Madison Roadhouse Legacy “The Wonder Bar” Could Still Be Saved

The Wonder Bar Steakhouse at 222 E. Olin Ave, Madison, Wisconsin, is threatened to be demolished as a result of a new development by the McGrath Property Group. The proposed new project is an 18-story, $40 million structure that would offer 291 apartments, 16,000 square feet of commercial space and five floors of parking, according to the report by the Wisconsin State Journal on July 14, 2021. Lance McGrath has shown interest in donating the over $250,000 cost of demolition toward relocation if a suitable site within close proximity could be found. The building, measured approximately 48 by 48 feet, is estimated to weigh between 800,000 to 950,000 pounds.

The Wonder Bar Steakhouse
Architecture and History Inventory, Wisconsin Historical Society

The Opening of Eddie’s Wonder Bar

The two-story brick structure was financed by Roger Touhy, an infamous prohibition-era gangster who ran the North Side Chicago Mafia and led gambling rings and other illegal activities, including brewing beer and distilling illegal spirits.

Roger’s financial success allowed him to give his brother Eddie Touhy the money to expand the business to Madison and built “Eddie’s Wonder Bar” around 1930. Eddie lived in the apartment upstairs. Three sisters, Mandie Burgin, Mamie Collier, and Ruby Farringer ran the Wonder Bar for Eddie until he sold it to Joe and Marian Kassak in 1948. The bar was then sold to Dick Whalen in 1974. During the 1970s and 1980s, the bar was a favorite watering hole of Badger athletics fans.

After a few name changes, such as “Madison Cigar Bar,” “The M.O.B. Roadhouse,” and “The Bar Next Door,” its name was changed back to “The Wonder Bar Steakhouse” in May 2009 by Dennie Jax. Jim Delaney purchased the Wonder Bar in 2017.

Unfortunately, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant was closed at the end of May this year.

Eddie’s Wonder Bar, 1983
Architecture and History Inventory, Wisconsin Historical Society

Preserving Prohibition Era History

The restaurant speaks to the important histories of the Prohibition Era. The Madison City Landmarks Commission commented that the Wonder Bar Steakhouse is a rare remaining example of Prohibition-era roadhouses.

According to restaurant historian Jan Whitaker, before the Civil War, roadside drinking and eating places on the outskirts of cities were popular destinations of people who enjoyed leisure activities outside the cities.

With the development of railroads, more rowdy crowds brought unsavory reputation to these places. For example, Minnesota legislated against roadhouses in 1915, and towns around Chicago fought them and often succeeded in having their liquor licenses taken away.

Few roadhouses survived the Prohibition Era (1920-1933), and Eddie’s Wonder Bar is one of the few that lasts till the present day. Another example is the Kegel’s Inn in Milwaukee, which opened in 1924 and was recently named as one of the Nation’s 25 Historic Small Restaurants.

History in the Network of Roadhouses

Kurt Stege, President of the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation advocacy committee, also indicated that the building was associated with “a network of roadhouses constructed at the edges of cities and operated for the purpose of distribution of illegal alcohol,” and its design conforms with what a bar looked like in the era. The building resembles a fortress castle, which also enhances its association with gang wars.

According to a draft city landmark nomination submitted by the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation in 2008, a body was buried behind a second-floor fireplace; its window glass was bulletproof; and the circular booths set in the building's towers had hidden compartments for weapon storage. Whether these interior details are true or fictional, like many roadhouses at the time, the site was affiliated with gangsters and experienced intense rivalries and police surveillance in the early years of its establishment.

Roger Touhy
The Wonder Bar Steakhouse Website

Eddie’s Legal Troubles

The same draft city landmark nomination also mentioned that Roger Touhy was sentenced to 99 years in prison at the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, Illinois in 1934 for the kidnapping of John Factor, the brother of cosmetics company founder Max Factor. Insisting that he was being framed, Roger escaped on December 2, 1942. In the book The Stolen Years, published in 1959, Roger shared, “My best source was my brother, Eddie. He owned a roadhouse, Eddie's Wonder Bar, near the state fairgrounds outside of Madison, Wisconsin. But getting a meeting with him was almost as tricky as getting out of Statesville.”

Eddie and his bar were under intense surveillance by the FBI. Eventually, Roger was recaptured on December 29, 1942. After 17 years in prison, he was finally paroled in November 1959, but was shot to death in the following month likely by his gangster rivals.

Modern Preservation Efforts

Unable to found a good solution, community members and preservationists still hope to save this historic bar. An online petition “Save The Wonder Bar – Madison’s Prohibition Roadhouse” to the Citizens of Madison and the City of Madison has been started, expressing opposition to demolition. McGrath’s proposal will be considered by the Plan Commission on July 26, and the City Council on August 3. The construction is intended to start in the fall. Please consider joining the group and the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation to support this petition.

More ways to help!

1. Register your opposition with the Plan Commission at https://cityofmadison.com/city-hall/committees/plan-commission/7-26-2021 Click "Register for Public Comment" Choose Item 5 and say you "oppose" it.

2. Speak for up to 3 minutes virtually at the Plan Commission. Say you support preserving the Wonder Bar. Ask Plan not to grant a demolition permit until the Landmark Commission reviews the Wonder Bar for Landmark status.

3. In addition, you can also send an email allalders@cityofmadison.com.

Having any ideas on possible sites for relocation or other related thoughts? Please contact hongyan@wipreservation.org.

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 Learn More and reference items

Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory: Eddie’s Wonder Bar

MOSIMAN, DEAN. "ROADHOUSE LEGACY SHAPED BY AREA'S COLORFUL HEYDAY WONDER BAR | A BRIEF HISTORY." Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), ALL ed., sec. FRONT, 14 July 2021, p. A11.

MOSIMAN, DEAN. "A SLICE OF LORE AWAITS RESCUE OLD STEAKHOUSE OF THE SPEAKEASY DAYS FACING DEMOLITION MADISON HISTORY | WONDER BAR." Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), ALL ed., sec. FRONT, 14 July 2021, p. A1.

HAMER, EMILY. "HISTORIC WONDER BAR BUILDING COULD BE MOVED." Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), ALL ed., sec. LOCAL, 14 May 2021, p. A3.

 MOSIMAN, DEAN. "18-STORY BUILDING PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD RAZE LOCAL BARS TO CREATE HOUSING, OFFICE SPACE SOUTH SIDE | DEVELOPMENT." Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), ALL ed., sec. FRONT, 8 Apr. 2021, p. A1.

Kegel’s Inn Named One of Nation’s 25 Historic Small Restaurants

Kegel's Inn
5901 W National Ave
West Allis, WI 53214
(414) 257-9999 | kegelsinn.com

Kegel’s Inn has been honored as one of 25 historic small restaurants in the United States. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express designated the restaurants as historically and culturally significant.

Each restaurant will receive $40,000 through the “Backing Historic Small Restaurants” Grant Program. Funded by American Express and administered by the National Trust, the grant will help “enhance restaurant exteriors, build new outdoor seating areas, and upgrade online business to help mitigate operating costs as they work to recover from the financial impacts of the pandemic.” 

This is good news for Kegel’s Inn, which has been serving traditional German food at the same location since 1924. The restaurant was established by John T. Kegel and his wife Anna Bevc and is still operated by the Kegel family today.  

A Soft Drink Parlor
Born in Austria in 1892, John T. Kegel immigrated to the United States in 1911. He married Anna in 1915 and in 1918 they moved to West Allis. After working at various jobs, John was ready to start his own business. He hired contractor Roy Nordstrom to build the original structure on National Avenue. John and Anna established Kegel’s Place in December 1924 as a soft drink parlor. Similar to other soft drink parlors during Prohibition the Kegel family brewed beer in the basement and surreptitiously brought in other liquor.

Figure 1: Pictured: John Kegel Open for Business in His “Soda Pop Parlor” | Source: Kegel’s Restaurant

Things went smoothly for a time as most of the neighborhood population was German and Kegel’s fit well into the local drinking culture. Plus, the beautiful leaded stained glass windows provided some concealment of the interior space.

Figure 2. Anna Kegel’s Arrest for Liquor Possession

But the good times were over when, on May 1, 1927, state agent J. Rupnik apprehended Anna Kegel for possession of non-intoxicating liquor (figure 2). With both luck and a good attorney, Kegel’s Inn was spared the fate of being shut down as so many other soft drink parlors had been. Interestingly, in the following year, Wisconsin ended its official enforcement of Prohibition, five years earlier than the Federal annulment of Prohibition.

Expansion and A New Name
Shortly before Prohibition was officially repealed in April 1933, the Kegel family took over the west half of the building and significantly renovated it, including an addition to the south. Described as the “largest tavern built since the return of beer,” the renovation was done by Milwaukee architect Mark Pfaller/ Pfaller Architectural Associates, Inc., the oldest continually operating family-owned architecture/engineering firm in Wisconsin.

German interior design artist Peter Gries hand-painted all the murals inside the restaurant. The exterior was designed in English-inspired Tudor Revival style with a Lannon stone veneer. The construction took a little over a year. The restaurant reopened on August 26, 1933, renamed “Kegel’s Inn.”

Figure 3. Murals behind the Bar by Peter Gries | Source: Kegel’s Restaurant

Historic Past, Strong Future
Kegel’s Inn was listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2010. After nearly a century and many ups and downs along the way – including the COVID-19 pandemic – Kegel’s is going strong, retaining its original building, Gries’ delightful murals, and the famous German food and beer - including its popular Friday Fish Fry and outdoor Beer Garden. Kegel’s Inn is most deserving of its historic accolades.

Figure 4. Exterior of Kegel’s Inn after renovation
Source: Kegel’s Restaurant

Figure 5. Present Façade of Kegel’s Inn
Source: Wisconsin Historical Society

Learn more about Kegel’s Inn

American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Announce the 25 recipients of the “Backing Historic Small Restaurants” $1+ Million Grant Program. Reference page

 Wisconsin Historical Society, Architecture and History Inventory. Reference page

 A Rich & Storied Past - Kegel's Inn. Homepage