| Additional Information: | Largely sheathed with both brick and board-and-batten siding, this one-story, commercial building is comprised of three periods of construction. The southernmost block (original tavern and living quarters), which was built in 1961, is topped with a flat roof with a wide, overhanging eave. A pair of tripartite picture windows punctuates the primary west elevation, with entrances located along the south elevation (which is covered with aluminum siding), as well as the short, north elevation of this block. Attached to the north is a one-story block that is topped with a side-gabled roof. This portion, which includes the main dining room and kitchen, was completed in 1968. Finally, in 1982, the northernmost gabled section--the banquet room--was completed. Like the original section, both of these additions include tripartite picture windows, along with both brick and board-and-batten sheathing. A historic photo of the original 1961 building (which is included on Page 4 of this report) clearly indicates that the original entrance was changed. It is, however, difficult to discern the building’s original sheathings (although it appears to be either brick or stone veneer, along with board siding).
(#2) The first portion of the subject structure was built in 1961, at which time the property was located in the Town of Two Rivers. It served as a tavern that was initially known as Babe & Norm’s Bar which was owned and operated by Norman and Lorraine “Babe” Machut. Norman was born in Kewaunee County, the son of farmer Edward Machut and his wife Lillian. Norman worked on the family farm until enlisting in the Navy in 1942. He served in World War II and, following a medical discharge in 1943, he married Lorraine in 1945. For five years, the Machuts operated “Kuehl’s Grove,” a tavern in Rostok, Wisconsin. They eventually moved to Two Rivers, where they would operate “The Spot” tavern (1811 Washington Street). In May 1961, and while continuing to own The Spot, Norman purchased the subject property from William Sprang. Construction of Babe & Norm’s Bar began shortly thereafter and its “grand opening” was held the second weekend of January 1962. The builder is identified as Iggy Wojta & Sons of Two Rivers. Initial food items included hamburgers and chili. Family-style roast chicken was introduced shortly thereafter and food service seating was begun on the lower level. By no later than 1964, the business was serving chicken, pork chops and perch and the business name was referred to as Machut’s Supper Club.
(#3) In 1967, construction began on a 40-foot by 50-foot dining room and kitchen addition, which attached to the original structure via a 24-foot by 28-foot addition that was built at the same time. With construction of the dining room, the lower-level dining area was converted for use as a private party room. These two additions were designed by the Manitowoc architectural firm of Raeuber & Petri and built by Ray Wanek Builders of Manitowoc. In 1971, a new front entrance vestibule, measuring 40 feet x 10 feet, was added to the building. In 1980, interior renovations, with an estimated cost of $30,000, included the removal of a partition between the tavern and living areas (to expand the barroom), the removal of two washrooms and the construction of two new ones. Some windows were closed off and others were installed. The following year, construction began on the northernmost portion of the building (32 feet by 62 feet), which cost an estimated $50,000. Built by Hoffman Bros. Inc. and completed in 1982, this space included a new dining room, as well as a walk-in cooler and freezer. In the fall of 1988, the lower-level party room was renovated for banquet use.
(#4) Norman, who had platted no less than two residential subdivisions that carry his surname , died in 2000 while on vacation in Las Vegas. The supper club, which continues to run under the direction of Norman and Lorraine’s son Wayne Machut, was included in Martin Hintz’s Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places (2008), as well as, most recently, Hintz’s Food Lovers’ Guide to Wisconsin (2014); however, it did not make either edition (2013 or 2016) of Ron Faiola’s Wisconsin Supper Clubs. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Historic image of Babe & Norm's Bar in The Manitowoc Herald Times, 12 January 1962.
Citations for paragraph 2 in additional comments: Real Estate Transfers, William Sprang to Norman H. Machut, Manitowoc (WI) Herald-Times, 27 May 1961, 8-M/3; Grand Opening Advertisement, including photograph, Manitowoc Herald-Times, 12 January 1962, 10-M/4-9; U.S. Federal Census, Population, 1940, Available online at www.Ancestry.com, Accessed August 2016; “On Guard and Off Duty,” Green Bay Press Gazette, 30 November 1943, 3/1; Marriage date included in Wayne Machut’s Family Tree, Available online at http://person.ancestry.com/tree/72648013/person/ 36265577865/facts, Accessed August 2016; “New ‘Grove’ Managers,” Green Bay Press Gazette, 30 June 1950, 9/8; Dennis Hernet, “Veteran Two Rivers Businessman Dies,” Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, WI), May 2000, included in Wayne Machut’s Family Tree; “A Little Machut History…”, Available online at www.machuts.com/about.htm, Accessed August 2016 (includes proper pronunciation of “Machut”—the “ch” is pronounced as a “k.”). Although the 1962 opening advertisement includes a good number of contractors involved in the building’s construction—including the contractor/builder (Wojta & Sons), no architect is identified. As well, no building permits exist for the original building, as it was not annexed to the City of Two Rivers until the mid-1960s.
(Citations #3 below): Building permit for addition (permit #16625), 8 December 1967, estimated cost, $21,400; Raeuber & Petri, Correspondence to and from the State of Wisconsin, Industrial Safety and Building Division, 9 November 1967, 17 January and 11 March 1968; Raeuber & Petri, Specifications, Supper Club Additions, 15 October 1967, This and previous permit materials in Building file, Department of Building Inspection, City of Two Rivers, WI; “Construction in 3 Fields Shows Jump,” Manitowoc Herald-Times 25 November 1967, 8-M/1; Permit for interior remodeling, 28 October 1980, estimated cost, $30,000; Permit for addition (Permit #24846), 22 December 1981, estimated cost, $50,000.
(Citations #4 below): “Council Proceedings” (re: Plat of Machut’s Second Subdivision), Manitowoc Herald-Times, 9 November 1967, T-13/4; Martin Hintz, Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places (Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 2008), 167; Martin Hintz, Food Lovers’ Guide to Wisconsin (Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 2014), 172; Ron Faiola, Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience (Evanston, IL: Agate Midway Publishing Company, 2013); Ron Faiola, Wisconsin Supper Clubs: Another Round (Evanston, IL: Agate Midway Publishing Company, 2016). |
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