’ I painted it aqua and put lighting all around it.”
Ciuplinski also designed a logo and ordered merchandise that includes shirts and hats.
“I went into it knowing how to do a lot of that,” he said. “I’m not a marketing specialist or anything like that, but I know enough from doing shows and consumer shows to know what people want.”
Ciuplinski’s keeping The Salty Anchor’s menu simple for now. It includes the usual fare of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and appetizers.
“We didn’t change the menu a lot,” he said. “We added a few easy-prep items, but at the same time, it’s a little different than other places.”
A banquet room is also set up to serve Friday night fish.
“We just had our third fish fry,” Ciuplinski said. “We did 65 (orders), then 75 and last week, we had 125. It’s been very good, and weekdays have been consistently steady. We do well on Mondays and Tuesdays because a lot of the places up here are closed.”
Ciuplinski wanted to establish consistent hours for the business.
“I’m a snowmobiler. I’m a fisher. I’m a hunter,” he said. “Coming up here on a Monday, who’s open? Who’s not open? Who’s open on Tuesday? What time do they start serving food? We’re open seven days a week at noon and until at least 10 p.m., regardless if it’s slow. On the weekends, we’ll stay open as late as we can.”
Ciuplinski said many of his customers are impressed with the improvements.
“They’re really blown away by how clean and bright it looks in here,” he said. “They love the patio out front.”
Ciuplinski waited for more than a month before finding out his loan to purchase the business was approved.
“Inspections had to happen,” he said. “It could have all fallen apart because I was already invested in the clothing. I had to order all that stuff to be ready for my opener.”
Although Ciuplinski has his local customers, he realizes that businesses like his depend on tourists heading to northern Oconto County.
“There’s a snowmobile trail that comes in on the east side of the property, and a UTV trail that comes in on the south side of the property,” he said. “There were some issues on how to get here, so I’m working with the clubs to get that out in the open so everybody knows.”
So what’s the idea behind the name of Ciuplinski’s new business venture?
“I came up with it myself,” he said. “My son’s a Navy vet, but I also like the nautical theme. With nautical, nothing gets old. I look at it as something catchy, more of a destination place, different. I wanted people to notice me.”
