Isn’t it great that stalwart Wisconsin families have linked up over 143 years to preserve the rich history of Timmer’s Resort on Big Cedar Lake.
It all started in the Civil War era. Mathias and Margaret Timmer emigrated from Germany in 1863 and settled in the Town of West Bend. They purchased the property now known as Timmer’s Resort on Jan. 4, 1864 on Big Cedar Lake and opened a resort 16 years later.
The Timmer’s family ran the resort for 127 years. Jack Timmer, the last of that line, held a journalism degree from UW-Madison and a culinary arts degree from Moraine Park Technical School. He was well-known for his community activities. Instead of journalism, Jack ran the resort until 2007.
Jack was ever present on the property and civically active in the West Bend community. He was a quiet guy with a wicked sense of humor when you got to know him.
When Jack’s career wound down, people in the community, especially “Ceder Lakers,” were worried that the resort would go away. Fortuitously for the community, George and Judi Prescott (pictured left) stepped up to buy the restaurant and the six cottages for about $2 million in 2007.
The restaurant had one serious defect. The men’s and women’s bathrooms were on both sides of the fireplace in the bar. Privacy was a bit compromised when the doors opened, and its fragrances wafted into the seating area.
Judi let it be known that she wanted those bathrooms moved, but they ran into some restrictions from a conservation easement that included the structure.
George, a creative and highly successful businessman, got the building inspector to declare the structure unfit. It was demolished except for the tall stone fireplace in the main dining room. And George and Judi funded and directed a complete rebuild on the footprint of the restaurant and bar. It stands today as a replica of the original restaurant, except that the bathrooms are no longer in the bar.
George is no dummy. He knows what he knows and what he doesn’t. Gifted at hiring good people for his grocery business, he convinced Fran LeGrand, a high profile Milwaukee restaurant manager to run the business, and the good times kept rolling.
When George and Judi decided to sell in 2018, they linked up with another prominent Wisconsin family. Scott Lurie, (pictured right) who once worked at Lurie Glass, a high tech construction company that does monster projects like the headquarters for Northwestern Mutual Life in downtown Milwaukee. He now owns F Street Properties, a development company with several lines of business.
The handoff to members of successful business families continued this year. Mike Darrow, president of Russ Darrow Group, (pictured left) who has a cottage on Big Cedar Lake with his wife Jen, stepped up to buy the property to honor its historic legacy.
Again, Mike Darrow knows what he knows and what he doesn’t. He knows the car business, but quickly reached out to cut a deal with Tony Koebel, the owner of The Norbert and The Orville restaurants in West Bend and arguably its most prominent restaurateur.
Everyone loves Tony, who is leasing only the restaurant from Darrow. Koebel contributes in many ways to a better quality of life here, including as a longtime volunteer carpenter for Habitat for Humanity. He donated his carpentry talents to build the art deco bar at The Bend Theater in his off hours.
Tony also has an eye for talent. His executive chef is Colin Reigle, a descendent of the Regal Manufacturing Company family. He will oversee the kitchens in all three restaurants.
The families who have owned Timmer’s made their investments as much to preserve the history and heritage of the resort as they did to make a buck from the bar and restaurant operations – never an easy undertaking.
There has been money made on the ownership transfers. Darrow reportedly paid $5 million to F Street Properties.
Hopefully, for the community’s sake, the Darrows will have a long and successful run with Timmer’s.
Koebel will do some renovation before re-opening mid-March. Be assured, the bathrooms will stay put.
