Waumandee House Resort celebrates 20 years

by Dana Serum 

Walking into the Waumandee House Resort on a typical Wednesday afternoon, you’ll most likely be welcomed by longtime employee Diane Holmen. In a few hours, the staff will be running to serve a popular chicken dinner, with the family members Dan and Gennafer Schmidtknecht at the helm. 

Dan, the son of Don and Kay Schmidtknecht, recently decided to celebrate his 20 years of ownership with just that; a free chicken dinner for the first 500 people through the door. 

Schmidtknecht has owned the bar since July 1, 1995. Before moving back to the Waumandee area from Cambridge, Minn., he worked in restaurant management. When he heard that the longtime bar located at S2020 County Highway U, Waumandee, had been up for sale for some time, he thought it might be time to come back. 

“We sold everything we had to come up with a down payment for the place,” he said.”We knew if it didn’t work out we could always come back.”

Schmidtknecht said that the first year  was spent learning the many differences that come with running a small-town business.

“Going from a target audience of millions to 300 people was quite a learning curve,” Schmidtknecht said. 

Schmidtknecht said the one thing that makes his place stand out to him is how much his family has been an important role in the business’ success. 

“When we first moved back my grandparents Alice and Arnold Schmidtknecht were still in the area, which was really special,” Schmidtknecht said. “My parents are still here, and we get constant support from my in-laws LeRoy and Jackie Anderson.”

Their parents, Dan’s wife, Cathi, and their three children, Amber, Gennafer and Dakotah, have all spent time working within the business. 

Manager Gennafer Schmidtknecht said the bar was previously owned by Jim Bremer for 12 years.  

“It was also a stage coach for the horse travelers way back in the day,” she said. “They would travel from Winona and this would be a stop in between going to Eau Claire and Waumandee would be the overnight stop.”

Gennafer said she has appreciated the opportunity to work surrounded by family. 

“I grew with the bar and restaurant, working with family,” she said. “I get to visit with family every day, I never take that for granted.”

20 year celebration 

On June 27 many locals flocked to the Waumandee House Resort to celebrate 20 years of ownership by Dan and Cathi Schmidtknecht. 

Over the course of the event, attendees listened to music provided by Prairie Fly, Joe & Ricks Dueling Guitars and Rick’s Rockin’ Road Show. 

The event also had “blast from the past” bartenders that had worked at the Waumandee House over the years. For the celebration, 10-12 of the past bartending staff came back to serve, including Linda (Killian) Bauer, who was a server on Dan’s first day of ownership. 

One server, Tegan Blank of the Waumandee area, said she used to work for the Schmidtknecht family about five years ago. 

“It’s fun to be back, it’s like a flashback,” Blank said. “It’s taken me a little while to pick it up again.” 

Schmidtknecht said the event went extremely well, and they came close to running out of chicken. 

“It was fun to see the different clientele over course of day,” he said. “This event was for the customers, we are appreciative of the time they spend with us.”

The popular chicken dinner nights, which are twice a month on Wednesday nights, already have more than 1,500 people on a birthday club mailing list. Dan explained that those who sign up receive a free chicken dinner during the month of their birthday. 

“The redemption rate is very high,” he added. “Everyone likes to be appreciated on their birthday.” 

Along with their chicken nights, The Waumandee House Resort has a busy summer schedule with pool and softball tournaments, a fundraising event for cerebral palsy set for Aug. 29 and the first-ever “Five Mile Waddle” event planned for Oct. 3. The money raised from the run will benefit the Waumandee and Montana Fire and Rescue.  

Schmidtknecht says some of the biggest changes he’s noticed over the past 20 years are advances in technology, drinking laws and with musical entertainment options. 

“Karaoke has become very popular here,” Schmidtknecht said, who uses DJ Rick Laehn regularly. “The use of live bands has really declined.”  

“Business has continued through a good and bad economy,” he added. “If you treat people like family you can be successful.” 

  As for looking ahead to the next 20 years, Schmidtknecht said he is in no way ready to retire. 

“I thoroughly enjoy coming in here every morning, every day,” he said. “It’ll be time to walk away when I get sick of that.” 

Gennafer agreed to seeing a long-term future within the family business.

“This is truly my second home, this is what I know and I one-hundred percent enjoy it,” she shared.  

A new menu with a variety of new choices was also recently implemented.

“We have about forty-five new items that we’ve been working on for the past six months,” Schmidtknecht said.  

Along with the restaurant and bar, Schmidtknecht manages nine cabins at the on-site location, which were built in 2005. 

“The locals really enjoy them,” he said. “They are great place for visiting relatives to stay.” 

The Waumandee House Resort is open seven days a week, Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. and weekends at 8 a.m. For more information, call (608) 626-2371 and watch the “Waumandee House Resort” Facebook page for information about upcoming events.