Correction: Bob Lamovec is the sole owner of The Garage and Granite View Market. A previous version of this story was incorrect about its ownership. The story has been corrected to reflect that.
The deal to buy Whiskey River Bar and Grill, which today is The Copper Kettle Steakhouse, came together pretty quickly.
Co-owner Bob Lamovec heard from his listing agent while in North Carolina that the bar was for sale and he nearly passed, not really wanting to own another one. (Lamovec owns The Garage, along with Granite View Market.)
But he learned that the bar would be sold at a price that reflected the amount of work needed, and his friend, co-owner Troy Nelson, who he’d known from operating a food truck at The Garage, had dreamed for decades about running his own steakhouse since he began his cooking career.
Today, Lamovec, Nelson and John Greene own The Copper Kettle Steakhouse. Greene worked as a chef at a Florida country club and for eight years at the Wausau Country Club, started Jade Panda and helped build the Breakfast Bear’s menu.
That came after three months of renovations, including flooring, ceilings, lights, bathrooms, roof work and extensive changes around the bar. They still plan to do some work on the exterior — that includes siding and other exterior work, probably in the spring.
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The owners were sympathetic to Whiskey River’s former owners — Nelson says they were friends and believes COVID, staffing issues and construction on Stewart Avenue didn’t help their situation. But the three aim for a different kind of experience with Copper Kettle. They don’t intend for the place to be a late-night bar hangout - it’s intended as a steakhouse with something of a supper club feel, including a soup and salad bar.
But even thinking of it as a steakhouse might miss the full range Copper Kettle intends to offer. Nelson explains that they offer grab-and-go items for nearby workers who have limited time for lunch, so they can get and eat food within the confines of their lunch break. But besides that, there is still a pretty extensive lunch menu for those with the time to sit down and have a meal, including unique items such as the Waldorf Wrap or the Midnight Cowboy Chicken Poblano, or even sizzling escargot.
And while steak is the main dinner focus — they’re working with Geiss Meat Service in Merrill to source some of their meats and specialty cuts — they also offer menu items like orange roughy or lobster risotto, and homemade desserts. And with Greene’s background in Asian cuisine, those flavors will pop up on the menu and even the soup and salad bar in items such as kimchi or water chestnuts (it contains 48 items). Ingredients are made from scratch as much as possible, Nelson adds.
They’re also offering a catering menu, and one thing that’s helping them stand apart is that they’re willing to cater all shifts, Lamovec told The Wausonian. They’ve already catered Linetec, Kolbe and Kolbe and Greenheck, for instance, he explained. Greene says the options range from mac and cheese, potatoes and pork roasts to steaks and seafood platters. They can even come grill steaks on site, Nelson explains.
Brunch is also coming soon, and Copper Kettle will open at 7 am on Saturdays and Sundays when that launches. The owners are hoping to start serving brunch the weekend after Labor Day.
Nelson says reception for the restaurant has been positive, and he says he hopes customers will give them a little grace as they listen to feedback and work out the kinks any new restaurant inevitably faces. He points to one couple who raise cattle. The husband stopped Nelson and told him his wife thought it was the best filet she’d ever had.
The Copper Kettle Steakhouse is more steakhouse than supper club, but it definitely has a supper club feel, including the dining room atmosphere, the soup and salad bar and the lighting. That, the unique menu items and the offerings make The Copper Kettle Steakhouse something new in Wausau.
The Copper Kettle Steakhouse is located at 5512 Stewart Ave. It is open 11 am-11 pm. Find them on Facebook and on their website.
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