Warm beer and lousy service are back in a northern Oconto County community.
That tongue-in-cheek business slogan for the Long Branch Saloon disappeared in January 2025 after a fire destroyed the bar and grill at 17901 State Highway 32, Townsend.
Co-owners Eric Branch and his cousin, Kelly Branch, rebuilt the business from scratch and a new and improved saloon opened its doors to customers Feb. 1 of this year.
Kelly Branch helps run the business from her Colorado home while Eric Branch is a fixture at the tavern, which has been in the family for years and has been a staple of the community for more than a century.
Eric Branch moved to Townsend from Colorado to take over the bar in July 2021 and was closing the bar Jan. 19, 2025.
“It was the coldest day of the year, 12:30 in the morning,” he said. “We had a space heater in a crawlspace to thaw the water lines for the bathrooms.”
The malfunctioning space heater caught fire and the flames quickly spread to the rest of the building.
“I went downstairs and turned the space heaters off,” Branch said. “We went outside and were ready to leave and my bartender said she saw smoke. I went downstairs and saw the fire.”
The loss of the tavern had an impact on the unincorporated community, according to Branch.
“It hurt,” he said. “This town is very tight and everybody helps.”
Branch said his plan was to rebuild the tavern, a process that took only seven months once work began.
“My insurance company was the best I’ve ever dealt with in my life,” he said. “I actually sided it and framed the windows and doors myself. That’s what I did for a career for 30 years.”
The Long Branch reopened Feb. 1, a little more than a year after the fire.
“Everybody kept saying, ‘When are you opening? When are you opening? When are you opening?’” Branch said. “It was the Sunday before the Super Bowl. It was a big deal and we were very busy. Everybody wanted to see the shiny new toy.”
The rebuild allowed Branch to increase the size of the tavern.
“It’s almost twice the size,” he said. “We went from 30 stools to 50 stools. There’s a pool table and more parking. Everything’s bigger.”
One thing he didn’t expand was the food. The Long Branch’s only menu item is frozen pizzas, which are available in several varieties for $13.
“I’m not doing that,” he said. “It’s too much work. I have the best frozen pizzas.”
The rebuilt tavern allows Branch to keep the business in the family.
Kelly Branch’s parents – Eric Branch’s aunt and uncle – owned the bar from 1992 to 2021. Prior to that, it was known as Buck’s Fort and owned by Kelly Branch’s mother’s father, Buck Iskowitsch. The Iskowitch family opened the tavern and ran it until Kelly Branch’s parents took it over in 1992.
Eric Branch said the Townsend, Lakewood and Mountain area is an ideal place to run a business like his.
“No stop signs, no stoplights,” he said. “I like it. I have a very good local crowd. I’ve never had a problem with that.”
Branch said he’s glad to be back in business.
“I’m glad to have a job again,” he said. “I was ready to have fun again.”
Long Branch Saloon co-owners Kelly Harris and Eric Branch stand outside the saloon earlier this year after it was rebuilt and reopened following a fire in January 2025. (Courtesy of Kelly Harris)
